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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories 'Guitar Player' book recalls the heady days of the '70s and '80s Ashland budget proposal says solar power could attract investment Ashland High School water polo club seeks yard sale donations Final Ashland Middle School band concert of the school year set for May 20 Nashville singer/songwriter with Ashland ties dies of cancer Education Ashland Middle School students put their Spanish-speaking skills to the test Grizzlies claim speech championship Levy backers eye final push Neal Simon: This is a test Grade-school philanthropist Environment Ashland publisher offers prize for environmental book Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection Stopping fire in its tracks Some trails, roads remain closed due to controlled burn Earth Day: Hope for our 'pale blue dot' Business Ride & Drive: 2015 BMW 428i Gran Coupe Ashland Safeway closes Thursday, to reopen as Haggen on Sunday Cars We Remember: Car enthusiast wishes new model designs were ‘more different’ Ride & Drive: 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Silvio Calabi: Taxis and traffic in the olde worlde Politics and elections Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection BREAKING: Baltimore prosecutor charges officers in Gray's death Arthur I. 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Guest Opinion: Ambrose spins a conservative fantasy ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: The courage to ask ... Ashland Calendar, Saturday, May 9 ... Guest Opinion: Ambrose spins a conservative fantasy ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: The courage to ask ... OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL Some OSF crew members seek to unionize Labor Relations Board to hold hearing on who will vote on whether to move forward By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted May. 1, 2015 @ 6:06 pm Updated May 1, 2015 at 6:22 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted May. 1, 2015 @ 6:06 pm Updated May 1, 2015 at 6:22 PM » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2324,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Some crew workers at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival are seeking to unionize, but festival management is opposing the move, saying it’s “not in the interest of employees or the festival.” A meeting of both sides is set before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Tuesday, May 5, at Ashland Fire Station No. 2. OSF must submit a “Statement of Position” the day before, unless all parties reach an election agreement. Members of the “show run crew,” working in the areas of lighting, video, sound, stage operations, wardrobe, wig and hair, seek an election to become certified as the representative of those employees in collective bargaining, according to a notice on NLRB letterhead, delivered anonymously this week to the Mail Tribune. Some of the crew want to organize with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), a stage and movie union.  The meeting will attempt to determine what workers would be the “voting unit” in an election about unionizing. Both sides state whom they want included in the unit, then the NLRB panel makes its decision on membership and likely, within three days, calls an election. The crew in the voting unit would vote within two weeks whether to be represented by the union.  The notice says the NLRB will try to get parties to agree about an election and who is to vote in it. The board will hold a hearing on issues in dispute and it may direct an election. Such an election was held at OSF in 1999 and failed by one vote. OSF opposes the attempt to organize, which has been going on for eight months, says festival spokeswoman Amy Richard. Executive Director Cynthia Rider and Artistic Director Bill Rauch, she said, “have urged employees to educate themselves, because they feel that informed employees can make the best decisions and achieve more without that union. It’s not because we’re against unions.” To date, such show crew workers have simply been paid a scale of wages and benefits set in the budgeting process of the festival, with no negotiation, said Richard. Chris Bateman, a Portland-based organizer for IATSE, said OSF crew asked for representation and “a voice in discussions with management, so they can participate in making the workplace better and be involved in the process there.” Bateman has met with crew members and says, “They have a desire to develop efficiencies and have a voice in decisions that affect them. The crew want to be listened to by employers. The crew are the union. They feel OSF is trying to create a third party by having meetings with workers to express their (OSF) opinion. That means management definitely has their own point of view. The employers are saying that having a union doesn’t give them the flexibility they’re looking for. The workers want assurance of working conditions and what’s expected of them. Pay and benefits are part of it, but really, it’s about having a voice with management on what affects them. Workers want to have a discussion in a legal way.” Richard said “the National Labor Relations Board is deciding on the bargaining unit, not the union or OSF. The union presents their proposed unit to the NLRB and OSF presents its proposed unit. Then the NLRB decides. The unit could very well include those who want to unionize and those who don’t. Once a decision is made by the NLRB on the unit, then the NLRB will probably call for an election ... by secret ballot.” The NLRB notice said OSF could avoid the hearing if it accepted the bargaining unit composition as proposed by the union, but Richard said the festival has different membership in mind. “(OSF) believes the unit the union has proposed would not serve OSF well,” said Richard. “The proposed unit, in our view, would limit our ability to find collaborative solutions and the ability of our production departments to work together to produce the work we do so well. OSF wants the opportunity to present a proposal for a unit that we believe better serves the work done at OSF. Thus, OSF will be presenting its proposal at the scheduled hearing.” Actors and some stage personnel have been unionized with Actors Equity since the mid-1980s, but no one else at the festival is unionized, she said. The full name of the union with which workers are seeking affiliation is the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States. John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted May. 1, 2015 @ 6:06 pm Updated May 1, 2015 at 6:22 PM » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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