Let me say this about that
...Retirement travels
(From Page 4)
turned to Portland and ran for office in Local 29 in 1986. Worley was elected busi-
ness manager, Mitchell was elected president and served as Worley’s assistant.
As was noted earlier, Mitchell retired in 1993.
MITCHELL AND his wife, Barbara Lee, were married in 1957 in a cere-
mony held in his mother’s living room in Gatesville, Texas. They have long made
their home in Parkdale, situated near Mount Hood. Mitchell traveled from home
to Portland and back by Harley-Davidson motorcycle, but sometimes they lived in
an apartment in the Rose City so that he would be closer to Local 29’s office.
Mitchell told the NW Labor Press that he has “a garage full of motorcycles” in
Parkdale. He enjoys restoring old motorcycles and his current project is a 1946
model with the Indian logo.
The Mitchells spend a lot of time on the road and departed in mid-December
for Arizona, Texas and elsewhere. They travel in their motorhome pulling an en-
closed trailer containing his favorite Harley. He said they’ve been “in every state
of the Lower 48.” Every year they go to Florida where he rides in Daytona’s an-
nual Bike Week.
BILLY AND BARBARA have a daughter, two sons and four grandsons from
3 to 26. Daughter Jessica Martin of Portland is a television program producer for
Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Channel 10. Son John Mitchell of The Dalles is a
software specialist whose job takes him around the country installing systems at
utility companies. Son Beau Mitchell is a physician in New York City’s Manhat-
tan district who runs a pediatric hematology research laboratory and is accredited
to practice at Mount Sinai Hospital.
★★★
Herb Bohlmann of IBEW dies
HERBERT ARTHUR BOHLMANN, a longtime member of Portland-head-
quartered International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 48, died on Dec.
10, 2006 at the age of 88.
He was born in Portland on Aug. 11, 1918. He graduated from Benson Tech-
nical High School. He married Irya Holmes on April 20, 1940.
HE JOINED Local 48 in 1938 and was a member for 68 years. He was active
in the union, serving on the Apprenticeship Committee and in other posts.
His family said that he “loved to work in his yard of beautiful flowers and en-
joyed woodworking and painting at his home.”
SURVIVORS INCLUDE his wife of 66 years, Irya; two daughters, Susan
Brush of Desert Hot Springs, Calif, and Sally Bohlmann-Nichols of Westport,
Wash.; a son, Stephen, of Milwaukie; a brother, Walter; a sister, Elaine Quimby;
three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements were handled by Finley--Sunset Hills.
★★★
To The Editor:
I’ve read in your paper from time
to time about union members helping
one another when the chips are down,
so I thought I would tell you my story.
I found out in October 2004 that I
have cancer that is not treatable. I
have had two surgeries since then, and
I’m going in for another one here
shortly. But this story isn’t about me.
It’s about the staff and members of
Plasterers Local 82, the Carpenters
Union, the Laborers Union and Ware-
housemen in Portland who work for
Fred Shearer & Sons, where I was
employed before I got sick.
They took a collection to help me
out and, if that wasn’t enough, they
did it a second time.
If you ever get a chance to meet
any of these people, you’ve been truly
blessed. I don’t know how to thank
them enough for helping me and my
family through these hard times. They
are truly very generous and thought-
ful, and I am proud to know them and
be a member of Local 82.
Mark Veiver
Plasterers Local 82
Aurora
Retired unionist infuriated by
Chavez’s attacks on U.S., Bush
To The Editor:
First, I have been a registered De-
mocrat all my life, and I am a 40-plus
year member of the union.
I read with interest your article
“Hope in Venezuela, fear in Colum-
bia,” ( Dec. 1 NW Labor Press). It’s
good that unions can organize there.
I don’t think it takes someone with
a lot of brains to know what that two-
bit dictator Hugo Chavez is up to.
First, he makes fun of our president
when he went to the summit in South
America; and then he comes up here
to the U.S. and calls him names and
makes more fun of him. That’s a little
too much.
I’ve never heard or seen one of our
union leaders say one word about that.
I know that the union leaders dislike
the president. But he’s still the presi-
dent of our country.
The unions are always saying how
our country comes first, and the last
time I checked the president and his
administration are part of this country.
I love this country very much, and
as far as I’m concerned, it is the best
country in the world. So when some
two-bit dictator starts running it down,
it infuriates me.
I know that there are some who
will say it’s the president they can’t
stand, not the country. But as far as
I’m concerned they go together.
John Schell
Bricklayers Local 1
Retired
Portland
Bernie Coolon of IAM dies
BERNARD FRANCIS COOLON, a Grand Lodge auditor for the Interna-
tional Association of Machinists, died on Dec. 2 at age 84. He had lived in Port-
land for 33 years.
He was born on Nov. 18, 1922. in the Canadian city of Montreal. He married
Rosalie Jakes in 1959.
AS AN AUDITOR for the IAM, he inspected the financial books of Machin-
ist organizations in Portland and elsewhere.
Survivors include his wife, Rosalie; two daughters, Lorraine Schultz and Linda
Archerd; and three grandchildren.
HIS FUNERAL was held Dec. 8 in Gateway Little Chapel of the Chimes.
Memorial contributions can be made to the Oregon Humane Society.
★★★
ANNE FEENEY, a singer from the Midwest known for her labor songs, will
sing in Portland on Saturday night, Jan. 20, 2007, at the St. Andrew’s Community
Center at NE Alberta Street and 9th Avenue in a two-hour fundraising program
that starts at 7 p.m.
A contribution of from $10 to $20 is the admission fee, with proceeds going to
the Portland chapter of the Women’s International League for Peace and Free-
dom. The Portland chapter of WILPF, which is more than 90 years old, has mem-
bers with union backgrounds.
FEENEY HAS APPEARED before in Portland, singing at union picketlines
with the local labor musical group “General Strike.” Mary Rose, a member of
WILPF and General Strike, said the Feeney show will be “an evening of songs
drawn from her life on the frontlines of labor.”
The Community Center is part of the St. Andrew’s Catholic Church complex.
JANUARY 5, 2007
Open
Forum
Ill Plasterers Local 82 member
thanks various unions for help
Apprenticeship
Opening
T HE M ARCO
C ONSULTING
G ROUP
Tile, Terrazzo,
Brick & Tile Finisher
12812 NE Marx St.
Portland, Ore. 97230
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
To The Editor:
It was very encouraging to see all
of labor — Change to Win locals, as
well as independent and AFL-CIO lo-
cals in our area — working together
during this election. My local regis-
tered or re-registered 950 members to
vote. Our members canvassed for sev-
eral targeted candidates and some of
the canvasses were joint efforts with
the AFL-CIO. Our members voting
late were called and encouraged to get
their ballots in. I hear we even made
targeted mailings to our members in
areas with close races to get the vote
out for pro-labor candidates.
The Oregon AFL-CIO, under Tom
Chamberlain’s leadership, also did a
terrific job for the election, continuing
the impressive program developed
when Tim Nesbitt was president.
I used some of the AFL-CIO’s and
Our Oregon’s excellent materials to
educate fellow members at my work-
site about ballot measures. I was glad
to have additional opportunities to
help by calling union members during
the AFL-CIO phone bank program
and getting out the vote on an AFL-
CIO-sponsored canvass.
Now it’s time to roll up our sleeves
a little further and work together for
real progress on issues so important to
us, issues such as health care and
workers’ rights. Thanks to everyone’s
hard work, we have the momentum!
Stuart Fishman
UFCW Local 555
Portland
T HE M ARCO C ONSULTING G ROUP
Masonry Trades Union
Must be at least 18 years old.
Must have copy of either a
high school diploma or GED
at time of application.
Applications being taken
Tuesday, Jan. 30,
Wednesday, Jan. 31 and
Thursday, Feb. 1
from 8 a.m. to noon and
1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at
Unionist urges
joint labor effort
on worker issues
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