Federal Court to Hear Challenge to Oregon's Worker Freedom

April 2, 2010:NWLP 3/29/10 5:32 PM Page 1 Inside See MEETIING NOTIICES Page 4 Volume 111 Number 7 April 2, 2010 Portland, Oregon Stamping out Federal court to hear Saturday mail not the answer challenge to Oregon’s Postmaster General John Potter’s proposal to eliminate Saturday mail de - Worker Freedom Act livery would be the most radical change to postal operations in the 230-year his - By DON McINTOSH tion, as federal law allows. The state law tory of the U.S. Mail, says Jim Cook, Associate Editor just says they can’t threaten, fire, or oth - president of the Portland-based Na - U.S. District Court judge Michael erwise discipline workers for refusing tional Association of Letter Carriers Mosman will hear from both sides April to participate. And, they argue, it’s well- Branch 82. 9 in a business group lawsuit that seeks established that states may limit what The Postal Service Board of Gover - to strike down worker freedom of con - an employer may fire a worker for. nors on March 24 approved Potter’s re - science legislation passed by the Ore - AOI and the Chamber also claim, in quest to cut most Saturday deliveries. gon Legislature. written arguments submitted to Judge On March 30, the Board filed a request The Worker Freedom Act, which Mosman, that the law is “a flat ban on a for an advisory opinion with the Postal took effect Jan. 1, makes it illegal for broad category of speech before it oc - Regulatory Commission. Any change Oregon employers to punish workers curs.” in delivery, however, would require for refusing to take part in mandatory Not so, respond Oregon Department congressional approval. workplace meetings in which employ - of Justice attorneys: The Worker Free - In a press release, Cook said there ers discourage unionization. Those ses - dom Act restricts conduct, not speech. are no comprehensive studies showing Rally at Bend Fred Meyer sions, which both sides in the lawsuit The right to fire a worker isn’t protected that cutting Saturday service would refer to as “captive audience” meetings, by the First Amendment. And plaintiffs Members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 joined with are a primary tool employers and anti- haven’t explained why employers “can - solve the economic problems facing the community and faith leaders from Central Oregon March 19 in a show of USPS, which lost $3.8 billion in 2009. union consultants use to defeat union not communicate their views to their support for workers who are trying to get a new contract at the Fred Meyer campaigns. employees without compelling their at - More than 100,000 jobs already store in Bend. Rev. Daniel Klingler delivered a petition signed by over 100 have been eliminated through attrition The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, tendance by threats or punishment.” community and faith leaders to the store director in support of the workers. along with its affiliate Associated Ore - Marquette University law professor over the last two-and-a-half years, and Grocery workers, meat cutters, and central checkout clerks at Fred Meyer are hundreds of post offices are scheduled gon Industries (AOI), filed the federal Paul Secunda, one of the five signers of seeking a contract similar to ones ratified earlier this year at Safeway and lawsuit Dec. 22, and named Oregon La - the amicus brief, said the free speech ar - to close, including two in Oregon. Albertsons stores in Bend, Redmond, and Madras. “The workers at Bend Fred “If the public postal service disap - bor Commissioner Brad Avakian and guments are likely to hold little weight. Meyer deserve no less than the workers at Safeway and Albertsons,” said Local Portland-headquartered Laborers Local Instead the case will probably be de - pears, private delivery companies, 555 President Dan Clay. The Fred Meyer employees have been working under based on profit motive, will not fill the 296 as defendants. cided on whether or not the Worker terms of the previous contract, which expired July 26, 2008. However, that The Worker Freedom Act applies to Freedom Act is pre-empted by the void of the universal delivery service extension agreement ended March 18. Photo by Donna Nyberg. mandated by the U.S. Constitution,” “meetings or communications” to com - NLRA. Cook said. municate an employer’s religious or po - The judge could also dismiss the suit Eliminating Saturday delivery, Cook litical opinions, but its applicability to on a technicality, however, leaving the continued, could seriously impact sen - union campaigns is the central issue for legal issues undecided. Oregon Depart - ior citizens and others who get their pre - Congress passes historic both sides. ment of Justice attorneys argued that scription drugs through the mail, and AOI and the Chamber argue that the AOI and the Chamber were wrong to would inconvenience those who live in Worker Freedom Act is pre-empted by sue Avakian, since he hasn’t enforced rural areas, where the Postal Service’s health insurance reform the National Labor Relations Act, and and doesn’t intend to enforce the law. competitors do not deliver. that the new law would unconstitution - As spelled out in the law, enforcement American Postal Workers Union On March 25, health insurance re - level ($14,404 for individuals/$29,326 ally restrict employers’ First Amend - is by private legal action: Employees President William Burrus told a U.S. form legislation passed — after a year for a family of four) — rising to 9.5 ment rights of free speech. fired or otherwise disciplined for refus - Senate subcommittee March 18 that the of debate, multiple versions, hundreds percent of income for those at 400 per - The National Labor Relations Act ing to participate can sue for triple dam - central cause of USPS’ financial diffi - of town halls and months of procedural cent of the poverty level ($43,320 for governs the process by which most pri - ages and attorney’s fees. Marcia culties is a congressionally-imposed re - hurdles. It’s a complicated law, 2,310 individuals/$88,200 for a family of vate-sector workers unionize. The U.S. Ohlemiller, Avakian’s legal policy ad - quirement to prepay retiree health care pages long. four). Supreme Court has ruled that the act viser, explained that to attorneys for obligations, and a flawed method for The core element, beginning in The tax penalties, phasing in from pre-empts, or overrides, any state laws AOI and the Chamber the day before computing USPS obligations to the 2014, is a de facto requirement that 2014 to 2016, will total $695 per per - that try to cover the same ground. the suit was filed. But they told her that Civil Service Retirement Fund. uninsured adults under 65 purchase son, $2,085 per family — or 2.5 percent Avakian’s legal defense is being han - in order to proceed with the lawsuit, “Absent this pre-funding burden, the health insurance in government-regu - of household income — whichever is dled by the Oregon Department of Jus - they would need to name a defendant Postal Service would have experienced lated state-by-state exchanges, aided by greater; after that, penalties increase an - tice, and Local 296 is represented by at - that was part of the State of Oregon. a cumulative surplus of $3.7 billion over subsidies, and enforced by tax penal - nually by inflation. Penalty exceptions torneys David Rosenfeld of Alameda, Laborers Local 296 is a similarly cu - the last three fiscal years, despite declin - ties. The state exchanges, administered will be granted for financial hardship California, and Giles Gibson of Port - rious defendant, sued largely because it ing mail volume, an economy in chaos, by government agencies or non-profits, and religious objectors. land. Attorneys for the defense, along refused to assure AOI and Chamber at - and electronic diversion,” Burrus said. will serve as clearinghouses for private Medicaid, the government insur - with five labor law professors who filed torneys that it wouldn’t encourage em - Burrus and other union officials are insurance plans, which will be avail - ance program for the poor, will expand a friend-of-the-court brief, say pre-emp - ployees at a local cooked meat proces - urging Congress to rescind the pre- able at five benefit levels. Subsidies, in 2014 to cover everyone under 65 tion wouldn’t apply to a law like the sor to file individual lawsuits under the funding provisions. Doing so, they say, available on a sliding scale, will limit years of age who earns less than 133 Worker Freedom Act. The State of Ore - Worker Freedom Act. [For details, see would make the elimination of Satur - premiums to 2 percent of income for percent of the poverty level. [Right gon isn’t saying employers can’t hold related article, “BrucePac union cam - day mail delivery unnecessary. those at 133 percent of the poverty (Turn to Page 3) meetings to express views on unioniza - (Turn to Page 2) April 2, 2010:NWLP 3/29/10 5:32 PM Page 2 BrucePac union campaign becomes test case for legal battle over captive audience meetings By DON McINTOSH why the law is needed in the first place. It would be illegal to fire workers for migration and Customs Enforcement. tions since the law took effect. Associate Editor BrucePac is a privately-held cooked supporting a union, so BrucePac cov - But more to the point of the lawsuit, AOI found two other business mem - Two business groups, Associated meat and poultry processor with a ered its tracks, union reps say, by laying before the Worker Freedom Act took ef - bers willing to become test cases by Oregon Industries (AOI) and the U.S.

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