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
