JAN, 21, 2011:NWLP 1/18/11 10:35 AM Page 1 See Inside MEETIING NOTIICES Page 6 Volume 112 Number 2 Jan. 21, 2011 Portland, Oregon State, private contract bargaining abounds in 2011 A number of large union contracts will be coming up for contract bargaining cycle that affects much of the region. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) renegotiation in Oregon in 2011. In the past, the big three unionized grocery employers — Local 125 has been engaged in tough bargaining over a con - To defend their living standards, union members will need Fred Meyer, Safeway, and Albertsons — have pushed for the tract covering 417 workers at PacifiCorp that comes up for re - to come together in support of their bargaining teams, as em - terms worked out in the Eugene contracts to be the model for newal Jan. 25. PacifiCorp, parent company of Pacific Power, is ployers — both private and public sector — propose takebacks contracts in other units. This time, Local 555 will be inviting a multi-state electric utility and a subsidiary of Warren Buf - in a bad economy. representatives from all the other bargaining units to sit in on fett’s Mid-American Energy Holdings Company. The com - Contracts covering around 25,000 state workers will expire the negotiations — since they’re affected by the deal reached in pany proposed a long list of takebacks, including: cutting the June 30. The two major unions representing state workers — Eugene. percentage it contributes to health benefits; eliminating be - Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 503 and All told, about 5,000 members in Vancouver, Longview, reavement leave and three family sick days; and shifting a American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Em - Salem, Coos Bay, Newport, Medford, Roseburg, and Grants group of older workers who still are in a traditional pension ployees (AFSCME) — will have their hands full just holding Pass have contracts coming up for renewal, and thus a stake in plan into a 401(k) instead. on. The state will be grappling with a projected shortfall of the Eugene negotiations. The contract between Cascade General and the Metal over $3 billion during the next two year budget cycle. Local 555 also continues to bargain a contract for 600-plus Trades Council of Portland and Vicinity expires July 1. Cas - Also expiring June 30 is a contract covering about 3,000 employees at Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay and Lower cade General operates the Portland shipyard, one of the world’s members of AFSCME Local 88 at Multnomah County. The Umpqua Hospital in Reedsport. largest ship repair facilities, and employs between 300 and 600 county budget isn’t in as bad shape as the state’s. Bargaining is United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters (UA) Lo - union members at any one time. Eleven unions are party to the expected to start Feb. 1. cal 290 will be bargaining for 1,500 members employed by contract. Bargaining is slated to begin in March. The state’s largest private-sector union, United Food and members of the Plumbing and Mechanical Contractors Asso - At unionized hotels in the Portland-area, contracts cover - Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 555, will be trying a new ciation. The current contract expires March 31. ing about 400 workers will expire in June and July. UNITE approach in pattern bargaining with its grocery employer The contract between Laborers International Union of HERE Local 9 will be pushing for wage increases in the ne - group. Contracts covering over 600 grocery workers in Eu - North America (LIUNA) and the local chapter of Associated gotiations. gene expire Feb. 19. The Eugene units are the first in line in a General Contractors will expire on May 31. UA Local 290 and Fire Fighters promote home fire safety last year 1-0. Portland area, 10-plus in Astoria, Bend, As part of Local 290’s Winterhawks held a “Local 290 Player of the Month” Apprentices and And though the event was meant for Coos Bay, Eugene/Springfield, Kla - sponsorship, the union promotes its contest, whereby fans vote via the Win - fun and camaraderie, the more serious math Falls, Medford, and even Eureka, state-of-the-art apprenticeship training terhawks website for the hardest work - firefighters face issue at hand was promoting home fire California.” center. For the past several years it has ing player for the month. The winner is sprinkler systems. announced at a pre-game ceremony and off for ‘broomball’ According to a study by the Fire Pro - an apprentice is selected by the Local tection Research Foundation, more than (Turn to Page 5) at Winterhawks 8 in 10 fire deaths occur in homes, yet the likelihood of someone dying in a hockey game home fire is cut in half when sprinklers Apprentices from Plumbers and Fit - are present. Plumbers and Fitters Local 290 ters Local 290 battled members of Fire Studies by the U.S. Fire Administra - apprentices retained the broomball Fighters Local 43 to a 0-0 tie in their an - tion indicate that residential fire sprin - hockey trophy following a 0-0 tie nual “broomball” hockey game to pro - kler systems can eliminate hundreds of against a team from Fire Fighters mote residential fire sprinkler systems. millions of dollars in property losses Local 43. Joining in the celebration The game was held Jan. 8 between and, of course, make it safer for fire - with Winterhawks mascot Toma- periods of the Portland Winterhawks- fighters, too. hawk are, back row left to right: Seattle Thunderbirds hockey game at Members of Local 290 and their sig - Travis Henke, Shane Halifax, Carla the Rose Garden. Local 290 and the natory contractors are trained to install Braun, Perry Wright, Kurt Cronin, Portland Mechanical Contractors Asso - home fire sprinkler systems. David Allen-Schublin and Sean ciation are sponsors of the Winter - “Local 290 provided classes on fire Gustaveson. In the bottom row, left hawks. Each year they, along with Lo - sprinkler code, design, calculations, and to right are: Andrew Cheney, Zach cal 43, promote fire safety through the installation for well over 500 of our Reinhardt, Jimmy Myers, Akuila broomball event. In broomball, contest - members,” said Jed Scheuermann, as - Ramaqa and Zach Wright. More ants don tennis shoes and plastic sistant coordinator at the training cen - than 10,000 fans watched the brooms and try to slap a foam ball into ter. “We have some 20 contractors well broomball match between periods of the net. Local 290 is the defending qualified to do installations. They in - the Portland-Seattle hockey game champion, having beat the firefighters clude approximately 10 in the metro- Jan. 8 at the Rose Garden. JAN, 21, 2011:NWLP 1/18/11 10:35 AM Page 2 Union pilots at U.S.-Korea trade Evergreen Airlines deal draws protests aut horize strike McMINNVILLE — Unionized pi - lots at Evergreen International Airlines in Portland, Eugene — a cargo airline headquartered in McMinnville, Oregon — voted over - Several dozen opponents of the pro - The Economic Policy Institute pre - whelmingly to strike if an agreement is posed U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agree - dicts that if the trade deal passes, within not reached with management. Bar - ment demonstrated Jan. 12 outside the seven years Korean imports will have gaining for a new union contract has Portland office of U.S. Sen. Ron displaced 888,000 more American been going on, without success, for six Wyden (D-OR). jobs. years. In December, U.S. and Korean trade “We’ll obviously gain some jobs, Evergreen International Airlines is a negotiators struck a deal that is ex - too, as a result of the agreement,” said cargo airline, operating a fleet of Boe - pected to bring the Korea FTA to the Arthur Stamoulis, director of the Ore - ing 747s out of New York (JFK) and floor of Congress early this year. It is gon Fair Trade Campaign, “but any Travis Air Force Base, California. The the biggest free trade deal since the way you cut it, Oregon should expect company is a subsidiary of privately- North American Free Trade Agreement thousands more job losses. What’s held Evergreen International Aviation, passed in 1994, and it is opposed by the worse, the jobs being lost pay much which also owns Evergreen Helicop - AFL-CIO and most labor unions. better than the jobs created.” ters, Inc. Among the crowd of demonstrators Madelyn Elder, president of Com - The saga began when pilots at Ever - in Portland was Kim Kyung-Ran, di - munications Workers of America Lo - green International Airlines formed rector of external relations for the Ko - cal 7901, said the Korea FTA “gives in - their own independent union, The Avi - rean Confederation of Trade Unions. vestment and legal protections to large ators’ Group (TAG) secured a union Kyung-Ran was on a West Coast tour multi-national corporations that shift contract in 1999. The contract ran speaking out against the trade pact. The jobs off shore in search of the lowest through the end of 2004. previous evening at the Machinists Hall labor and environmental costs — and Bargaining on a new contract began in Southeast Portland she presented a the highest profits. These protections in 2004, but went nowhere. Mediated talks began in 2005, supervised by the slide show exhibiting the opposition could overrule the common good of all Madelyn Elder, president of Communications Workers of America Local that is building against the trade deal in people on Earth.” National Mediation Board (NMB) — 7901, addresses several dozen opponents of the Korea Free Trade Agreement South Korea. Kyung-Ran’s West Coast tour also the federal agency that regulates rail - Kyung-Ran said the same provi - included stops in Eugene and Seattle.