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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 2007)
Let me say this about that —By Gene Klare Fanfare for Findley A DRUMROLL, PLEASE, for Bob Findley of Portland as he becomes a member of the Labor Hall of Fame, a distinction bestowed on him by the spon- soring Northwest Oregon Labor Retirees Council, an adjunct of the NW Oregon Labor Council, AFL-CIO. Findley, 67, is a longtime member of Musicians Local 99 and is a former sec- retary-treasurer of the Portland-based union, which serves musicians statewide and is an affiliate of the American Federation of Musicians(AFM). He is also a member of the Oregon Education Association because he is a former full-time school teacher who sometimes works as a substitute teacher. And he’s a former member of Communications Workers of America Local 7901, a union he joined while working as a long-distance operator for AT&T. HIS WIFE OF 27 YEARS, Kathryn Bunch, is a retired member of the Steel- workers who worked as the office secretary for Albany Local 6163 when it represented workers at the Wah Chang plant. Robert Lee Findley was born on Sept. 6, 1940 in Portland. His father’s employment included working at Swift as a member of Butchers Local 656. After graduating from Milwaukie High School, Bob enrolled at Portland State College, which later became PSU, and studied music. He graduated in 1962 as the first PSC student to earn a full music degree in composition, and in 1963 BOB FINDLEY he obtained a teaching certificate. Findley joined Musicians Local 99 in 1962 as a pi- anist and double-bass viol player, instruments he learned to play from a private teacher, in high school and at Portland State. FINDLEY TAUGHT music for three years at a grade school in the old Lynch District and followed that by a year at Riverdale Grade School and eight years at Milwaukie Grade School in the North Clackamas School District. At the same time, he pursued his musical career as a bass viol player in the Portland Sym- phony, which was renamed the Oregon Symphony. In 1964, Bob began playing the bass viol in the Portland Opera’s orchestra, continuing until 1988 as a member of that orchestra and as its librarian. In his day job as a music teacher, Findley followed his eight years in the North Clacka- mas District by 12 years at the Community Music Center in Southeast Portland. And he taught the double-bass viol and the piano to private students. IN 1975, Bob’s main job went from teaching to working as a business repre- sentative for Local 99. But he went back to teaching on a sideline basis for a few years at Pacific Northwest Labor College. When Local 99’s secretary-treasurer Bob Jones moved in 1985 to an orchestra management job in Minnesota, Findley succeeded him as Local 99’s leader. In his years working for Musicians Local 99, Bob Findley said he was proud of his role in negotiating full-time salary rates for musicians in the orchestras of the Oregon Symphony, Portland Opera and Oregon Ballet Theatre. In addition to his union administrative duties, Findley represented Local 99 at meetings of cen- tral labor councils and conventions of the AFM International, the AFM’s NW Conference of Musicians and the Oregon AFL-CIO. He served as president of the NW Conference and on committees at conventions of the AFM and the state la- bor federation. Other posts included president of the old Coast-Valley Labor Council and executive board member of the Northwest Oregon Labor Council and Multnomah Labor Council, one of NOLC’s predecessors. Bob also participated in civic and community organizations, including the Art Quake celebrations and (Turn to Page 11) PAGE 2 Labor’s Community Service Agency to close Emergency Fund account in ‘08 Labor’s Community Service Agency will discontinue a dedicated fund for its Emergency Assistance Program starting Jan. 1, 2008. The Emergency Assistance Pro- gram offers help on a one-time basis to workers facing temporary hardships such as a layoff, strike, illness or other reasons. The fund assists with pay- ments on rent, utilities, buying gro- ceries, and for other needs. The pro- gram has been in operation since 1974 and in recent years had grown to a point where it was distributing more than $60,000 a year. At the same time, Labor’s Commu- Teamsters’ Lehrbach appointed to TriMet Board of Directors Teamsters Joint Council No. 37 rep- resentative Lynn Lehrbach has been ap- pointed to a four-year term on the TriMet Board of Directors. Lehrbach will represent TriMet’s District 6, which encompasses East Multnomah County. He succeeds Mult- nomah County Sheriff Bernie Guisto. The seven-member Board appointed by the governor sets policy for the agency, which provides public trans- portation in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties. Lehrbach will join Bob Williams, a retired business representative of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, on the Board. Williams represents Clackamas County. Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries Apprenticeship Representative Current opening in Eugene for an Ap- prenticeship Representative. Assist in- dustry and industry leaders in estab- lishing and promoting apprenticeship and training programs and in develop- ing strategies to attract new employers to participate in existing apprenticeship programs; interpret and communicate State and Federal laws/requirements re- lated to apprenticeship and training; conduct program compliance reviews for Apprenticeship Committees to de- termine compliance with State/Federal laws; research, prepare, and present in- formation at public meetings, commu- nity colleges, labor unions, employee associations, employers, schools, col- leges and career education groups. Oc- casional overnight travel required. Salary is $2,854-$4,153/month plus full benefits. For more information and ap- plication materials for Announcement #LE070662, call 971-673-0783 (Port- land) or visit www.oregonjobs.org. Close date for all applications is De- cember 27, 2007. AA/EOE NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS nity Service Agency has weathered a decade of funding cuts and increased operating costs. LCSA is a nonprofit agency funded by United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, in partnership with the Northwest Oregon Labor Council, AFL-CIO. LCSA also sub-contracts for state and federal grants to service dislo- cated workers through Portland Com- munity College and Community Solu- tions for Clackamas County under the Workforce Investment Act in Mult- nomah, Washington, Tillamook and Clackamas counties, and the statewide Veterans Workforce Investment Pro- gram. According to Executive Director Glenn Shuck, closing the Emergency Fund account doesn’t mean the agency will stop helping people. In its place will be a new “Helping Hands” program. This program will still pro- vide emergency assistance, but in ad- dition it will offer workers and their families improved referral services, such has to job training facilities, so- cial service agencies and food banks. b h m k “It will offer a hand up, not just a hand out,” Shuck said. So, starting Jan. 1, 2008, contribu- tions can no longer be earmarked for the Emergency Fund. All contribu- tions to Labor’s Community Service Agency will go into its general fund. “We will continue to take union re- ferrals and we will continue to help out financially with members facing a temporary hardship in step with our funding levels,” Shuck said. LCSA and its Helping Hands pro- grams also will continue participating in community activities — activities such as its annual food drive, the Pre- sents From Partners toy drive, Labor in the Pulpits, Family Dinner Night and community education programs. And because much of LCSA’s funding comes from United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, it’s impor- tant that donations made during United Way’s annual fundraising drive be earmarked for Labor’s Com- munity Service Agency. That can be done by using the “donor choice” op- tion on the donation card. 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 We Work Hard for Hard-Working People! 111 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 1650 Portland, Oregon 97204 (503) 227-4600 www.bennetthartman.com Our Legal Staff are Proud Members of UFCW Local 555 DECEMBER 7, 2007
