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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (March 19, 2021)
PAGE 2 | March 19, 2021 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 in Portland, Oregon as a voice of the la- bor 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 corpo- ration owned by 20 unions and councils including the Ore- gon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Oregon 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 & Manager: Michael Gutwig Senior staff reporter: 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 a year for union members, $23 a year for all others. Pay by credit card online at nwlaborpress.org/subscribe, or send a check to our mailing address (above) along with your name, address and union affiliation, if any. Group rates of 47 cents an issue per member — $11.28 a year are available for 25 or more subscriptions; 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: If you move, let us know at nwlaborpress.org/subscriber-services or by mail at our mailing address (above). Be sure to provide your old and new addresses and the name/number of your local union. Please allow three weeks for the change to take effect. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS P.O. BOX 13150 PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150 ...After nine day strike, St. Charles commits to bargain From Page 1 34 to join OFNHP on Sept. 5, 2019. Faced with intransigence and disrespect, 145 workers voted to authorize the strike— 94% of the bargaining unit. The workers are specialists in 22 sep- arate fields, including anesthesia, surgery, nuclear medicine, en- doscopy, pharmacy, and diagnos- tic technologies like ultrasound, X-ray, and CAT scan. That means they’re not easy to re- place. In bargaining, St. Charles played a combination of hard- ball and hard-to-get. OFNHP spokesperson Shane Burley said hospital negotiators refused to agree to the kind of standard union step pay schedule in which workers at the same ex- perience and skill level are paid the same for the same work. De- spite Bend’s high cost of living, Burley said the St. Charles techs are very underpaid compared to their counterparts in Portland. St. Charles also balked at the standard “union security” clause (a requirement that all repre- sented workers share the union representation costs). Instead, the hospital adopted the stance of anti-union “right-to-work” states, which insist that union dues be voluntary, in order to bleed unions of resources. Federal law requires union employers to meet and bargain in good faith, but after meeting 28 times, St. Charles manage- ment walked out after a Dec. 3 negotiating session and declined to schedule further meetings. Months passed. OFNHP said re- peatedly it was ready and avail- able to meet any time, even nights, weekends, and holidays. On Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, OFNHP members held informational pickets to demand that St. Charles Medical Center return to the table. St. Charles agreed, but wouldn’t consider any dates before March 10. So OFNHP held the strike vote, and on Feb. 22, gave a legally required 10-day strike notice. Normally when that hap- pens, employers scramble to make a deal to avoid the disrup- tion. Not St. Charles, which was content to stick with a scheduled March 10 session with a media- tor, six days into the strike. St. Charles even asked a fed- eral court to prevent the strike, but its plea was rejected by the judge. Workers walked off the job to cheers and elbow bumps from doctors and nurses at the hospi- tal. And on their picket line, strikers experienced firsthand the support of the community. Deschutes County District At- torney John Hummel and State Rep. Jason Kropf (D-Bend) walked the picket line with them. So did members of other local unions. The Teamsters union sanctioned the strike so represented truck drivers could refuse to cross the picket lines for deliveries. At least 270 sup- porters contributed a total of $36,000 to the union strike fund. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) tweeted support for their cause. Meanwhile, inside, the strike was having an impact. St. Charles brought in some temporary replacements, but it’s not clear how effective they were. The hospital diverted pa- tients and cancelled procedures. In the end, the two sides were able to agree to get back to the table. OFNHP called an end to the strike, and workers returned to the hospital March 15. Hours: Mon-Sat 12-6 pm Closed Sunday PLEASE SHOW OUR ADVERTISERS YOU APPRECIATE THEIR SUPPORT FOR THIS LABOR MOVEMENT NEWSPAPER!
