Labor agency will help Oregon war veterans find jobs
Community Solutions for Clacka-
mas County has been awarded a
$750,000 grant from the U.S. Depart-
ment of Labor primarily to help Ore-
gon’s combat veterans transition back
into the civilian workforce.
The Veterans Workforce Investment
Program (VWIP) will serve over 480
veterans from Oregon, assisting them
with training, retraining, job placement
and support services, including coun-
seling.
The grant is good news for Labor’s
Community Service Agency, AFL-
CIO, which will be a contract partner
helping to provide services to veterans.
The Oregon State Employment De-
partment also is a partner under the new
grant.
Labor’s Community Service Agency
is a non-profit agency funded in part by
United Way of the Columbia-
Willamette in partnership with the
Northwest Oregon Labor Council,
AFL-CIO. Part of its mission is to help
workers who have lost their jobs to
plant closures and layoffs get plugged
into organizations that will help retrain
them for new employment.
The agency has been working under
an existing grant with Community So-
lutions helping returning veterans in
Clackamas County find jobs.
“Through collaborative efforts with
Oregon’s workforce development part-
ners, Labor’s Community Service
Clatskanie ethanol plant to be union built
Hundreds of local construction trades workers will have an
opportunity to put their skills to work on the development of
an ethanol plant being built in Clatskanie, Oregon — the re-
sult of a project labor agreement reached between the Co-
lumbia-Pacific Building and Construction Trades Council and
general contractor JH Kelly.
Cascade Grain Products at Port Westward on the Colum-
bia River will be the largest ethanol plant on the West Coast,
producing 113.4 million gallons of corn-based dry mill fuel-
grade ethanol per year. It will serve markets in Oregon,
Washington, California, Alaska, Hawaii and the Pacific Rim.
Approximately 70 full-time jobs will be created when the
plant opens in early 2008.
Ethanol is an alternative fuel that is considered a sustain-
able resource, and its production warrants special tax incen-
tives granted through a bill passed in 2005 by the Oregon
Legislature.
Berggruen Holdings Inc. of New York owns the facility.
Cascade Grain is the first facility in the corporation’s strat-
egy to construct a series of strategically located ethanol plants.
JH Kelly LLC Ethanol will self-perform the site prepara-
tion; concrete; structural steel erection; multiple structure
erection; tank, vessel and equipment installation; pipe fabri-
cation; and piping installation.
“This project represents more than 400,000 hours and all
the work will be performed by local building trades employ-
ees,” said John Mohlis, executive secretary-treasurer of the
Columbia-Pacific Building Trades Council. “Construction
will inject more than $100 million into the local economy,
and those wages will stay right here in Oregon and South-
west Washington.”
The project labor agreement ensures that all workers in-
volved in the project will receive health insurance benefits,
an employer-paid pension and have appropriate training to
ensure safe working conditions on the job, in addition to the
wages they are paid.
“We are glad to be working closely with the community
on this project and appreciate the opportunity to employ local
craftspeople to build this plant,” stated Chuck Carlson, pres-
ident of Cascade Grain Products. “We plan to be a part of this
area for many years to come, and supporting working families
is important to Cascade Grain.”
Construction work is set to begin in August.
Agency staff has worked with employ-
ees from virtually every craft, every
trade and every professional organiza-
tion represented by a union contract,
helping to write appropriate training
plans and resumes, solving problems,
and answering questions,” said Mau-
reen Thompson, executive director of
Community Solutions.
LCSA Executive Director Glenn
Shuck has made program presentations
to union organizations, conducted
mailings to distribute veterans program
information, staffed informational
booths at veterans events and referred
veterans to appropriate services.
He also has been meeting regularly
with apprenticeship training coordina-
tors and military personnel to help plug
in veterans to training programs in the
field of construction.
Construction has been the fastest
growing source of new jobs in Oregon
and entry and journey-level construc-
tion trades jobs are considered hard to
fill, according to the Oregon Employ-
ment Division.
“Apprenticeships range from electri-
cians and plumbers to carpenters,
painters and laborers,” said Shuck. “Ap-
prenticeship training can provide a path
to more stable and better-paid jobs in
construction ‘careers’ rather than sim-
ply dead-end manual labor jobs.”
Labor’s Community Service Agency
also has agreed to provide support serv-
ices for at least 10 veterans and their
families through its Emergency Fund.
Contact us today to
inquire about our
LOW, LOW, LOW RATES!!!
How much of
this can we
help you save?
New & Used Vehicles
Mortgage Loans
Home Equity Lines of Credit
Recreational Vehicles
Classic & Platinum Visa
Personal Lines of Credit
Contact our loan department directly at
(503) 253-8193 or (800) 356-6507 ext. 340
or apply online at www.ibewuwfcu.com
In doing so, the agency will receive a
$1,500 match from Community Solu-
tions under the federal grant.
The labor agency’s Emergency Fund
provides utility bill assistance, food
banks, legal assistance, crisis interven-
tion, consumer credit counseling and in-
formation on local family health pro-
grams.
Eligible veterans for any of the serv-
ices include veterans with service-con-
nected disabilities, veterans who have
barriers to employment, veterans who
served on active duty in the armed
forces during a war or in a campaign or
expedition for which a campaign badge
has been authorized, and recently sepa-
rated veterans.
For more information about Labor’s
Community Service Agency and the
Veterans Workforce Investment Pro-
gram, call Shuck at 503-231-4962.
For more information about Com-
munity Solutions for Clackamas
County, contact Maureen Thompson at
503-655-8842.
Bureau of Labor
& Industries
Wage & Hour Compliance
Specialist (Multiple Vacancies)
These full-time positions are located in
Portland and will investigate allegations of
unlawful practices related to wages, work-
ing conditions, the employment of minors,
prevailing wage rates, and/or licensing re-
quirements through interviews, on-site in-
spections, evidence evaluation, and fact-
finding. Duties also include preparing
investigative reports and enforcement
remedies; negotiating settlements; working
with Department of Justice to prepare
cases for administrative hearings or court
of law; and providing technical informa-
tion/interpretation of laws, rules, and regu-
lations governing wages and working con-
ditions to individuals and groups. One of
the available positions requires the ability
to speak, read, and write in Spanish and in
English. Salary is $2,717-$3,772/month.
For Announcement #LE060247 and appli-
cation materials, call 971-673-0783 or visit
www.oregonjobs.org. Closing date for all
applications is July 10, 2006.
(International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X)
Established in 1900 at Portland, Oregon
as a voice of the labor movement.
4275 NE Halsey St., P.O. Box 13150,
Portland, Ore. 97213
Telephone: (503) 288-3311
Fax Number: (503) 288-3320
Editor: Michael Gutwig
Staff: Don McIntosh, Cheri Rice
Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of
each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non-
profit corporation owned by 20 unions and councils including the
Oregon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Ore-
gon and SW Washington. Subscriptions $13.75 per year for union
members.
Group rates available to trade union organizations.
PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID
AT PORTLAND, OREGON.
PO Box 16877
9955 SE Washington
Portland, OR 97292
www.ibewuwfcu.com
CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICE: Three weeks are required for a
change of address. When ordering a change, please give your old
and new addresses and the name and number of your local union.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS, P.O. BOX 13150-0150,
PORTLAND, OR 97213
Member Press Associates Inc.
“Your Preferred Financial Institution......Exceeding Member’s Needs and Wants”
JULY 7, 2006
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
WESTERN LABOR
PRESS ASSOCIATION
PAGE 3