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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 2006)
Let me say this about that ...Wood-carver champ (From Page 2) manuals for the floorcovering trade, including spelling-out the duties of the labor- management committee chairman. WOOD-CARVING is one of talented Bill Wilkerson's avocations. He has carved busts of Indians wearing war feathers. fishermen with a creel and a dog, mountain men and various caricatures — all of them about 10 to 12 inches high. His carvings have won two first-place blue ribbons at Clark County Fairs in South- west Washington, and many other awards throughout the Southwest. He teaches wood-carving to seniors at recreation centers in Southern California and Arizona while on winter sojourns with Karel. Professional archery is another of Wilkerson’s pursuits. He helped start the professional division of the National Field Archery Association, which sponsors tournaments for bow-and-arrow enthusiasts. He served for many years as the as- sociation’s Northwest chairman. He was sponsored by Bear Archery Association. ANOTHER RECREATION interest of Wilkerson’s was competitive target- shooting with muzzle-loaders, which are rifles and pistols loaded with black pow- der. Due to an on-the-job injury and neck surgery, Wilkerson was forced to dis- continue his archery and black-powder activities. Bill also builds model railroads. KAREL WILKERSON retired about the same time that Bill did. She worked for 20-plus years for the Department of Corrections in Vancouver, where she was a clerical supervisor. The Wilkersons spend much of their retirement time travel- ing in the American Southwest in their 36-foot recreational vehicle. Bill and Karel have a son, Steve; a daughter, Andrea Perkins; and six grand- children. Steve and son-in-law Noel Perkins are both employed at Studer's Floor Covering and are members of Local 1236. ★★★ Kaufmans mark 70th wedding anniversary Ralph Kaufman, a retired secretary-treasurer of Auto Mechanics Local Lodge 1005, and his wife, Solveig, celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on Sept. 6 at a gathering of family and friends at their assisted living residence in the Beaver- ton area. They were married on Sept. 6, 1936 in Zion, North Dakota. Among those attending the celebration was a nephew, Wayne Burkhart, who was present at their wedding when he was age four. The Kaufmans have two sons, Murlan and Richard; five grandchildren and four great- grandchildren. Great-grandson Garrett Lindsey, who recently graduated from Penn State Uni- versity, attended the celebra- tion, as did grandson Dan Kauf- man of Portland, a member of Musicians Local 99. Son Murlan lives in the Portland area; son Richard lives in Fal- lon, Nevada. It is sad to report that Mrs. Kaufman died of a stroke on Sept. 12. She was 93. Ralph will be 98 on Oct. 31. He is a member of the Labor Hall of Fame sponsored by the Northwest Oregon Labor Retirees Council. Local 1005 is affiliated with Portland- based Machinists District Lodge 24. ★★★ MONROE SWEETLAND, a leader in Oregon Democratic politics who also had experience in the labor movement, died at age 96 on Sept. 10 in Milwaukie and was honored at a memorial service on Sept. 30 at Portland State University. He was a member of the Labor Hall of Fame. SWEETLAND WAS BORN on Jan. 20, 1910 in Salem and grew up in Ore- gon and Michigan. After graduation from college in Ohio, he attended law schools in New York State. He married Lillie Megrath in 1931. She died in 1995. They had two daughters, Barbara Smith of Alaska and Rebecca Sweetland of Lake Oswego, who survive him; as do three granddaughters and a great-grandson. In the 1930s he worked in the East for the Congress of Industrial Organizations; and in the mid-1960s after a political and newspaper ownership career in Oregon he moved to California to be a lobbyist for the National Education Association. HE WON ELECTION from Clackamas County to the Oregon House of Rep- resentatives in 1952; later served in the Oregon Senate; ran twice for secretary of state, and played a key role in Democratic election victories for statewide and fed- eral offices in the 1950s. OCTOBER 6, 2006 Open Forum Kulongoski legacy: More than good roads By JOHN MOHLIS This summer, the nation celebrated 50 years since the Interstate Highway System opened new markets and possi- bilities for America’s farmers, salespeo- ple and dreamers. Fifty years from now, Oregon will benefit from Gov. Ted Kulongoski's equally smart investments in bringing our state’s transportation system into the 21st century. As an advocate for sound public pol- icy, I’m impressed by the governor’s common-sense leadership in breaking longstanding gridlock in Salem. It was- n’t easy to garner bipartisan support for two much-needed transportation bills. And as a bricklayer who worked with tools on job sites for many years before taking on the job of representing thousands of Oregon working families in the construction trades, I’m equally proud of the men and women who will work hard in the coming decade to turn the governor’s legislative victory into reality. The two transportation packages — $2.5 billion in 2003 to upgrade our roads and bridges, and another $100 million in 2005 to modernize our ports, railways and aviation — will encourage growth, reduce the cost of congestion and inefficiency, and provide a gateway to the global economy. And they make good sense: Consider an Oregon Department of Transporta- tion report from three years ago. It showed that hundreds of our middle- aged concrete bridges have been weak- ened to the point that truckers with heavy loads are forced to waste time and gas finding alternate routes. The aging bridges could cost Oregon 88,000 jobs and $123 billion in lost productivity over the next 20 years. In that light, 2003’s $2.5 billion upgrade passed to improve our roads and bridges is a bargain. Gov. Kulongoski’s subsequent Con- nectOregon package last year dedicated another $100 million without raising taxes. It uses lottery-backed bonds to improve the connection between high- ways and other transportation types, like railroads, airports, port facilities and public transit. The 43 recently-ap- proved projects include more than $4 million to the Port of Coos Bay for ma- rine and rail improvements, an expan- sion of the Redmond airport’s terminal, and a $6.8 million improvement to the Ramsey Rail Yard in Portland. More than 10,000 Oregon construc- tion workers — operating engineers, ce- ment masons and other skilled workers will be tapped to build this infrastruc- ture. These workers will receive fair pay and health and retirement benefits for their work, thanks to Oregon’s prevail- ing wage law. That means that they will not only have enough money to feed and clothe their families, but they will have cash in their pockets to shop on Main Streets across Oregon. This is good news for small business owners and employees from Astoria to Ash- land, and Portland to Pendleton. Along with the governor’s trans- portation commitments, several compa- nies that he recruited to Oregon — in- cluding Genentech and Google, as well as a $500 million commitment to build and improve Oregon’s higher education buildings — are putting Oregon to work. Three years ago, unemployment in the building crafts varied from 15 to 35 percent. Now, every craft is at full em- ployment and starting new apprentices every month. The governor has announced that if re-elected, he will work to pass Con- nectOregon II: another $100 million of lottery funds toward rail, aviation, tran- sit and marine projects. He is also pro- posing another investment in our higher ed buildings. To be sure, in an age when American workers are losing their jobs to bad trade deals, Oregon’s investment in our infrastructure is a wise one that will pay off both in the long run for our improved economy and education — and in the week-to-week sustenance of Oregon’s hardworking families. (Editor’s Note: John Mohlis is exec- utive secretary-treasurer of the Colum- bia-Pacific Building Trades Council, headquartered in Portland.) Steve Stuart Is Standing Strong on the Issues! Steve supports good jobs. Steve Stuart with Cager Claybaugh, ILWU Local 4. Steve Delivers: • Energy • Ideas • Results for Labor! Steve has stood up for working people in Clark County, and now they’re standing up for him with endorsements: • Laborer Local 335 • International Longshore & Warehouse Union Local 4 • SW WA Electrician's PAC #48 • Clark County Central Labor Council • AFSCME • PNWRC See the website at www.stuartforclarkcounty.com Paid for by Committee to Re-Elect Steve Stuart (D), 1010 Washington Street, Suite 240, Vancouver, WA 98660 Re-elect Steve because we love it here! NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS PAGE 11
