Union officials attended a “grand opening” of the Cascade Grain ethanol
plant at Port Westward near Clatskanie. From left to right are John Candioti
of Sheet Metal Workers Local 16; Jamie Maygra of Iron Workers Local 29;
Dave Bell of Laborers Local 296; Tim Carrier of Painters District Council 5;
John Mohlis, executive secretary-treasurer of the Columbia Pacific Building
and Construction Trades Council; Boe Ellis of Operating Engineers Local
701; and Herman Stonebraker of Plumbers and Fitters Local 290.
Union-built Cascade Grain ethanol plant up and running
CLATSKANIE, Oregon — The
union-built and union-operated Cas-
cade Grain ethanol plant at Port West-
ward Energy Park is in full production
as of June 6.
The $192 million all-union plant
broke ground (under a project labor
agreement) July 20, 2006 and was
completed last month. More than 400
construction workers logged over
800,000 hours building the facility —
the largest ethanol plant on the West
Coast and one of the 10 largest in the
United States.
The project included 250,000 cubic
yards of excavation; 2,000 tons of
structural steel and iron; 18,000 cubic
yards of concrete; 112,000 lineal feet
of pipe; 140,000 lineal feet of cable;
and over 550 miscellaneous pumps,
heat exchangers, compressors, and
blowers, reported general contractor
JH Kelly.
“This project represents work per-
formed by local building trades em-
ployees,” said John Mohlis, executive
secretary-treasurer of the Columbia-
Pacific Building Trades Council. “This
construction injected more than $100
million into the local economy, and
that money stayed right here in Oregon
and Southwest Washington.”
In addition to wages, the project la-
bor agreement ensured that all con-
struction workers received health in-
surance benefits, an employer-paid
pension, and safety training. Fifteen
percent of the workforce was appren-
tices. Only five injuries were recorded.
“Labor productivity and harmony
on this project were excellent,” noted
Clancy Kelly, senior project manager
for JH Kelly.
The ethanol plant was designed by
Delta T and was constructed by JH
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Kelly LLC Ethanol, under a joint ven-
ture with The Industrial Company.
Berggruen Holdings Inc. of New York
owns the facility.
Cascade Grain will produce 113.4
million gallons of corn-based dry mill
fuel grade ethanol a year. Forty million
bushels of corn will come to Port
Westward from the Midwest via rail
cars. Ethanol is an alternative fuel that
is considered a sustainable resource,
and its production warrants special tax
incentives granted through a bill
passed in 2005 by the Oregon Legisla-
ture.
The plant will employ 50 people —
new members of United Food and
Commercial Workers Local 555.
According to a report in the
Clatskanie Chief, all of the full-time
employees are from Clatskanie,
Rainier, Svensen, and Longview. “The
only jobs that have been imported
(from outside the area) are mine and
the production supervisor,” said Ken
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operation manager. “All the rest are lo-
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Another $27.4 million worth of in-
frastructure related to Port Westward is
currently under construction or being
planned. Plans are also in the works to
build a carbon dioxide plant next to
Cascade Grain, and a coal gasification
power plant. CO2 is a gas by-product
of the ethanol-producing process and
is used in carbonated beverages. The
operation would create about 30 full-
time jobs. The gasification power plant
would employee 100 full-time workers
and has an estimated construction cost
of $1.7 billion.
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PAGE 8
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
JUNE 6, 2008