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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 2007)
Let me say this about that ...Legislation stalled (From Page 2) member of Bakers Local 364 upon going to work for Nabisco in October 1950. He quickly became a shop steward. In 1967 he was appointed to the contract ne- gotiating team. A year later he was elected president and in 1969 he became the union’s assistant secretary-treasurer. Four years later, in 1973, Vokos was elected to succeed Don Weil as Local 364’s secretary-treasurer when Weil retired. AS THE LEADER of Local 364, Vokos negotiated collective bargaining contracts with employers, handled grievances, organized new members, served on medical and pension trust funds and represented the union at meetings of the Multnomah County Labor Council (now part of NOLC), and was delegate to conventions of the Bakers International and the Oregon AFL-CIO. Vokos is proud of the fact that, like his father he’s always worked at union jobs. CHRIST AND KATY VOKOS were married in July 1951. They have two daughters, Tina and Eleni; a son, George; and four grandchildren. Eleni’s hus- band, Gene Marschman, is a member of Electrical Workers Local 125. Christ and Katy are longtime members of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Northeast Portland. Eleni is president of the church’s Parish Council. Christ cooked and baked for the church’s popular Greek Festival for 40 years but retired from that volunteer endeavor three years ago. Christ is a member and former officer of a Greek lodge, the American-Hellenic Educational and Progressive Association, which was formed in 1922 to help Greek immigrants adjust to life in the U.S. Christ grows vegetables in a garden at home and also picks fruit from his own trees. Christ makes periodic trips to a Greek island on which one of the homes was bequeathed to him by his parents. He enjoys fishing in the Aegean Sea. ★★★ LEGISLATION to provide a $1,000 monthly federal pension to United States Merchant Marine veterans of World War II, after passing by a big margin in the House of Representatives, is now stalled in the Senate. Christ Vokos, president of the Columbia-Willamette League of Merchant Ma- rine Veterans of World War II, said the legislation, Senate Bill 961, is stalled in the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee chaired by Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii. Vokos said three more votes are needed to pry the bill out of the committee and on to the floor of the Senate. He said that committee senators who are not in fa- vor of the bill are Barack Obama, D-Illinois; Jay Rockefeller, D-West Virginia; Jon Tester, D-Montana; James Wood, D-Virginia; Richard Burr, R-North Car- olina; John Ensign, R-Nevada; Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina; Larry Craig, R-Idaho; John Isakson, R-Georgia and Akaka. Vokos said pressure is needed to get three of them to vote in favor of SB 961. VOKOS said Oregon and Washington Senators Ron Wyden, Gordon Smith, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell are all in favor of the pension bill. ★★★ ROBERT F. SCARRIOFFINI, a retired leader of the former Portland School Employees Local 140, died of a heart ailment on Sept. 28 at age 74. His funeral was held on Oct. 5 in St.Therese Catholic Church in Portland. He was born on Aug. 3, 1933 in Tor- rington, Connecticut. He served in the U.S Navy in the Korean War and lived in Los Angeles for a time before moving to Portland in 1957. He worked as a chef and a bartender at the old Monte Carlo restaurant, and was a member of the Bar- tenders Local 496. In 1964, he began a 30-year career as a head custodian for the Portland School District and an activist in Local 140 of the Service Employees In- BOB SCARRIOFFINI ternational Union, Local 140 later was merged into SEIU Local 503. He was a head custodian at Grout, Jason Lee and Irvington Elementary Schools and Roosevelt High School. Because many students did not have a father at home, Bob taught them the rudiments of fishing and took them angling in rivers and ponds. SCARRIOFFINI served Local 140 as sergeant-at-arms, trustee, Executive Board member, vice president, president and secretary-treasurer. He continued in the latter post for five years after his retirement from the district. Survivors include his wife, Jackie, a former member of the Waitresses Local 305; a daughter, Cheryl A. Bonner, and a son-in-law, Brian I. Bonner; grand- daughter, Alexandria B. Bonner; stepsons, Edward James and the late William A. Height; and sister, Sandee Hodges. Bob was elected to the Labor Hall of Fame in 2001 by the sponsoring North- west Oregon Labor Retirees Council. Interment was in Willamette National Cemetery. OCTOBER 19, 2007 Open Forum Limousine liberals at Metro To The Editor: I must comment on the Oct. 5 front page article regarding the Metro Council voting themselves 16 percent pay raises while telling their employ- ees they could not afford fair contract improvements. I am not surprised. Last legislative session, Metro led the fight to attempt to defeat HB 2140, which required payment of prevailing area standard wages on construction projects subsi- dized by public funds. Metro gives developers millions of dollars for projects that would be built by the private sector anyway. Their actions show disdain for the voters who supported their election, for the taxpayers who fund their operations, and for their own employees. We deserve better than this, and I hope the entire Tri-County labor movement will remember these lim- ousine liberals at Metro come election time. Bob Shiprack Executive Secretary Oregon State Building & Construction Trades Council Portland Some disabled workers can operate machinery To The Editor: I enjoyed the article about disabled worker programs. As a union member, I can see labor’s point. I also have a son who is profoundly deaf. He is 39 years old and neither hears nor speaks, but he is intelligent enough to operate expensive machin- ery. So Jerry Eggers needs to know that there are profoundly disabled persons who can operate machinery. Just try getting a job when you can’t K speak. Mary Vaillancourt Association of Flight Attendants, CWA Lake Oswego ramers/metro mailing service 3201 N.W. YEON PORTLAND, OREGON 97210 (503) 274-1638 FAX (503) 227-1245 THE ONLY UNION MAILER IN OREGON Visit our Web site at www.kramersmailing.com MEMBERS OF TEAMSTERS LOCAL 223 — Eric Brending, Owner — Swanson, Thomas &Coon ATTORNEYS AT LAW Since 1981 James Coon Jacqueline Jacobson Ray Thomas Kimberly Tucker Margaret Weddell Cynthia F. Newton Tip of the week: If you have a claim for injury or disease, you should make sure your lawyer considers your workers’ compensation, Social Security and disability pension rights together to maximize your total recovery. We represent people on all types of injury and disease related claims. • Workers’ Compensation • Construction Injuries • Personal Injury/Product Liability • Death Claims • Asbestos/Mesothelioma • Social Security Disability We provide straight answers at no cost on any of the above areas of law. CALL US or VISIT OUR WEB SITE ( 503) 228-5222 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS http://www.stc-law.com PAGE 11
