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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 2020)
PAGE 2 | March 20, 2020 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS Support your transit workers! (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Times must be tough at The Columbian. Vancouver’s daily pa- per — where workers voted 19 to 8 to unionize last October — an- nounced three layoffs on March 16. Two of them were members of the union bargaining team and leaders of the union campaign, including photographer Nathan Howard, the union’s spokesperson. What are the odds? Surely owner Scott Camp- bell wouldn’t use layoffs to get rid of union supporters, would he? Pa- cific Northwest Newspaper Guild is filing unfair labor practice charges. Established in 1900 in Portland, Oregon as a voice of the la- bor movement. Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non-profit mutual benefit corpo- ration owned by 20 unions and councils including the Ore- gon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Office location: 4275 NE Halsey St., Portland, Oregon Mailing address: P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213 Phone: (503) 288-3311 Web address: http://nwlaborpress.org Editor & Manager: Michael Gutwig Senior staff reporter: Don McIntosh Office manager: Jill Lukens Printed on recycled paper, using soy-based inks, by members of Teamsters Local 747-M. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Individual subscriptions are $15 a year for union members, $23 a year for all others. Pay by credit card online at nwlaborpress.org/subscribe, or send a check to our mailing address (above) along with your name, address and union affiliation, if any. Group rates of 47 cents an issue per member — $11.28 a year are available for 25 or more subscriptions; call 503-288-3311 for details. CORRECTIONS: See an error? Please let us know at editor@nwlaborpress.org or by phone at 503-288-3311. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: If you move, let us know at nwlaborpress.org/subscriber-services or by mail at our mailing address (above). Be sure to provide your old and new addresses and the name/number of your local union. Please allow three weeks for the change to take effect. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS P.O. BOX 13150 PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150 Vancouver Columbian newspaper gets rid of union supporters CORRECTION About 100 members and supporters of Amalga- mated Transit Union Local 757 rallied at rush hour March 9 at Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square to protest TriMet positions in collective bargaining. Among other things, the tax-supported public transit agency is proposing to eliminate its long- standing apprenticeship programs for light rail and bus mechanics. Local 757 is also challenging what union officers say is a scheme to privatize bus service for the ben- efit of big companies like Amazon and FedEx. TriMet received state funds to expand transit serv- ice, and passed those funds to Multnomah County, which subcontracted with a private company called ecoShuttle to provide free weekend bus service from Gresham Transit Center to the Amazon and FedEx facilities in Troutdale. The shuttle follows the route of TriMet Bus #81, driven by nonunion drivers who are paid as little as $15 an hour. The rally date marked 150 days since TriMet and Lo- cal 757 began bargaining a new contract, and it’s the point at which either side could declare im- passe and set a clock ticking toward mediation and binding arbitration. So far, neither side has pulled that trigger, and further negotiations took place March 12 and were scheduled for March 19. TriMet is saying it doesn’t have to negotiate over the ap- prenticeship program, but Local 757 is disputing that before the Oregon Employment Relations Board. A decision may come by mid-April. In our March 6 edition we reported that there are fewer than 40 daily newspaper editorial cartoonists today, down from 2,000 in 2000. That was in error. The 2,000 figure was for 1900. Low Prices! Coats, etc. Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6 Glazier Apprenticeship Accepting Applications The Oregon & SW Washington Glaziers, Architectural Metal & Glass Workers Joint Apprenticeship & Journeyman Training Program will be open to accept applications to create a pool of eligible applicants. Applicants must be at least 18 years old. Must apply in person and furnish a copy of a high school diploma and grade transcript or GED and test scores at time of application. Applications will be taken April 6 through April 17, 2020 Monday through Friday, 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. Glaziers Training Center Mt. Hood Community College Room GE 108 26000 SE Stark St., Gresham, OR Women and minorities are encouraged to apply; Veterans’ GI Benefits may apply
