SERVING ORGANIZED LABOR IN OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON SINCE 1900
NORTHWEST
LABOR
PRESS
VOLUME 122, NUMBER 1
IN THIS ISSUE
LABOR GOES TO THE CAPITOL In Salem and Olympia,
unions will push workers rights reforms in 2021 | Page 3
2020 IN REVIEW A look back at the labor movement
highlights in a very strange year | Page 8
Meeting Notices p.6
Presents from Partners p.12
PORTLAND, OREGON
JANUARY 1, 2021
NATIONAL
New COVID relief bill passes Congress, signed by president
A new round of aid is headed to
jobless workers, struggling busi-
nesses and to people who are do-
ing just fine, as part of a long-
awaited relief bill that was signed
into law Dec. 27.
The bill included a $900 bil-
lion package billed as coron-
avirus stimulus, combined with
$1.4 trillion in government fund-
ing, a water infrastructure bill,
and dozens of other unrelated
bits of legislation. It’s the longest
bill ever passed by Congress, al-
most twice as long as the previ-
ous record. It was negotiated be-
hind closed doors by the
Democratic and Republican lead-
ers in the House and Senate, with
Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin representing the White
House. Released at 2 p.m. Dec.
21, it passed hours later, with no
hearings and no amendments, by
lawmakers who couldn’t possibly
have read what they were voting
on. Officially, it was a 5,593-page
Senate amendment to a bill that
had passed the House, the U.S.-
Mexico Economic Partnership
Act, which promotes academic
and vocational exchanges. It
passed 92-6 in the Senate, with all
four Oregon and Washington sen-
ators voting for it. In the House it
was split into two bills: The stim-
ulus part passed 359-53 with sup-
port from all Oregon and Wash-
ington representatives; the
government funding bill passed
327-85, with Oregon representa-
tives Earl Blumenauer and Peter
DeFazio voting against.
It was a chaotic and hurried
end to a process that dragged out
seven months, ever since the
House passed its version of a sec-
ond-round stimulus bill May 15.
The first round, known as the
CARES Act, passed in March
and included a $600-a-week in-
crease in unemployment benefits
and a one-time check of $1,200
per adult taxpayer. The supple-
mental unemployment benefit
expired July 31, but Senate Ma-
jority Leader Mitch McConnell
(R-KY) refused to allow a vote
on an extension.
As this issue went to press,
Congress was considering in-
creasing the new stimulus check
from $600 to $2,000.
-DM
WHAT’S IN THE BILL
Stimulus checks A one-time $600 cash payment per adult, plus $600 per child.
[Payments phase out for those with incomes over $75,000 ($150,000 per household)]
Enhanced unemployment benefits An extra $300 a week through March 14.
Help for small businesses $285 billion for a second round of the Paycheck Protection
Program for small businesses impacted by the pandemic [Businesses and nonprofits
with under 300 employees whose revenues dropped at least a quarter can get a
forgivable loan of up to 2.5 times average monthly payroll costs, up to $2 million.]
Help for renters Eviction moratorium extended to Jan. 31; $25 billion in rent assistance
Help for industries $15 billion to extend the Payroll Support Program for aviation
workers to April 1; $1 billion in payroll grants for airline contractor employees; $15
billion for theaters and other live venues; $82 billion for schools and universities; $10
billion for child care; $14 billion for transit systems, Amtrak and airports.
COVID vaccine $69 billion to speed distribution of the vaccine
Enhanced food stamps $13 billion to increase food stamp benefits by 15%
Special interest tax breaks $9 billion for the alcohol industry, $6.3 billion for business
lunches; and other tax breaks for fossil fuel and alternative fuel producers, NASCAR
racetrack owners, electric motorcycle makers, and thoroughbred horse owners
UNION ORGANIZING
WORKERS’ RIGHTS
Workers unionize at So Delicious Dairy Free
Gov. Kate Brown proposes more
money for labor law enforcement
By Don McIntosh
At So Delicious Dairy Free in
Springfield, Oregon, a unit of 107
workers has joined Teamsters Lo-
cal 206. How they did it is rare:
In an era when most companies
hire union busters, So Delicious
voluntarily recognized the union
after letting workers make their
decision on the union without in-
terference.
So Delicious, which makes
non-dairy frozen desserts, is a
subsidiary of the giant French
multinational Danone, best
known in the United States for
its Dannon yogurt brand.
Danone acquired So Delicious
in 2017 when it bought natural
foods conglomerate White
Wave. Danone then signed a
union neutrality agreement with
the Teamsters, United Food and
Commercial Workers (UFCW),
and the Bakers Union covering
facilities in the United States.
Under the agreement, once a
union demonstrates it has sup-
port from 30% of a unit, union
organizers can enter the work
site to talk with workers on
break.
“This is the way the process
should work,” said Teamsters
Dairy Conference director
Rome Aloise.
The Springfield effort began
when union rep Mark MacPher-
son handed out fliers announcing
a day-long open house at the
union hall half a mile down the
road. It was billed as a chance to
ask questions and find out what
Dannon workers in Portland had
won through Teamsters represen-
tation. MacPherson says 55
workers showed up to the event,
and 53 signed union cards on the
spot. At that point the company
let the union set up a tent in the
parking lot. Two weeks later, the
election took place.
MacPherson said Dannon is a
socially conscious company that
treats employees well. At the
Danone-owned YoCream plant in
Northeast Portland, the company
joined the Teamsters Western
Conference pension plan; it’s rare
these days for newly union com-
panies to sign onto a guaranteed
pension. Still, workers at the So
Delicious plant in Springfield
have things they’d like to im-
prove. The lowest paid jobs aren’t
much above minimum wage, and
a mandatory six-day workweek is
causing burnout and turnover.
Oregon Labor Commissioner
Val Hoyle — having worked
two years to get the most bang
out of the budget she inherited
from predecessor Brad Avak-
ian — is asking the Oregon
Legislature to give her agency
an additional 25 full-time staff.
That would bring Oregon Bu-
reau of Labor and Industries
(BOLI) to 131.5 staff — back
to its staffing level of 22 years
ago, when Oregon’s popula-
tion was four-fifths what it is
today.
BOLI’s mission is to protect
the rights of Oregon’s 1.9 mil-
lion workers under state labor
and civil rights laws, and to
oversee apprentice training
programs. Judging by three
decades of flat or declining
staff levels at BOLI, those
things haven’t been a priority
for the Oregon Legislature.
Hoyle hopes to change that,
making a case that protecting
workers’ rights is worth the in-
vestment.
On Dec. 1, her request got a
half thumbs-up from Governor
Kate Brown. In the governor’s
recommended
two-year
budget for 2021-23, Brown
proposed giving BOLI the
equivalent of 11 additional
staff, though Brown didn’t
support Hoyle’s proposal of
creating a six-person enforce-
ment unit to police labor laws
in the cannabis industry.
Hoyle was grateful, she said
in a Dec. 1 press statement.
“For decades, Oregon has
not fully invested in the critical
work of this agency,” Hoyle
said in the statement. “The Bu-
reau of Labor and Industries is
less than half the size it was 40
years ago.”
In the end, neither Hoyle
nor Brown will determine
BOLI’s budget. That’s up to
the Legislature, its Joint Ways
and Means Committee, and
particularly the Ways and
Means Subcommittee on
Transportation and Economic
Development. Based on past
practice, lawmakers will most
likely hold budget hearings in
February and March and vote
on the budget in mid-May.