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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 2020)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | August 7 , 2020 | PAGE 3 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING DePaul Treatment accused of bad faith bargaining By Noah Wass In an unfair labor prac- tice charge filed with the Na- tional Labor Relations Board (NLRB) June 25, Oregon AF- SCME says De Paul Treatment Centers is refusing to negotiate in good faith over a first contract. De Paul Treatment Cen- ters voluntarily recognized the union last September after a ma- jority of the addiction recovery agency’s 122 employees signed union authorization cards. But only three bargaining sessions have been held since then. AF- SCME organizer Anna Peña says getting management to schedule a bargaining session has been a serious challenge. “In early February we pro- posed a date,” Peña said. “That didn’t work, so we proposed five additional dates for March. None of those worked, but then they decided on April 9, but they canceled. April 10, I suggested three more dates and they said they did not foresee any meet- ings until May, which never happened. We didn’t have an opening session until June 11.” The problem is that DePaul is insisting on scheduling bargain- ing sessions during work hours—and refusing to pay union bargaining team members for their time—so workers must either lose wages or use paid time off in order to take part in negotiations. Only two mem- bers were able to attend the July 9 session. A third bargaining session was set for Aug. 5, after this issue went to press. “We are in the middle of a pandemic and management is telling us to use our sick time so we can attend bargaining ses- sions,” said Erika LaCarney, an addictions counselor in the adult residential program. “We just want a fair contract.” Non-profit De Paul Treat- ment Centers provides addiction recovery services to adults and youth experiencing drug addic- tion and related mental illness at its primary facility at 1312 SW Washington St. and satellite lo- cations at 4310 NE Killings- worth St. in Portland and 205 SE Third Ave. in Hillsboro. Workers unionized in order to do something about low wages and high turnover. Lebanon veterans home faces decertification campaign A group of over 200 workers at the Oregon Veterans Home in Lebanon, Oregon, will vote on whether to remain unionized. Mail ballots go out Aug. 13 and are due back Aug. 27. It was just last year—May 20, 2019— that workers there voted 75 to 63 to join United Steel Workers of America (USW). USW District 12 subdistrict director Ron Rodgers says as the union and management neared agreement on a first con- tract, anti-union workers roamed the halls with decertifi- cation petitions, while union supporters were told not to talk about the union at work. USW has for years repre- sented a veterans nursing home run by the same non-profit in The Dalles, Oregon. The Lebanon location was the site of one of the first COVID outbreaks in Oregon; 38 residents and workers were infected, and 8 residents died. Food box distribution set for Aug. 15 “Workers Helping Workers” will hold its third food box distribution on Saturday, Aug. 15, at Operat- ing Engineers Local 701 union hall, 555 First St., Gladstone. Nearly two dozen labor groups are participating in the food box distribution program, including the Northwest Oregon Labor Council, Oregon AFL-CIO, and Labor’s Community Service Agency. The program also has received donations from Franz Bakery and grocery discounts from Safeway and Fred Meyer. The first distribution was held June 6 at Laborers Local 737 Training Center in Northeast Port- land and the second took place June 25 at United Food and Com- mercial Workers Local 555’s of- fice in Tigard. At each event vol- unteers boxed and distributed 1,000 boxes of food staples. The food boxes are available for anyone in need, not just union members. For more information about Workers Helping Workers, go to www.workershelpingwork- ers.com/foodbox-signup. Injured workers may have a “third party case” if someone other than their employer was negligent for damages not available in the workers’ compensation claim. Raymond Thomas James Coon Cynthia Newton Chris Frost www.tcnf.legal Sydney Montanaro Scott Sell Chris Thomas 820 SW Second Ave., Suite 200, Portland, OR 97204
