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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 2020)
SERVING ORGANIZED LABOR IN OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON SINCE 1900 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS VOLUME 121, NUMBER 21 IN THIS ISSUE UNION COALITIONS UNDER NEW LEADERSHIP Metal Trades, DCTU, and DCU | Page 4 TRIMET DECLARES BARGAINING IMPASSE Arbitrator will decide if apprenticeship gets scrapped | Page 6 Meeting Notices p.4 Unionization elections p.7 PORTLAND, OREGON NOVEMBER 6, 2020 OHSU fights Hillsboro union campaign What’s Portland Public Schools hiding? Possibly wage theft? By Don McIntosh It was Christmas Eve, 2019, when Scott Strickland hit “send” on what he thought was a routine public records request. Strickland—special projects counsel for Operating Engineers Local 701—asked Portland Public Schools (PPS) for four months of payroll records on its Kellogg Middle School recon- struction project. State law spells out the wages and benefits that must be paid on public con- struction projects—in order to prevent contractors from com- peting to see who can pay work- ers the least. To prove they’re paying that set “prevailing wage,” contractors are required to submit payroll records to project owners like PPS. Owners are then supposed to look through the records to ensure the law is being fol- lowed. But there’s reason to think that doesn’t happen most of the time. Strickland wanted to see the records himself to make sure nonunion general contrac- tor Todd Construction and nonunion Moore Excavation Turn to Page 3 By Don McIntosh A group of 472 workers at three medical facilities in Hillsboro and Forest Grove is ready to unionize with Oregon AF- SCME. But their first two union fights have been about getting a meeting with the boss, and get- ting straight on who they actu- ally work for. The facilities—Hillsboro Medical Center, the adjacent 7th Avenue Medical Building, and the Forest Grove Urgent Care Clinic—were formerly known as Tuality Healthcare, but be- came part of Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in early 2016. Though the change- over was gradual, today the sta- tionery and the signs say OHSU. And workers are di- rected to answer the phone, “OHSU Hillsboro Medical Center, formerly Tuality Health Care.” Considering the defini- tion of “formerly,” employees assumed they now work for OHSU, where AFSCME repre- sents 7,000 employees. But when hospital executives learned the Hillsboro employees wanted to unionize, the Tuality identity came back from the dead. It matters because Tuality is or was a private sector em- ployer, while OHSU is a public On Sept. 21, workers at OHSU Hillsboro Medical Center tried to meet with CEO Lori James-Nielsen to ask for voluntary union recognition. Instead, they were intercepted by a security guard and told to get off the property. employer. It’s much easier for workers to unionize at public employers under Oregon law than at private sector employers under federal law. Under the Oregon law, all that public em- ployees must do to unionize is get a majority of their co-work- ers to sign union cards. And their employers are barred from spending money on union-bust- Turn to Page 2 WORKER SAFETY Oregon OSHA says employers must protect workers from COVID-19 Not a moment too soon, the rule arrives as outbreaks are under way at 76 Oregon workplaces. By Don McIntosh Oregon workers finally have the right to be protected from COVID-19, thanks to a new temporary Oregon OSHA rule that took effect Nov. 2 after months of pressure from the Oregon AFL-CIO and other la- bor organizations. The detailed 12-page rule isn’t everything la- bor leaders hoped for, but it’s a start. Oregon is only the third state to require specific action by em- ployers to protect workers from the coronavirus. Virginia adopted protections in July, and Michigan followed in October. Even though COVID-19 has killed more workers in less time than any other health emer- gency, federal OSHA (Occupa- tional Safety and Health Admin- istration) has refused to require employers to take any specific action to protect workers, saying that employers’ “general duty” to maintain a safe workplace un- der the law is enough. Oregon’s new rule covers: ■ Personal Protective Equipment For indoor workplaces, employers must provide masks, face coverings, or face shields to all workers, ensure that they use them, and make sure they can work at least 6 feet away from others where feasible. The mask requirements also apply when workers are in vehicles for work, or when they’re working outdoors if they must be within 6 feet of others. ■ Notification Employers most notify workers within 24 hours after they learn that there has been a workplace exposure. ■ VentilationWithin two months, employers must maximize the amount of outside air circulated through existing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, to the extent the system is capable of doing so, whenever employees are in the workplace. ■ Sanitizing Employers must regularly clean or sanitize all common areas, shared equipment, and high-touch surfaces used by employees or the public. ■ Risk assessmentWithin a month, all employers must conduct a COVID-19 exposure risk assessment—with participation and feedback from employees—via a safety meeting, safety committee, supervisor, or other process negotiated with a union. ■ TrainingWithin six weeks, employers must train workers on how to prevent COVID-19’s spread in the workplace and how to report if there are signs and symptoms of the disease. ■ Posting Employers must post the COVID-19 Hazards Poster. In an Oct. 27 press confer- ence, Oregon AFL-CIO Presi- dent Graham Trainor said the new rules will make a differ- ence in worker safety. It follows lengthy advocacy from nurse, grocery, and other unions. If it took seven months, that’s be- cause Oregon OSHA conducted a really thorough process, with months of listening sessions, Trainor said. The Oregon AFL- Turn to Page 7
