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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (July 18, 2008)
JULY 18, 2008:NWLP 7/15/08 10:53 AM Page 3 Conditions are attached Government agencies okay bridge plan... but Oregon AFSCME, a progressive labor organization, is seeking a union rep to provide tech, admin and organizing skills to affiliated locals. Position requires quasi-legal expertise in labor and employment law, leadership skills, written & verbal skills, and ability to build and maintain positive relation- ships. Rep’s operate with general su- pervision and must be self motivated. Excellent pay and benefits. Position in Eugene, OR. Send resumes by July 25 to: Rick Henson, AFSCME P.O. Box 12455, Salem, OR 97309 or rhenson@oregonafscme.com . JULY 18, 2008 C a r p en te r s , E l e c tr i c i a n s , L a b o r er s , G l a z i er s , Sh ee tm et a l W o r ker s , F l o o r c o ve r e r s , B r i c kl a y er s , C e m en t Ma s o n s , R o o f e r s , A s b es t o s W o r ker r s , M i l l wr i g h ts , P a i n t er s , El ev a to r s , P l a s te r er s , HELP WANTED will pay for it, and how much. Building trades union officials and members attended most of the public hearings, where they provided testi- mony in support of a new bridge with light rail and bike lanes. “Three years of hard work has gone into this already,” said Lynn Lehrbach of Teamsters Joint Council No. 37 in testimony before the Port- land City Council on July 9. Lehrbach was one of 79 people to speak. “The feds are on board. Both states are on board. If we don’t do this now, we will miss out on a very important opportunity. If not now, when will we do it? And what will the cost be then?” Lehrbach asked. Joe Esmonde, speaking on behalf of the Columbia Pacific Building and Construction Trades Council, said any delays could set the project back 10 years or more. “It’s the right project at the right time for our region,” he said. Supporters of the replacement bridge say the region is well positioned politically to get federal dollars for most of the light rail project, as well as a good portion of the highway and in- terchange work. The I-5 bridge is a major West Coast freight thoroughfare, and fixing the bottleneck at the bridge is listed as a high priority by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Statewide and locally, bridge tolls and gas tax increases are on the table. Portland City Council supports a CRC recommendation that would impose tolls before the new bridge is even built, while Vancouver City Council opposes tolls altogether. TriMet and Portland favor a bridge with six total through lanes, while the CRC plan endorses as many as 12 lanes. Vancouver City Council backed a “stacked transit” option that would eliminate a third span for light rail tracks. These and other issues will be dis- cussed as phase two moves forward. “If a new bridge is built, it is built with no more through lanes than exist right now,” said Portland Mayor-elect Sam Adams, who is a city commis- sioner in charge of transportation. The I-5 bridge currently has three through lanes running both north and south. Adams said Portland has leverage in the final product design. “The po- tential exists, the raw materials exist, the good will exists to really make a bridge that we can be proud of,” he said. “But if this doesn’t live up to its promise, if this doesn’t live up to our expectations, we can stop this.” Portland commissioners all agreed that building the bridge should be done with local workers and contrac- tors. Use of apprenticeship programs and women and minority-owned con- tractors “is of fundamental importance to me,” said Commissioner Nick Fish. “This is a need, it has to be done anyway, but it also creates great jobs and wealth for working-class people in our community,” said Commis- sioner Randy Leonard. “I can’t imag- ine the circumstances under which it should not happen.” Made in America! Try a pair on, you’ll like them. Tough boots for the Northwest. AL’S SHOES 5811 SE 82nd, Portland 503-771-2130 Mon-Fri 10-7:30 Sat 10-5:30 Sun 12-6 A HARD RAIN FELL: Struggles for civil rights in the 1960s and their meaning today A forum on Friday, August 8, at 7:00 pm 6401 SE Foster Rd, Portland, Oregon (SEIU Hall) Sponsored by SEIU Local 503 Civil & Human Rights Committee Panel Speakers: Union activist Ann Montague on Bayard Rustin & Gay Liberation Union organizer Bob Novick on the legacy of the 1960s Civil rights leader Jarvis Tyner on connecting the 1960s to now Info: Contact BobRossi, 503 581-1505 X141 Ca r p en ter s, E lec tr icia n s, s L a bore r s, G la zier s, S h ee tm eta l W or ker s , F loor r c ov er er s, B r ick la y er s, Ce m en t Ma so n s, Roo f er s, s As best o s W or ker s, Millw r i g hts , Pa inte r s , E lev a tor s, P la ste r er s, F a m ily 9 9 5 5 S E W a shing to n S treet t PO Bo x 1 6 8 7 7 Po rtla nd, O R 9 7 2 9 2 (5 0 3 ) 2 5 3 - 8 1 9 3 * (8 0 0 ) 3 5 6 -6507 Man n a gi ng yo ur a cco o un t s h a s ne ve r b ee n easi er w i t h our FR F R RE EE E E Onli ne Ser vices. s. O ur Onl l i ne B a nk i ng a nd d Bill P a ym en t s er r vice s pr ovi id e fa st, e a s y an d s ec ure a c coun t a cces s a nyw h er e w i t h i nt n er ne t c a pab i l i t i es. V i s i t o ur webs we i t e a t www.iib bewuwfc u.c co m f o r l i nk n ks t o o ur O nlii ne n e B a nk i ng n a nd B i l l P a y m ent nt S err v i ces Ca r p en ter s, E lec tr icia n s, s L a bore r s, G la zier s, S h ee tm eta l W or ker s , F loor r c ov er er s, B r ick la y er s, Ce m en t Ma so n s, Roo f er s, s As best o s W or ker s, Millw r i g hts , Pa inte r s , E lev a tor s, P la ste r er s, F a m ily NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS C a r p en te r s , E l e c tr i c i a n s , L a b o r er s , G l a z i er s , Sh S ee tm et a l W o r ker s , F l o o r c o ve r e r s , B r i c kl a y er s , C e m en t Ma a s o n s , R o o f e r s , A s b es t o s W o r ker s , M i l l wr i g h ts , P a i n t er s , El ev e a to r s , P l a s te r er s , Over the past month, five govern- ment agencies have passed resolutions supporting construction of a new In- terstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. Approval by the Portland City Council, Vancouver City Council, Metro, TriMet and C-Tran are crucial because any one agency could kill the project if they were to oppose it. Their support now, however, doesn’t mean the bridge will be built. It merely moves it from phase one to phase two in the planning process. A 39-member Columbia River Crossing (CRC) task force has recom- mended to the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Washington Department of Transportation a “lo- cally preferred alternative” that calls for replacing the aging lift-span bridge with a “seismically sound” new bridge that includes light rail, and bicycle and pedestrian access. Additionally, the project would rebuild seven inter- changes and add merging lanes be- tween State Route 500 in Vancouver to Victory Blvd., in Portland. Public agencies, businesses, labor, civic organizations, neighborhoods and freight, commuter and environ- mental groups were represented on the CRC task force, which met 23 times between February 2005 and June 2008 before making its recommenda- tion. Cost for the project is pegged at $4.2 billion and is to be funded by a mix of federal, state and local money, including bridge tolls. Each of the government agencies passed resolutions supporting a new bridge with light rail and bicycle ac- cess. [Metro’s vote was held after this edition went to press, but it was ex- pected to pass.] However, with each agency’s stamp of approval came pages of conditions that each would like to see implemented during the second phase of planning. Key among the conditions are: 1) the design and number of lanes to be built; 2) the im- pact on the environment; and 3) who Rain Forest Boots PAGE 3
