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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2020)
PAGE 2 | December 18, 2020 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS ...Safe from Hate From Page 1 (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 in Portland, Oregon as a voice of the labor 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 corporation owned by 20 unions and councils including the Oregon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Ore- gon 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: Michael Gutwig Associate editor: 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 per year for union members, $23 a year for all others. Send a check for that amount, indicating mailing address and union affiliation, to P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213. For 25 or more subscriptions, group rates of $11.28 a year per person are available to trade union organizations. 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 NOTICE: Three weeks are required for a change of address. When ordering a change, please give your old and new addresses and the name and number of your local union. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS P.O. BOX 13150 PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150 drawings demeaning to women were found in a porta-pottie at an Adidas construction site in Portland. “There’s a problem in the in- dustry as a whole,” says Labor- ers Local 737 Business Man- ager Zach Culver. “It’s been a longstanding problem. It’s our job as leaders to step up and be leaders and not turn a blind eye.” Union employers — and unions — are trying to get the word out that conduct like that will no longer be tolerated. Laborers Local 737, for ex- ample, is letting its 2,800 mem- bers know that the union won’t be protecting those who harass others on the job. “Our union constitution and our collective bargaining agree- ments don’t protect that kind of behavior,” Culver said. Lauri Rollings, executive di- rector of the union-signatory Plumbing and Mechanical Con- tractors Association of Oregon (PMCA), developed a webinar for PMCA contractors with a protocol for handling future in- cidents like the noose that was found by a Plumbers and Fitters Local 290 apprentice in May. She’s also been working with leaders of Local 290 to promote a more positive jobsite culture. The joint effort may begin with “respectful workplace” trainings for all members. PMCA and Lo- cal 290 are also talking about ways to intervene more effec- tively with members who perpe- trate abusive behavior. In recent months, Rollings said, one Lo- cal 290 member was fired for using the “n” word on a job site, and another was fired for a ho- mophobic remark to a fellow member. But when members are fired for harassment, they go back to the hiring hall and get dispatched to another employer. “That means the same prob- lematic behavior potentially cre- ates liability for the next contrac- tor,” Rollings told the Labor Press. To address that, PMCA and Local 290 are discussing ways to train and counsel of- fenders. “It would be more one-on-one than a typical diversity training,” Rollings said. “We want to make sure we’re counseling why it’s important to behave respectfully toward co-workers.” Via Zoom, Local 290 held a four-morning 16-hour training SAFE FROM HATE JOBSITE CULTURE PLEDGE ■ Training Signers will implement positive jobsite culture training for all current employees and/ or union members within six months. All employees, including supervisors and managers, journeymen and apprentices will receive the training, and unions will provide journeyworker “upgrade” trainings. ■ Zero tolerance Employers will work with labor partners, subcontractors, and others to hold accountable any employee who instigates, supports, or fails to report jobsite incidents. Employers will communicate clear protocols and enforce real consequences, including suspension and termination after prompt and thorough investigation. over two weekends in July, with both union leaders and contrac- tors in attendance. Another training took place in Novem- ber. The trainings were led by longtime labor lawyer Barbara Diamond and her associate Ma- rina Moro. Diamond has been holding workshops on implicit bias and microaggression theory since 2012. “We start by talking about peoples childhood,” Diamond told the Labor Press. “People haven’t communicated well with each other about what their life experience has been.” Diamond, who since retired from her law practice, is hopeful progress can be made. What’s now considered sexual harass- ment was once just assumed to be how women would be treated in the workplace, until it gradu- ally became unacceptable, Dia- mond said. One training Safe From Hate is considering promoting indus- try-wide is a program called Green Dot. Used by general contractor Hoffman Construc- tion on the recently completed Multnomah County Courthouse project, it trains bystanders to intervene when one worker ha- rasses another. “It took us 20 years to get safety where it is today,” says Penny Painter, a 20-year carpen- ter who now manages the BOLI-Oregon Department of Transportation Workforce Pro- gram. “The culture in the con- struction industry is not going to change overnight. However it is going to change. Those that want it to happen are ecstatic about this work being done. And those that don’t might want to think about getting on board.” ‘Chips & Slivers’ A book of poems, short stories & photos — 30 years of logging recollections by DeSautel — now available for $16 + $3 handling P.O. Box 276, Philo- math, OR, 97370 or call Terry at 541-740-0268 Low Prices! Coats, etc. Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6
