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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 5, 2021)
PAGE 2 | November 5, 2021 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS (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 ben- efit corporation owned by 20 unions and councils includ- ing the Oregon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union or- ganizations 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: https://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 affilia- tion, if any. Group rates of 48 cents an issue per member — $11.52 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-ser- vices 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 PLEASE SHOW OUR ADVERTISERS YOU APPRECIATE THEIR SUPPORT FOR THIS LABOR MOVEMENT NEWSPAPER! Hours: Mon-Sat 12-6 pm Closed Sunday UNION ORGANIZING Comic book workers of the world, unite! Workers at Portland-based Im- age Comics announced Nov. 1 that they’re forming a union Comic Book Workers United, affiliated with Communications Workers of America (CWA). The announcement drew imme- diate congrats from national AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler. Founded in 1992 by a group of prominent comic book cre- ators, Image Comics has be- come the third largest comics publisher in the United States. It’s best known for the Spawn comic book series and for Invin- cible, a comic series that Ama- zon adapted as an animated se- ries this year. But a statement signed by nine of the company’s 12 em- ployees says too often they feel their labor is taken for granted and undervalued. “We love what we do,” they wrote. “But loving what you do doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t ask for improvements to your working conditions.” Workers are asking the com- pany to voluntarily recognize their union. CWA Region 7 organizer Ted Hooker says there haven’t been any recognized unions in the comic industry. These workers organized themselves, and then reached out to CWA. Visit http://bit.ly/cbwupdx to find out more about the cam- paign and sign up for updates. –DM Bus drivers win raises up to $6 an hour Given a tight labor market and especially a driver shortage, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757 recently negotiated big wage increases in several Portland-area bar- gaining units. The biggest were at First Student, which provides school bus service to Portland Public Schools. Local 757 agreed to reopen its current con- tract there, and negotiated an immediate $6 an hour increase for about 300 workers. The two sides extended the contract through Aug. 31, 2027, and the top wage in the final year will be $36.95 an hour. Local 757 pres- ident Shirley Block said members were ecstatic, jumping up and down at the Oct. 15 ratification meet- ing. Another group of drivers who work di- rectly for Portland Public Schools also got raises of $3 an hour, bringing them to a starting wage of $22.64 and a top wage of $31.58. About 215 paratransit drivers working for a TriMet contractor also won big raises. Earlier this year, TriMet canceled its con- tract with First Transit to operate TriMet Lift and gave it instead to a company called TransDev. Local 757 met with the new contractor and after a rocky start was able to negotiate similar contract terms, plus improved medical insurance and raises of close to $3 an hour over the next three years. Ratified by mem- bers Oct. 25, it will increase the top wage rate from $28.02 cur- rently to $30.90 in 2024. Block said every transit dis- trict the union represents is cur- rently hiring drivers. –DM Workers authorize strike at Vancouver Public Schools By an 89% margin, members of Vancouver Association of Education Support Profes- sionals (VAESP) voted Oct. 26 to authorize their leader- ship to call a strike if they can’t get an acceptable con- tract with Vancouver Public Schools. The priority issues are inadequate pay and a short staffing crisis. They’ve been working without a contract since Aug. 31. VAESP, an affiliate of Washington Education Asso- ciation, represents approxi- mately 600 school support workers at the district, in- cluding clerks, secretaries, aquatic coordinators, tech support personnel, and para- educators who work with special education students. Paraeducators are the most numerous classification in the union, and they say a se- vere staffing shortage is com- promising safety in the class- room. The two sides were sched- uled to meet again with the assistance of a state mediator Nov. 3, after this issue went to press. –DM
