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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2021)
SERVING ORGANIZED LABOR IN OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON SINCE 1900 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS VOLUME 122, NUMBER 19 IN THIS ISSUE HOSPITAL TECHS WIN UNION IN THE DALLES Lopsided vote is a smackdown to union-busters. | Page 7 BENEFICIAL BANK WORKERS GET FIRST CONTRACT The bank was founded by billionaire Tom Steyer. | Page 6 Meeting Notices p.4 NOLC officer election p.8 PORTLAND, OREGON OCTOBER 1, 2021 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING Hollywood strike could be coming Nabisco strike ends after 39 days Photo by Dan O’Donnell By Don McIntosh A 39-day nationwide strike at Nabisco by members of the Bakers union ended Sept. 19, and workers returned to the job Sept. 23. Members of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco and Grain Millers (BCTGM) struck rather than accept concessions demanded by highly-profitable Mondelez-Nabisco, and by the end the company got the mes- sage. Nabisco dropped its “two- tier” proposal to provide less generous health benefits to fu- ture hires, and its proposal to shift workers to an “alternative work schedule” of three or four 12-hour shifts a week. Instead workers ratified a compromise that preserves their right to time- and-a-half pay after eight hours and on Saturdays (and double time on Sundays) but also lets the company pay some workers straight time for weekend work. Three Oregon productions em- ploying 300 crew members would also be affected. SOLIDARITY IS A MUSCLE. In Portland and elsewhere, Nabisco strikers en- countered extraordinary support, both on the picket lines and off. The new contract workers ratified continues a March 2021 2.25% pay increase, and adds $0.60 an hour raises in years two and three; current pay is about $29.60 for most. Workers also get a $5,000 ratification bonus, and next March the 401(k) match will double (to 50% of the first 6% of salary an employee contributes.) Workers were striking to pre- serve what they have, and what they have is remarkable by the Turn to Page 8 By Don McIntosh National contract negotiations between TV and film produc- ers and the union IATSE are near impasse, and members are expected to take a strike vote any day. The talks cover a pair of na- tional contracts that set wages and conditions for 60,000 be- hind-the-scenes production workers in more than 30 spe- cialties, from set designers and prop makers to gaffers and set painters. The contracts expired July 31, and were extended to Sept. 10 by mutual agreement. But talks broke down Sept. 3 and have not resumed, and no further negotiations were scheduled as of when this issue went to press. IATSE Local 488 vice pres- ident cdavid cottrill, a member of the national bargaining team, says a key reason no agreement has been reached is that the employer group has re- fused to address concerns about overwork and lack of breaks. In union bargaining, the Al- liance of Motion Picture and Television Producers repre- sents traditional Hollywood studios as well as streaming film and tv producers like Net- flix, Amazon Prime, Apple, HBO, and Paramount+. Work Turn to Page 6 2021 OREGON BUILDING TRADES CONVENTION REPORT Delegates backed a candidate for governor and committed to fight racism in the construction industry. By Don McIntosh SUNRIVER, Oregon—It was the first union convention to take place in Oregon since COVID-19 hit in March 2020. Sixty-five del- egates—representing over 33,000 members of 27 local unions—as- sembled Sept. 14-16 at Central Oregon’s Sunriver Resort for the 59th Convention of the Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council (OSBCTC). They gave Tina Kotek her first signifi- cant endorsement for Oregon gov- ernor, voted to ensure that the council and its political action committee will have adequate staff and resources, and re-elected the council’s leadership to new four- year terms. Like at its previous conven- tions, the agenda was full of op- portunities to hear from guests and allies, like regular attendee Val Hoyle, Oregon’s Labor Commis- sioner. Hoyle reported on the many ways her agency is ramping up enforcement of labor laws. For example, her division chief Sonia Ramirez is trying to be more strategic in enforcing wage and hour laws. “It’s not dinging someone if they’re slightly out of ratio for ap- prenticeship,” Hoyle said. Instead it’s going after employers who are repeatedly stealing wages. “Somebody said to me, ‘It’s not like fines change behavior.’ Well, they’re not fining them enough,” Hoyle told delegates. “We want them to see that it’s going to be more expensive to break a law than it is to follow it. And that means all the contractors that are following the rules don’t have to compete with these bottom feeders that have been getting an unfair advantage.” Hoyle also said she’s working on an agreement with the Mult- nomah County District Attorney’s office to prosecute employers who break wage and hour laws. In 2016, the Oregon Legislature made it a felony for a contractor to knowingly violate the state pre- vailing wage law, but no such criminal cases have been pursued since then. “We are going to criminally prosecute these bottom feeders who have been getting away for years at stealing from workers,” Hoyle said. Kotek’s first big endorsement Besides Hoyle, Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek was the high- est profile state official to attend the convention in person this year, and Kotek validated what a groundbreaking year 2021 was for building trades unions in the State Capitol. Lawmakers approved a new and simpler way of setting the state prevailing wage based on Turn to Page 3 FOUR MORE YEARS. Oregon State Building & Construction Trades Coun- cil convention delegates re-elected Robert Camarillo as executive secre- tary-treasurer. Camarillo has served that role since May 2018, after work- ing as an Ironworkers organizer.
