Northwest labor press., April 06, 2007, Page 11, Image 11

Let me say this about that
...Busy career in #29
(From Page 2)
laborated on a Christmas party for children of Local 29 members, which turned into
a tradition that still continues. Frank also said he was an admirer of the late Dan
Faddis, the longtime apprenticeship and training director of Electrical Workers Lo-
cal 48.
AFTER HIS RETIREMENT, Cusma built a workshop in the backyard of his
home in Milwaukie, where he spends time on woodworking, ornamental iron and
stained glass projects. One project was a steel and wood trellis; another was a wood-
burning pizza oven in which he also bakes bread. He does volunteer work, includ-
ing driving retirement home residents to their appointments.
FRANK AND JERI CUSMA were married in 1984 and have a son, Anthony,
who works as a nurse and also attends classes toward obtaining a nursing degree.
Frank’s mother, Lidia, went back to Italy years ago but last year he traveled there to
return her to the U.S. to re-establish her residency. Now 86, she lives with her son and
his family in Milwaukie. In 1996, Frank’s grandmother, Georgina Cusma, died in
Trieste at age 107; she was one of Italy’s oldest residents. Frank said he has traced
the history of the Cusma family in Italy back to the year 1080.
★★★
JIM GILMORE, a retired business representative for Portland-based Interna-
tional Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 48, died on March 14 in Seattle at
age 81.
He was born in Wyoming and grew up in Butte, Montana. He left school to work
as a mechanic for his father, then joined the United States Navy to serve in World
War II. He and his wife, Bernice, were married just after he finished boot camp.
“HE WAS a Navy machinist and skipper of landing craft,” his family said. “He
navigated into the beach on Saipan with a load of Marines in that invasion.”
After the war he worked as a maintenance man for the Golden Nugget Casino in
Las Vegas, then left to enroll in the IBEW Local 48 apprenticeship program in Port-
land. One of his proudest achievements was helping to lobby a law through the Ore-
gon Legislature that required toilet and hand-washing facilities for workers at con-
struction sites. He was also proud of his work as a scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop
283 in Portland.
HIS FAMILY SAID he later did labor relations work for the Howard S. Wright
and Parsons construction companies and worked in Alaska’s North Slope before re-
tiring 20 years ago.
Survivors include his wife, Bernice; two sons, Tim of Seattle and Pat of Anchor-
age; and five grandchildren.
A CELEBRATION of his life is scheduled for May 12 between 3 p.m. and 8
p.m. at the Lake Washington Rowing Club, 910 N. Northlake Way in Seattle. The
family said that in lieu of flowers, contributions can be sent to any charity or to the
Group Health Foundation, 1730 Minor Ave. #1500, Seattle WA 98101.
★★★
NOEL JOHNSON, a retired leader of Portland-based Bakers Local 114, sent a
letter to the Northwest Labor Press inviting readers to visit his Web site featuring
photos and stories about the Lewis River. His letter said:
“This is to let my old friends in the labor movement know that I am in good
health and enjoying life to the fullest. My lovely wife, Nancy, and I live close to
Woodland, Washington. We have enjoyed 53 years of marriage. I am 72 years of age,
however, I feel younger than I did when I retired from Bakers Union Local 114 af-
ter 40 years of membership.
“Thanks to our Bakers Union pension and Social Security, we are doing well. We
both have a passion. Nancy is quilting and sewing. Her quilts are phenomenal. My
passion is my Web site: www.lewisriver.com.
“It has been successful beyond my wildest dreams. Yesterday, over 1,600 people
from all around the world enjoyed my pictures and stories. If you get a chance, log
on to www.lewisriver.com and e-mail me at Noel@lewisriver.com to let me know
what you think about the Website.”
★★★
Americans are growing increasingly unhappy with their jobs, according to a re-
cent survey by the Conference Board, a non-profit business membership organiza-
tion. According to its survey of 5,000 U.S. households, the decline in job satisfaction
has occurred over a period of two decades, with little to suggest a significant rever-
sal in attitudes anytime soon. Here are some of the survey’s findings:
• Less than two out of every five workers under the age of 25 are satisfied with
their jobs. This segment has the lowest level of satisfaction and the lowest level
ever recorded in the nearly 20-year history of the survey.
• Workers age 45-54 expressed the second-lowest level of satisfaction with less
than 45 percent content with their current job.
• The lowest level of job satisfaction is exhibited among workers earning $15,000
or less per year.
• Two out of every 10 employees do not see themselves in their current job a
year from now.
APRIL 6, 2007
Port and commissioners
deserve thanks...and support
To The Editor:
As a resident and taxpayer in Clark
County all of my working life, I want
to thank the Port of Vancouver officials
and commissioners for doing their job
by proposing to create business oppor-
tunities which will provide living- wage
jobs and benefits for Clark County and
Southwest Washington workers. I have
listened for many years to people moan
and cry about having to work and pay
taxes in Oregon for which they receive
no benefits except a paycheck.
Over the past few years we have lost
many big companies: Carborundum
plant, Del Monte cannery, Alcoa/
Vanalco Aluminum plants, Evergreen
Aluminum plant, Jantzen knitting mills,
Boise Cascade paper mill, Webber Ma-
chine, Pendleton Woolen Mill, Georgia
Pacific (Crown Zellerbach) paper mills
in Camas and Washougal, Kyocera and
many others. Some have closed or
moved, many have gone overseas, some
downsized or have been taken over in
buy-outs, but, whatever the reason, the
jobs for thousands of workers have been
lost.
If it weren’t for downtown renova-
tion, hospital construction, school con-
struction, chip manufacturing/electronic
plants and home building, we would
probably have the highest unemploy-
ment rate in the State of Washington.
Let’s help the Port in their effort to
create new business opportunities with
good-paying jobs and benefits, so our
workers can stay in Clark County and
SW Washington. This would also help
cut down on air pollution, fuel con-
sumption, traffic accidents, congestion
on I-5 and I-205 and provide more qual-
ity time for families by eliminating long
drives and time spent in traffic tie-ups.
Open
Forum
With more business and job opportuni-
ties Clark County would be less of a
bedroom community to our good
neighbors across the river.
As a person who has represented
workers in Oregon and Washington for
35 years, I want to again thank the Port
of Vancouver officials and Commis-
sioners for their proposal to save the
largest area of industrial property left on
the Columbia River for future business
growth and job opportunities. Support
for this proposal will help guarantee fu-
ture jobs for our workers, their children
and grandchildren.
Ed Barnes
IBEW Local 48
Retired
Vancouver, Wash.
Freightliner shows lack of commitment to city
To The Editor:
It’s been seven months now since I
retired, time enough to consider things
from a different view.
Seeing my former employer Freight-
liner lay off half the workforce and per-
manently sending the Freightliner brand
to Mexico seems only to demonstrate a
lack of commitment to this place and its
people.
This sense of entitlement to corpo-
rate mobility plays havoc on the lives of
those left in the wake of companies that
shop the world for cheap labor.
I wonder if the laws of the land
should include a responsibility clause
where any company that fails in their
humanity would be stripped of their
corporate personhood and denied a
business license.
I envision this clause to include a
commitment to the place a company
does business as well as a commitment
to the people they employ.
In the case of Freightliner (now
Western Star) perhaps we could offer
Freightliner a provisional business li-
cense, granted if the company demon-
strates its commitment, a contingent li-
cense that would be immediately
revoked in the case of abandonment or
neglect. After all. if the company is al-
lowed to enjoy the rights of a person
they should act like one, act in a way
that becomes a person with a family and
a home.
Carroll Wikander
IAM Local 1005 Retired
Aloha
...End of the line at Freightliner
(From Page 1)
of what a semi-skilled assembly
worker makes in Portland. Rank-and-
file assembly jobs at the Mexican plant
pay much less. The plant’s roughly
1,800 workers are represented by the
Sindicato de la Industria Automotriz, a
union affiliated with the CTM labor
federation.
Meanwhile, an even bigger Freight-
liner plant is now under construction
in Saltillo, in the Northeastern Mexi-
can state of Coahuila. Mexican Presi-
dent Felipe Calderon attended the
groundbreaking in January. The state
government is widening the highway
and paying half the cost of electricity
transmission. On Feb. 1, the Saltillo
City Council authorized the mayor to
give tax breaks and streamline build-
ing permits. Freightliner is spending
$300 million to build the new plant,
which will take 1,500 workers two
years to build. After that, 1,600 work-
ers will turn out 30,000 trucks a year
starting early 2009.
As with Santiago, much of what’s
produced will be sold to customers in
the United States.
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
“Melancholy” was how Kear de-
scribed the mood at the Portland plant
in the final days. Workers headed for
layoff seemed resigned, sad to lose the
camaraderie, the daily routine they
shared with co-workers. A secretary
took photos of line workers and put to-
gether a collage near the cafeteria.
Workers signed a banner which will
hang in the Machinists Union hall.
On the last day, workers were
treated to cake and given commemora-
tive polished metal keychains. The
front of the keychain says “Freight-
liner: 1947-2007.” A sticker on the
keyring says “Made in China.”
As it went down the line, the final
truck, sold to C.R. England trucking,
was customized a bit. Workers rigged
up a metal stamp to imprint the letters
“USA” on the back. Scores of workers
signed the unfinished inside panels of
the cab. One worker wrote on a piece
of cardboard and taped it to the wind-
shield: “Last Freightliner built in Port-
land, Oregon. Happy trails to you!”
Retiree Ron Bennett, who drove the
first truck out of the Swan Island plant
in 1969, was invited back to ride out
on the last one. Next to him, as work-
ers’ cameras flashed, vehicle inspector
Mike McLaren started the engine and
slowly took the truck out of the build-
ing.
“Makes me want to cry,” said
welder Morris Price. “That’s my job
gone out the door.”
CORRECTION:
In an article in the March 16 issue,
the NW Labor Press reported that
workers at the Freightliner Pre-Inspec-
tion Delivery department, who voted
April 3 to unionize, will be laid off
shortly. Their work will continue.
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