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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 17, 2006)
Cement Masons’ Del French to retire after 36 years Del French, a general vice presi- dent of the Operative Plasterers and Cement Masons International Associ- ation of the United States and Canada, will retire at the end of the year. A 36-year member and former business manager of Portland-based Cement Masons Local 555, French went to work for the international union in 1990 where he covered Ore- gon, Washington, Idaho, Alaska, Montana and Hawaii. He was ap- pointed as a general vice president to the Executive Board in 1995. French, 57, is a native Washington- ian, born in Vancouver and raised in Hazel Dell. He joined the Navy after graduating from Columbia River High School. He served in Vietnam on the USS Kitty Hawk. He began his career as a union ce- ment mason in Alaska. He returned to Washington in 1970, joining Local 555 — the same local of which his father, Lyle, was a member. Five years later he was elected president of the local, and in 1982 he was elected business manager, suc- ceeding Al Christianson, who retired. It was under French’s leadership that the union negotiated one of the West Coast’s first “30-years-and-out” retirement policies for cement ma- Cement Masons International Rep Del French (seated) gets a pat on the back from his son Doni and from Byron Loney (left), a former superintendent for Hoffman Construction, during a retirement party held Oct. 28 in Portland. French is retiring after 36 years with the union. sons. This allowed cement finishers to retire at any age without a reduction of their pension. “It’s a physically demanding job. Finishers take a lot of abuse. This al- lowed them to retire before they were completely broken down,” French said. For the next nine years French worked closely with leaders of the building trades crafts as president of the Oregon State Building and Con- struction Trades Council and as presi- dent of the Five-Craft Heavy and Highway Construction Division. “I’ve met a lot of great people and made a lot of lifelong friends,” French told the Northwest Labor Press. A number of building trades col- leagues attended his retirement party Oct. 28 in Portland. They included LeRoy Worley, retired general secre- tary of the International Iron Workers; Tom Worley, retired business manager of Portland Iron Workers Local 29; Jim McNanny, retired business man- ager of Bricklayers Local 1; Bruce Temple, retired business manager of Local 555; Jerry Krahn, retired busi- ness agent for the Carpenters Union, and Walt LaChappelle, a retired busi- ness agent for the Teamsters. Operative Plasterers and Cement Masons General President John Dougherty and General Secretary- Treasurer Patrick Finley spoke at the event, praising French for his commit- ment to the labor movement. The entire International Union’s Executive Board came to Portland to wish French well. Masters of ceremonies for the event were Roger Bettermann, a for- mer business manager of Seattle Ce- ment Masons Local 528, who will succeed French as an international representative; and Calvin McKinnis, business manager of Portland Plaster- ers Local 82. Other speakers included Bob Shiprack, executive secretary-treas- urer of the Oregon State Building Trades Council; Byron Loney, a for- mer superintendent with Hoffman Construction; Scott Gardner of Gard- ner Financial Group; and Billy Mitchell, a retired business manager of Iron Workers Local 29. Family members in attendance were French’s wife of 36 years, Sh- eryl, his mother, Maxine, and two sons, identical twins Doni and Deni. Both are members of Plumbers and Fitters Local 290. The Frenches live in Ridgefield, Wash. In retirement, they plan to fish, attend auto shows and dote on their grandchildren. Together they have re- stored a 1940 Ford two-door sedan and a custom 1946 International pickup. Karl Bik, Co-Chairman Cement Masons Trust Funds for Northern California The bank of labor has on-the-job experience in Taft-Hartley trust fund management supports you with an expert labor team and one easy point of contact offers investment solutions to build and protect your hard-earned funds gives workers the benefit of customized health and retirement plans has worked on behalf of unions for more than 50 years. Invest in you ® Labor Management Trust Services Trevor Lewis, Senior Vice President, (213) 236-4061 Jan Dawson, Vice President, (503) 450-1273 Louis Nagy, Vice President, (206) 587-3627 Labor Management Deposit Services Diane Williams, Senior Vice President & Manager, (213) 236-5085 John Mendoza, Vice President & Relationship Manager, (415) 705-7112 Visit us at unionbank.com NOVEMBER 17, 2006 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS ©2006 Union Bank of California, N.A. Member FDIC PAGE 5
