Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (May 7, 2021)
SERVING ORGANIZED LABOR IN OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON SINCE 1900 LABOR PRESS VOLUME 122, NUMBER 9 IN THIS ISSUE BREAKTHROUGH DEAL AT AVAMERE Union gets industry leading pay at nursing home chain | Page 2 THE STAND TURNS 10 It’s Washington’s only news outlet devoted to unions and working people | Page 8 Meeting Notices p.6 Unionization elections p.7 PORTLAND, OREGON May 18 Special Election Endorsements of the NW Oregon Labor Council BEAVERTON CITY COUNCIL Councilor, Position 1 : A SHLEY H ARTMEIER -P RIGG CENTENNIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT School Board, Position 6, at-large : E RICA F ULLER DAVID DOUGLAS SCHOOL DISTRICT School Board, Position 3 : D EIAN S ALAZAR MULTNOMAH EDUCATION DISTRICT Director, Position 3, Zone 2: M ARY B OTKIN NORTH CLACKAMAS SCHOOL DISTRICT School Board, Position 6 : L ARS B EST PORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE Board of Directors, Zone 1 : L AURIE C REMONA W AGNER Board of Directors, Zone 4 : S ERIN B USSELL Board of Directors, Zone 7 : R EIKO M IA W ILLIAMS MAY 7, 2021 OIT strike over Faculty at the Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) were the last at any Oregon public university to unionize, launching Oregon Tech-American As- sociation of University Professors (OT-AAUP) in 2018. On April 26, 2021—with no union contract 555 days after bargaining began—they became the first faculty at any Oregon public university to strike. Eight days later, on May 4, university adminis- trators came to terms on a tentative agreement that union negotiators say provides fair wages, reason- able workload, and secure benefits. The biggest roadblock had been a management proposal to tie all raises to merit (as determined by administrators), and allocate a fixed pot of money for those raises, placing faculty in compe- tition. In the end, management agreed to guaran- teed increases of 2% to 3% each year through the life of the contract, including a 2% raise retroac- tive to last year. Faculty salaries at OIT are under $70,000 on average, the union says. OIT is a polytechnic university, teaching highly specialized courses on subjects like nuclear med- icine and molecular imaging. It has campuses in Klamath Falls and Wilsonville. So OT-AAUP members were shocked when the school brought on a company called Focus EduVation to provide replacement instructors for online classes. That didn’t go over well with students, either. Some Photo by Emma Morris NORTHWEST students confronted instructors about being strike- breakers, and reported that instructors told them they’d been deceived, told they were COVID re- placements, not striker replacements. Support for the strike was overwhelming. The vote to authorize it was 92%. Daily picket lines were well-attended and spirited. Teamsters re- fused to cross picket lines to pick up garbage or deliver packages. On April 30, organized contin- gents of student supporters entered administration buildings in Klamath Falls and Wilsonville to chant demands for a fair contract. Faculty returned to work May 5 (after this issue went to press) and will vote on the agreement in the coming days. Once ratified, it will be in place through June 30, 2025. “We hope now that the healing can begin,” said union spokesperson Kari Lundgren. –DM PORTLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS School Board, Zone 4 : P ASTOR H ERMAN G REENE PORT OF COLUMBIA COUNTY Commissioner, Position 5 : B RIAN F AWCETT REYNOLDS SCHOOL DISTRICT School Board, Position 4 : C AYLE T ERN Ballots must be submitted by 8 p.m. on May 18, 2021 Authorized and paid for by the Northwest Oregon Labor Council, 9955 SE Washington, St., Suite 305, Portland, OR 97216 A UNION GUIDE TO OREGON’S MAY 18 SPECIAL ELECTION See Page 6 Union accuses Kaiser of understaffing. Members of Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP) held an informational picket April 27 outside Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center to protest under- staffing among emergency room nurses. The union says understaffing is leading to unacceptably high turnover at in Sunnyside’s Emergency Department — 40 nurses (57%) have left in the last year. Members have begun posting “grave stones” in an employee locker room for each coworker that has left. Under the terms of a longstanding partnership agreement, Kaiser is supposed to work with the union to address con- cerns like that, but OFNHP spokesperson Shane Burley says local management has been canceling meetings and making changes without union members’ input. OFNHP has begun negotiations over a new contract as part of a national coalition of unions known as the Alliance of Healthcare Unions.
