After 40 years of union representation, workers at Portland industrial manufacturer Pierce Pacific will no longer be members of Machinists District Lodge W24. In ballots counted Dec. 8, 18 workers voted to decertify from the union, and just 8 voted in favor of the union.
The decertification campaign launched Aug. 30, when a worker filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board, with assistance from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, an anti-union group. Machinists earlier filed an unfair labor practice charge against Pierce Pacific, alleging that management refused to bargain with the union and was trying to coerce workers to decertify. Management promised benefits if workers left the union, and circulated a petition to get workers on board, according to the Machinists.Â
