News briefs

Oregon AFL-CIO to push health care system reforms at 2003 Legislature

SALEM - According to the Oregon AFL-CIO, four out of five Oregon voters said they didn't want to pay significantly higher taxes for a single-payer health care system when they voted down Measure 23 in the Nov. 5 general election.

But they didn't get to say what reforms they do want, even though a majority of Oregonians think the nation's health care system is broke and needs fixing.

The Oregon AFL-CIO Executive Board addressed that dilemma Nov. 15 by voting to draft legislation for 2003 and potential ballot initiatives for 2004 that will require employers to fund health care for all workers or, at a minimum, health care for all dependent children of their workers.

The "health care for all kids" approach could leverage additional federal funds available for covering children up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level and equalize the competitive playing field for all employers by requiring that they cover children in their health plans or contribute to a fund that would guarantee health care for all Oregon children, the state labor federation said.

An employer-paid payroll tax of less than 2 percent would be sufficient to finance this guarantee.

Research Director Lynn-Marie Crider will prepare the draft legislation and present final options to the Executive Board at its Dec. 13 meeting. For more information, call Crider at 503-585-6320.

Local 483 wins contract for city's seasonal workers

Not many employees are left who remember the summer 2000 union drive, but thanks to that drive and a two-year fight, Municipal Employees Local 483, an affiliate of the Laborers Union, has won a contract for seasonal workers at the City of Portland.

The agreement, approved Nov. 6, takes wages that now range between $6.50 to $9.14 an hour - and raises them to between $8.75 and $11 by June 2005. That means the city would be paying almost what it requires private contractors to pay under the city's "living wage" policy, Local 483 organizer Ben Nelson points out.

No medical coverage for employees or their dependents will be provided, but the city did agree to funeral leave in the event of the death of a close family member. Workers also won a rudimentary grievance procedure, a clothing allowance, and union security and dues checkoff.

Depending on the season, the unit consists of 15 to 115 workers. Some work for the Water Bureau or in street maintenance; most are employed in Portland parks, cleaning restrooms, picking up leaves, and assisting year-round workers represented by the same union.

By city ordinance, the workers are limited to 860 hours a year, about five and a half months of work. Typically, about half the workers return the following year. Many hope their service will help land full-time jobs with the city, and departments do hire out of the seasonal pool.

The new contract gives workers a more definite understanding of whether they'll be rehired the following year, Nelson said.

Right now, the seasonal group is a stand-alone unit; Nelson said they hope to join the larger multi-union unit of city employees, known as the District Council of Trade Unions (DCTU). The DCTU contract expires in June 2004.

Nelson said it took enormous resources to win the contract, because the city fought the union drive every step of the way.

"[The City of Portland] is kind of a union-avoidance organization," Nelson said. After Local 483 filed for union election in August 2000, city managers filed objections and appeals. They lost, but these legal maneuvers succeeded in delaying the election to September 2001. It took another year to negotiate the contract.

At no time did the union drive get any support or sympathy from City Council members, who kept a lot of distance from the process, Nelson said.

Now the union is poised to repeat the experience with another group of low-paid "temporary" workers.

In May, it filed a request for a union election for about 80 workers, mostly front-desk workers and lifeguards at city swimming pools. The workers are contracted through a temporary agency even though the majority are full-time year-round employees who work side-by-side with Local 483 members.

Nelson said it is the city itself that hires for the positions, and then sends the workers to the temp agency for dispatch. He believes the city does it this way to avoid union representation.

The city has opposed the union's right to represent the workers, and the issue is expected to go through another appeals process by the Oregon Employment Relations Board.

Fire Fighters #43's Leonard installed at City Council

Randy Leonard, a member of Fire Fighters Local 43, was sworn in Nov. 26 as the newest member of the Portland City Council. The former state senator and representative from Southeast Portland defeated Multnomah County Commissioner Serena Cruz in a special election for a vacant seat on the council.

Leonard and Cruz were the top vote-getters in the May primary, which attracted 15 candidates.

The installation ceremony took place at Leonard's alma mater, Portland State University.

Portland Mayor Vera Katz assigned Leonard responsibility over four bureaus, including the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, Bureau of Licenses, Bureau of Emergency Communications, Office of Cable Communications and Franchise Management, and the Bureau of Development Services.

Leonard's liaison duties will include the Metropolitan Human Rights Center, Elders in Action, Taxicab Board of Review, Towing Board of Review, Business Licenses Board of Appeals, Emergency Medical Services Policy Board, BOEC Users Group, BOEC Finance Committee, Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission, Portland Cable Access Board, Local Public Safety Coordinating Council, Adjustment Committee and the Building Board of Appeals.

Pari-mutuel clerks join SEIU

A majority of 86 percent of pari-mutuel clerks at Portland Meadowsvoted Nov. 22 to join Portland-based Service Employees Local 49. About 100 clerks work at the horse race track in Northeast Portland and at Multnomah Greyhound Park in Fairview. Some pari-mutuel clerks have been members of the union at the dog track, they have always been considered seasonal workers, and Portland Meadows was a separate business. Both tracks, however, have been purchased by MAGNA Entertainment, whose pattern has been to invest millions on physical improvements while cutting back on staffing, union officials said. Negotiations are tentatively scheduled to begin this month.

Home | About