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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 5, 2008)
SEPT. 5, 2008:NWLP 9/2/08 9:46 AM Page 7 Permanent Workers’ Memorial to be built at Salem’s Capitol Mall SALEM — A permanent Fallen Worker Memorial will soon break ground on the Capitol Mall here. “All the plans have been approved, and an agreement has been signed with the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department,” reported Oregon AFL- CIO field rep Steve Lanning, to the Executive Board of the state labor fed- eration on Aug. 15. The Oregon AFL-CIO’s Safety and Health Committee has been try- ing for more than three years to erect a permanent memorial in Salem to honor workers who have been killed or injured on the job. The idea for a permanent memorial came in the form of a resolution passed at an Oregon AFL-CIO convention in 2005. But bureaucratic red tape ham- pered the process. First it took much longer than expected to get state ap- proval for the memorial design. Then, securing a location was delayed. Fi- nally, after most of that had been set- tled, an unexpected management fee was tacked on that would have added another $28,000 to the cost of the $19,000 project. The Safety and Health Committee persevered and, finally, the Fallen Workers Memorial is on track to be built. It will be dedicated on Workers’ Memorial Day April 28, 2009, said Al Dorgan, president of Albany Steel- workers Local 7150 and chair of the Safety and Health Committee. The national AFL-CIO declared April 28 as Workers’ Memorial Day more than two decades ago to remem- ber those who have been killed or in- jured on the job. Every year unions throughout the country hold services to remember those workers. “Once ground is broken, it will take only a week or two to complete,” Dorgan said. The memorial will consist of a large boulder with an inscribed bronze plaque attached to it. The boulder will rest within a landscaped sitting area near the main entrance of the Labor and Industries Building at 350 Winter St. NE, Salem. Cost for the memorial will be roughly $20,000. About $10,000 is in the bank, with another $9,000 pledged. Talks are under way with union contractor Pence Kelly of Salem to erect the memorial. In the meantime, donations for the Fallen Workers Memorial still can be sent to: Workers Memorial Fund, c/o Oregon AFL-CIO, 2110 State Street, Salem, OR 97301. Editor’s Note: A permanent Work- ers Memorial also will be erected on the grounds of the National Labor Col- lege/George Meany Center in Silver Spring, Md. The names of thousands of workers — starting with the Haymarket mas- sacre by Chicago police in 1886 — will be honored by the memorial, to be fi- nanced by union and individual contri- butions. It will feature individual bricks Iron Workers run in Hood To Coast SEPTEMBER 5, 2008 listed on a granite bench at a cost of $10,000. For more information, contact the college at 301-431-5406. Nationwide, there have been 133 worker memorial sites erected in 33 states since 1989. These memorials range from life-size bronze statues of miners to wall placards. Fire Fighters Union joins forces to help returning war veterans find jobs here With formation of a nonprofit called Boots to Boots Portland-based Iron Workers Local 29 sponsored a team in the Hood To Coast Relay race Aug. 22-23. Considered the largest running relay race in the world, the race stretches 197 miles, starting near the top of Mt. Hood and ending at the Pacific Ocean in Seaside. One thousand teams from as far away as Tokyo, Japan, participate. Teams must win a lottery to compete. This is the seventh year that Local 29 has sponsored a team. The 12-person Iron Workers team — The Men of Steel — was comprised of Local 29 members Joe Bowers, Rob Krause, Bill Glaser, Ralph Miller, Gary Alwert, Lee Worley, Ray Fisher, Geoff Mowry, Dan Kyle, and Jake Fair, plus Karen Worley and Ali Clow. The Iron Workers finished the race in 27 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds putting them 97th in their division of 216 teams. honoring individual workers who died on the job and benches from the unions that honor groups of workers. Bricks are being sold for $125; slate pavers commemorating historic work- place tragedies, such as the Sago mine disaster, are sold for $2,000, and whole categories of fallen workers can be A union firefighter has helped launch a program for returning mili- tary veterans that introduces them to possible careers in fire service. Firefighter Erik Rosendahl, a member of Vancouver Fire Fighters Local 452 and a former Army Ranger, started the non-profit Boots to Boots last December with help from his union and the Vancouver Fire Depart- ment. To date, 37 firefighters have volun- teered to be one-on-one mentors. Fifty veterans are signed up for the pro- gram. As mentors, the firefighters take re- turning veterans under their wings and help them readapt to civilian life. They take veterans on ride-alongs and help them prepare for written, oral and agility testing that is required to become a firefighter. “Military veterans bring back with them skills they often don’t under- stand they have,” Rosendahl said. “Life experience is a real value.” NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS Rosendahl emphasized that not every veteran will be eligible to pur- sue a fire service career, and that there are no guarantees those who go through the program will be hired. “It is a very competitive field to get into. That being said, there are lots of veterans in fire service,” he said. “This program gives them a leg up.” Boots to Boots services are free of charge, and the day-to-day operations are done by volunteers operating solely on donations. [Fire Fighters Local 452 donated $1,000 to develop a T-shirt that is being sold to raise money. Tax deductible donations can be sent to: Boots to Boots, 13504 NE 84th Street, Ste. 103-307, Vancouver, WA 98682.] Rosendahl met with colleagues from other veterans’ assistance pro- grams last month in Portland to talk about his program and to learn about applying for grants that can help fund Boots to Boots. The meeting was arranged by Glenn Shuck, executive director of Labor’s Community Services Agency. Among those attending were JD Bau- com of the Oregon National Guard’s Career Transition Assistance Program, Rene “Gunny” Garcia of the Oregon Employment Department’s Disabled Veterans Outreach Program, Howard Klink of United Way of the Colum- bia-Willamette, Bill Reagan of the Painters and Allied Trades Appren- ticeship Program, and Shalimar MacKinnon of Hire Oregon Vets. In addition to learning how to ap- ply for grants, the meeting allowed the various organizations to share infor- mation. Now, if fire service doesn’t work out, Boots to Boots can direct veterans to programs that offer other career paths, such as the construction trades. Boots to Boots has the support of the City of Vancouver, and Mayor Royce Pollard is on its Board of Di- rectors. “We want to demonstrate that the fire service values the skills veterans have to offer,” Rosendahl said. “It’s a win-win situation. It’s a win for the military veteran because the fire serv- ice is an excellent parallel career. It is also a win for the fire service because of the veterans’ valuable life education and experience which is demonstrated by their leadership skills and calm ap- proach to complex incidents.” For more information about Boots to Boots, contact Rosendahl at 360- 607-8324 or visit their Web site at www.bootstoboots.org. PAGE 7
