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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 2019)
A3 THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019 Grocery workers vote to approve strike if wage negotiations collapse By REBECCA ELLIS Oregon Public Broadcasting Don Ryan/AP Photo Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, shown here in 2016, told the U.S. Supreme Court that Oregon’s criminal justice system would be ‘overwhelmed’ if the nation’s highest court rules that nonunanimous jury verdicts are unconstitutional. Oregon defends previous nonunanimous jury verdicts AG cites risk of new trials By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press SALEM — Oregon’s criminal justice system would be “overwhelmed” if the U.S. Supreme Court rules in an upcoming case that nonunanimous jury ver- dicts are unconstitutional, the state’s attorney general has told the court. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said in an amicus brief on Friday that if the Supreme Court fi nds nonunanimous juries unconstitutional, it could invalidate hundreds or even thousands of convictions in Oregon. Oregon is the only state allowing 11-1 or 10-2 jury verdicts in criminal trials, except fi rst-degree murder convictions. Critics say Rosenblum is defending a system that should be abandoned, as voters in Louisiana, the only other state that permitted nonunanimous verdicts, did in 2018. “The state’s brief pres- ents a parade of horribles that may or may not come to pass. However, that is not a reason to continue a practice rooted in racial and ethnic discrimination,” said Marc Brown, a public defender in Oregon whose clients include ones appeal- ing nonunanimous guilty verdicts. The decision by Louisi- ana voters was not retroac- tive, and took effect in Jan- uary. The Supreme Court this fall will hear a case of Evangelisto Ramos, a Lou- isiana man convicted by a nonunanimous jury in 2016 of second-degree murder of a woman in New Orle- ans. Ramos is serving a life sentence with no chance of parole. Michael Kron, special counsel to Oregon’s attor- ney general, said that if the Supreme Court rules in favor of Ramos, it would be reversing its 1972 ruling that the U.S. Constitution does not bar states from allowing nonunanimous verdicts. Rosenblum told the Supreme Court that if it overturns that ruling and decides that nonunanimous juries are unconstitutional, Oregon’s criminal justice system will be glutted. “Such a ruling would automatically require retrial in many hundreds, if not thousands, of cases on direct review,” Rosenblum told the court. Even convictions that were unanimous could be called into question, because a judge instruct- ing jurors that they could reach a nonunanimous deci- sion could be grounds for an appeal. OREGON CAPITAL INSIDER Get the inside scoop on state government and politics! ‘THE STATE’S BRIEF PRESENTS A PARADE OF HORRIBLES THAT MAY OR MAY NOT COME TO PASS. HOWEVER, THAT IS NOT A REASON TO CONTINUE A PRACTICE ROOTED IN RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISCRIMINATION.’ Marc Brown | public defender in Oregon “In many cases, particu- larly the older cases, retrial will likely be impossible because of the impact that the passage of time will have on the prosecution’s case as witnesses disappear, memories fade, and evi- dence is lost,” the attorney general wrote. Several Oregon lawmak- ers recently sponsored a res- olution calling for a bal- lot measure to repeal an amendment to the state con- stitution allowing nonunan- imous verdicts. The reso- lution unanimously passed the state House, but died in Senate as it dealt with a walkout by Republicans in the fi nal days of the legisla- tive session. The decision by Ore- gon voters in 1934 to allow split-jury verdicts was fueled by white supremacy and anti-minority sentiment. One newspaper said immi- grants from southern and eastern Europe had made the requirement for unan- imous verdicts “unwieldy and unsatisfactory.” Rosenblum said she sup- ports a repeal, noting the jury rule’s links to racism and anti-Semitism. But she said such a change should be for cases “going for- ward,” not retroactively. Aliza Kaplan, a pro- fessor at Portland’s Lewis & Clark Law School who has campaigned to elim- inate nonunanimous jury verdicts, said only doz- ens — not hundreds — of cases would be affected by a Supreme Court ruling in favor of Ramos. “The attorney general has an opportunity to be on the correct side of history and champion getting rid of nonunanimous juries,” Kaplan said. “Instead, she chooses to support a policy that we all know, and that she acknowledges, comes from our racist history.” Brown, the public defender, said he doubts a Supreme Court ruling would create a crisis for the state’s judicial system. Oregon’s appeals courts would deter- mine its retroactive appli- cation “by applying well- known legal standards.” “Our courts are certainly up to that task,” he said. Grocery workers from across Oregon and south- west Washington state have voted to approve a strike if negotiations with four of the region’s largest super- market chains deadlock. The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, a union represent- ing more than 20,000 gro- cery workers in the region, has been pushing Albert- sons, Fred Meyer, QFC and Safeway to increase work- ers’ wages as negotiators hammer out new contracts for members. After tallying up the fi nal batch of votes from union members in Baker City over the weekend, Kelley McAllister, com- munications director for the union, said it’s clear members across the region “overwhelmingly” support calling a strike if future negotiations with employ- ers fall through. The next meeting between the two parties is Thursday . “It’s possible we reach a tentative agreement,” McAllister said. “And it’s possible they throw the stuff on the table and say, ‘Our economic conditions are not their problem,’ and they walk away. If they do that, that’s not good. That feels to me like asking for a strike.” McAllister added it’s also possible no resolution Grocery workers are in contract negotiations with Fred Meyer and other stores. is reached and the negotia- tions spill over into future meetings. Jeffery Temple, director of corporate affairs for Fred Meyer Stores, Inc., said the company will come to the table with offers of larger wage increases than those approved in the last two contracts, as well as a pen- sion and benefi ts package that allows most employees to pay $30 a month or less for health care. The com- pany hopes the bargain- ing items, which Temple calls “pretty aggressive,” will avert picketing outside Fred Meyer stores. “A strike doesn’t help anybody, and it certainly doesn’t help the negotia- tion process,” Temple said. “We’re really just focused on avoiding a strike.” What a strike would look like remains up in the air. McAllister said noth- ing’s been ruled out: All of the union’s 20,000 grocery workers could walk out at the same time, leaving some of the region’s big- gest supermarkets virtually unstaffed; the strike might start with suburban stores and then move into the cit- ies; or they might choose to target just one employer. “I think that will depend where our bargaining leads us on Thursday,” McAllis- ter said. To avoid a strike, McAl- lister said the bargaining team would need to see an offer of a “notable” wage increase on the table. Union negotiators are also asking for a big bump in pay for workers in the bakery, deli and cheese departments, positions they believe are traditionally fi lled by females. A new study, com- missioned by the union, found a median wage gap of $3.70 per hour between men and women work- ing under the grocery con- tract at Portland-area Fred Meyer stores. The study’s author attributed the wage gap to the low-paying posi- tions for which women were hired. Fun at the Fort Labor Day Weekend Saturday & Sunday | August 31st - Sept 1st | 11am-3pm Celebrate Labor Day weekend at Fort Stevens State Park! Experience history on a free guided truck or battery tour. Play disc golf at the park’s brand-new course and win prizes, plus crafts and JR Beaver appearances for the kids. Special this year: check out the fort’s newly restored gun battery! • Play disc golf + win prizes • Play disc golf + win prizes • • Guided of the the historic historic fort fort Guided tours tours of • • Free all weekend weekend Free event event parking parking all BBQ lunch • • Hot Dog BBQ Crafts for for the the kids kids • • Crafts • Meet JR Beaver • Meet JR Beaver Fort Stevens State Park 503-861-2000 www.oregonstateparks.org I got screened. Now, I’m talking about it. Screening can prevent colorectal cancer or catch the #2 cancer killer early when it’s highly treatable. Most people get screened because they’re encouraged by someone they know and trust. So if you’ve been screened, please talk about your experience. And encourage others to get screened too. COLORECTAL CANCER The cancer you can prevent. TheCancerYouCanPrevent.org Gretchen Darnell Seaside, Oregon A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded campaign
