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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 2006)
Annual convention report Building Trades to train members as disaster responders BEND — Building trades unions are taking steps to better prepare their members to respond to disaster situa- tions in Oregon. Jack Gilchrist, a retired officer of the national Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO and now a consultant for the Center to Pro- tect Workers Rights (CPWR), said his organization has trainers available throughout the United States to train construction workers who can respond to a disaster as skilled support person- nel. Gilchrist was speaking here at the annual convention of the Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council Aug. 29-31. “Worker training after 9-11 was too little too late,” Gilchrist said, referring to the attack on the World Trade Cen- ter in New York, where scores of con- struction workers joined firefighters and police at the center following the collapse. But with no real plan in place, many workers put themselves in harm’s way. CPWR has developed a program with assistance from federal agencies to train workers to avoid hazards re- lated to confined spaces, electrical work, construction, hand and power tools, heavy equipment operation, slips, trips and falls, mold, water con- tamination, respiratory, chemical and biological hazards, and animal and in- sect bites. The training program is based on lessons learned at the World Trade Center and Hurricane Katrina. Upon completion of the program, construction workers will be issued a dispatch card that will allow them to respond to a disaster. “All union workers should be trained in disaster relief,” Gilchrist told convention delegates. Bob Shiprack, executive secretary of the OSBCTC, said he and John Mohlis, executive secretary-treasurer of the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council, have shown the CPWR video to officials from Oregon Homeland Security and fire depart- ments. “They were very impressed with what they saw. We will be doing some training on disaster response very soon,” he said. The concept is simple: If an emer- gency responder —most likely a fire department — calls for massive aid to resolve a disaster scenario, the call will go to the local building trades execu- tive or his or her designee. A prepared call list will go into effect, with the building trades making the contacts. “Prior to this, local unions will have prepared their members by offering basic command and safety classes, simply so that the craftsman can be used in the most expeditious, effective, and safe manner,” Ron Murray, a busi- ness agent for Plumbers and Fitters Local 290, told the Northwest Labor Press. Murray, a former fire chief and emergency medical technician, has been assigned to coordinate the emer- gency disaster plan for Local 290. “Whether electricians, iron work- ers, plumbers or steamfitters, building trades’ professionals will be the back- bone of the next disaster response,” Murray said. Oregon has more than a dozen trainers available to deliver the disaster training course. “Only organized labor has the abil- ity and the desire to mobilize the needed experts in times of dire need,” said John Endicott, business manager of Local 290 and vice president of the OSBCTC. “The events at the World Trade Center proved that it was organ- ized labor that came to the aid of the firefighters and community.” In other convention business, Ore- gon AFL-CIO President Tom Cham- berlain asked building trades unions to take on a bigger role in the upcoming mid-term elections. Chamberlain said last year’s split in the national AFL-CIO and the loss of three of the state’s largest union affili- ates has left a void in the labor federa- tion’s get-out-the-vote program. Two Service Employees unions once affili- ated with the Oregon AFL-CIO pro- vided nearly half the volunteers used for phone banking and leafleting union members to get to the polls. In the May 2006 primary, the best membership turnout of any affiliate was only 45 percent. “If we do that in November, we will lose,” Chamberlain said. The labor federation’s top priority in November, Chamberlain continued, is re-electing Gov. Ted Kulongoski. He urged union officials to contact their members through mailings and workplace fliers to encourage them to vote in November. Delegates took action on three reso- lutions. They supported continuation of a $2 per member per month assess- ment to fund Oregonians to Maintain Community Standards. The fund is used to promote union construction and political action on ballot measures affecting the construction industry. Delegates also endorsed a request by Iron Workers Local 29 to repeal a sunset clause in House Bill 3010. The bill, passed by the 2003 Legislature, adopted new safety rules relating to steel erection. The bill contains a sun- set provision effective Jan. 1, 2008. Delegates rejected a resolution seeking legislation that would require Contact your Union Credit Union today to inquire about our LOW, LOW, LOAN RATES!!! Are you interested in saving more money? New & Used Vehicles Mortgage Loans Home Equity Lines of Credit Recreational Vehicles Classic & Platinum Visa Contact our loan department directly at (503) 253-8193 or (800) 356-6507 ext. 340 or apply online at www.ibewuwfcu.com PO Box 16877 9955 SE Washington Portland, OR 97292 www.ibewuwfcu.com “Your Preferred Financial Institution......Exceeding Member’s Needs and Wants” SEPTEMBER 15, 2006 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS all contractors on public works proj- ects that do not provide health insur- ance to pay into an individual health savings account, to be determined by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and In- dustries. Delegates decided that pen- sion laws and other legal issues war- ranted a more thorough investigation before pursuing legislation. Elizabeth Lauderbach and Tyler Paradis were recipients of OSBCTC’s’ annual scholarships. Lauderbach, whose father, Richard, is a member of Operating Engineers Local 701, received $750. She is at- tending Central Washington Univer- sity. Paradis, whose father, Lester, is a member of Local 290, received $500. He is attending the University of Port- land. The awards were presented by Donald Rainer of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc., which has funded the scholarship program along with the building trades council for the past 20 years. Winners are selected by the sitting governor based on an application and short essay. This year 60 students ap- plied. CORRECTIONS In a Sept. 1 profile of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the Northwest Labor Press incorrectly reported that FMCS mediators serve as arbitrators. Actually, FMCS pro- vides a list of private arbitrators when management and labor are unable to resolve a contract grievance. An article in the Aug. 18 issue of the Northwest Labor Press incorrectly named a member of Portland Public Schools Custodian Civil Service Board. The member’s name is Thur- man Riggs. (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. 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. PAGE 3
