By Don McIntosh
Workers at Integrated Power Services (IPS) ratified a new three-year union contract April 10 by a 13-2 vote. Bob Petroff, assistant directing business rep at Machinists District Lodge W24, thinks IPS improved its offer in order to resolve a pending unfair labor practice charge and remove an “unfair listing” by Northwest Oregon Labor Council (NOLC).
The workers are jointly represented by W24 and Boilermakers Local 104 as part of the Metal Trades Council.
At the Council’s request, NOLC removed IPS from its Unfair List April 26.
IPS had balked at making raises retroactive to the Oct. 1, 2020 end of its previous contract. But in return for the unions withdrawing the charge, it offered a $750 signing bonus, more than back wages would have been. The new agreement runs through Sept. 30, 2023.
IPS repairs electric motors and generators across the United States and Canada, including at NW 21st and York in Portland. Pay runs from $22 to $33 an hour.
