Four Union Victories In Oregon

Following labor's win on Ballot Masures 66 and 67 we have more to celebrate.

Workers at Laurelhurst Nursing Home in Portland won union recognition in December, through a majority sign-up process, after a long and difficult campaign. However, due to a bizarre ruling by the NLRB under former President Bush, after a card-count, a decertification election can be triggered immediately if thirty percent of the members of the bargaining unit sign a petition. That happened at Laurelhurst, and the election was held on Wednesday.

The workers won overwhelmingly, with a vote of 76 yes to 23 no. That means that they go into bargaining this week with the needed momentum, a mandate, a heightened commitment to win a good contract and, we hope, a raised political consciousness. The determination of this group of workers to overcome every hurdle in their path in order to gain a real voice at work is awe-inspiring.

Having the Employee Free Choice Act in place in its present form would have prevented the unsuccessful management power grab in the first place.

Portland teachers reached a tentative agreement with the school district on Saturday. No details about the agreement are being released until after both sides ratify it, but the Portland Association of Teachers leaders feel good about the settlement. A rally scheduled for the 22nd has been cancelled.

Our legislature has voted to extend the Employment-Related Cay Care program. This is a victory for the workers in the program--as many as 1500 might have lost their jobs had the program not been extended--but it is also a victory for working classs people who depend on the program for day care and help. Credit for this win goes to SEIU Local 503 and the Democrats in the legislature who stood for social services and built on the recent Ballot Measures 66 and 67 win.

The Senate also gave approval this week to legislation that would eliminate or restrict job-related credit checks. SB 1045 will limit employers’ access to a job applicant’s credit report with certain exceptions. The bill will preserve employers’ legal rights to check criminal records and all other job-related reference checks. It preserves the by-now-standard employer rights to our personal and work-history information but continues the trend in Oregon to limit the use of credit checks and credit scores and threatens some basic industry standards. SB 1045 now moves to the House for consideration. The Senate vote for the measure fell almost entirely along party lines: no REpublicans voted for the measure and only one Democrat voted against.