Let me say this about that
—By Gene Klare
Counting every ballot
After the events of Ohio
and Florida, unions aren’t
in the mood for faith-
based elections
Fame for Floyd Earls
FLOYD EARLS, 82, a retired business agent of the Oregon State District
Council of Carpenters and a retired financial secretary of Exterior and Interior
Specialists Local 2154, is the newest member of the Labor Hall of Fame. He
was accorded that honor by the Northwest Oregon Labor Retirees Council, the
sponsor of the Labor Hall of Fame.
Earls retired in 1990 after a career in the United Brotherhood of Carpenters
that began when he joined a UBC local union in 1953 in San Bernardino, Cali-
fornia, which is east of Los Angeles.
He moved to the Portland area in
1954.
FLOYD WILLIAM EARLS
was born on June 29, 1924 in Spur,
Texas, which is west of Lubbock. He
grew up in the Riverside area, near
San Bernardino, where his family
moved to not long after his birth. He
attended high school in nearby Red-
lands. He served in the Civilian Con-
servation Corps in Southern Califor-
nia and later worked for the U.S.
Forest Service there.
Earls joined the U.S. Army in
1942 and served in the Combat En-
gineers in Europe in World War II.
He was in the Army until late in
1945, then worked in various jobs
until signing up with the Carpenters
FLOYD EARLS
Union.
AFTER TAKING UP residence in
Portland, Earls joined Carpenters Local 1020, which was mostly a shipwrights
local. However, he worked as an installer of Sheetrock. Later, he and other
Sheetrockers joined Carpenters Local 2154, eventually renaming it Exterior and
Interior Specialists Local 2154. Earls was elected financial secretary and for sev-
eral years he ran the local out of an office in his home. Next it was moved to an
office in the Odd Fellows Hall and then to an office in the Carpenters Local 1388
Building in Oregon City. When the Lathers Union merged with the Carpenters
Brotherhood, Portland Lathers Local 54 merged with Local 2154. For a time, Lo-
cal 2154 was based in the old Mason Trades Building at 2215 SE Division St. in
Portland. Later, Local 2154 relocated to the Scandia Building at 1125 SE Madi-
son St. in Portland, where the Northwest Oregon Labor Council and several lo-
cal unions have their offices.
Earls was elected as one of the business agents of the Portland District Coun-
cil of Carpenters in 1979 but still retained his post with Local 2154. When the
Oregon State District Council of Carpenters was formed, it took over the Portland
District and Earls became a business agent of the State Council. He served as a
trustee of the Oregon Carpenters Health & Welfare and Pension Trust Funds and
chaired the Carpenters Apprenticeship and Training Committee. Earls also has
been a delegate to the Northwest Oregon Labor Council, the Oregon AFL CIO
and the Oregon State and Columbia-Pacific Building and Construction Trades
Councils.
A MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT in Floyd Earls’ career was setting in
motion the unionization of a nonunion contractor and nonunion subcontractors
on the construction of the new Veterans Hospital on Pill Hill in Southwest Port-
land in the mid-1980s. With Republican Ronald Reagan in the White House,
times were tough for unions because of the unemployment caused by the Reagan
Recession and the president’s anti-union policies. As a business agent for the
Carpenters Union, Earls went to the VA Hospital construction site and started a
Unions have so much at stake in lo-
cal, state and congressional elections
that they’re not leaving it to chance —
or faith — that elections will be con-
ducted properly.
After sending out staff to investigate
the integrity of voting systems, the na-
tional AFL-CIO has targeted 23 com-
munities in six states for close monitor-
ing on Election Day. And the labor
federation has joined with community
activists in a non-partisan Election Pro-
tection Coalition. The coalition has set
up a toll-free nationwide hotline, 1-
866-OUR-VOTE, for callers to report
voter intimidation or any problems at
the polls.
The AFL-CIO hopes to educate citi-
zens about their voting rights and help
prevent the kinds of voting rights viola-
tions that marred the 2000 and 2004
presidential elections.
The AFL-CIO is training union and
voting rights activists on their states’
b h
m k
Mike Hartman, a temporary employee at Multnomah County Elections, scans
bar codes from ballot return envelopes to begin a computerized check of voter
signatures. To protect against fraud, every signature is matched against the
signature the voter provided on the registration card.
election laws and deploying them as
poll monitors on Election Day. Poll
monitors will be available to answer
voters’ questions about their rights and
through rapid action networks, help re-
solve any issues voters may encounter.
In addition, AFL-CIO poll monitors
will have a network of lawyers avail-
Bennett Hartman
Morris & Kaplan, llp
Attorneys at Law
Oregon’s Full Service Union Law Firm
Representing Workers Since 1960
Serious Injury and Death Cases
• Construction Injuries
• Automobile Accidents
• Medical, Dental, and Legal Malpractice
• Bicycle and Motorcycle Accidents
• Pedestrian Accidents
• Premises Liability (injuries on premises)
• Workers’ Compensation Injuries
• Social Security Claims
able to handle problems that require le-
gal action.
The AFL-CIO’s Voter Protection
Program is focused on communities in
Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio,
Pennsylvania and Washington.
Washington, where a close race for
governor two years ago attracted extra
scrutiny to election processes, is mov-
ing to a vote-by-mail system this year,
but five counties aren’t ready to make
the switch. Among them are the coun-
ties containing Seattle and Tacoma, the
state’s biggest population centers, with
the highest densities of minority and
Democratic voters. King County La-
bor Council staffperson Verlene Jones,
the AFL-CIO’s Washington point per-
son for the Voter Protection project,
says the federation is concerned that
new state requirements that voters
show ID might discourage some, and
lower turnout. And the union-backed
campaign to return Maria Cantwell to
the U.S. Senate could depend on a
small margin.
Oregon appears to have passed
muster with the Voter Protection pro-
gram. AFL-CIO International Affairs
Director Stan Gacek, was sent from
Washington, D.C., to lay the ground-
(Turn to Page 10)
(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
We Work Hard for Hard-Working People!
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.
111 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 1650
Portland, Oregon 97204
(503) 227-4600
www.bennetthartman.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
PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID
AT PORTLAND, OREGON.
Member Press Associates Inc.
Our Legal Staff are Proud Members of UFCW Local 555
(Turn to Page 11)
PAGE 2
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
NOVEMBER 3, 2006