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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 2009)
FEB. 6, 2009:NWLP 2/3/09 10:12 AM Page 7 IN MEMORIAM S HELLEY H EROCHIK , a labor edu- cator and communicator, died Jan. 14 at age 58 of complications from dia- betes. In the Portland labor community, she’s best known for her work locally with the Service Employees Interna- tional Union (SEIU). Born Shelley Glotzer, she grew up in Linden, New Jersey and married John Herochik in 1976. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Douglass Col- lege and a doctorate in education from Rutgers University in 1982, where she taught labor history. She next went to work as an educator for New Jersey Local 65 of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, and later for New York Local 122. She helped register union workers to vote and get out the vote for New York mayor David Dinkins in 1989. In 1991, her husband got a job as Portland Rose Garden Arena production manager, and the two moved to the Portland area. She worked for two years for South- west Washington Congresswoman Jo- lene Unsoeld. After Unsoeld lost re- election in 1994, Herochik was hired as SEIU western region representative. She also worked on SEIU’s na- tional health care reform campaign and helped organize a Portland rally at- tended by First Lady Hillary Clinton. In 1997, she was hired by then SEIU Local 49 secretary-treasurer Rick Henson as field director. She served as strike spokesperson during a 33-day walkout by 2,000 support workers at Kaiser Permanente. Henson lost his election in 2000, and Herochik went to work as a reporter at the Portland Busi- ness Journal. She also wrote for BUILDERnews magazine. To be nearer to families, she and her husband moved to Chesapeake, Vir- ginia, in 2005. She took a part-time job teaching writing, philosophy and busi- ness, and advising students at the Chesapeake campus of Cambridge College, a Massachusetts based school for working adults. Herochik is remembered by Port- land unionists as a big-hearted fighter for justice with a fierce commitment to unions and working people. After a memorial service in Chesa- peake, Herochik was interred in New Jersey. Labor Law Conference slated Feb. 27 in Portland The 13th annual Oregon Labor Law Conference will be held Friday, Feb. 27, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the IBEW Local 48 union hall, 15937 NE Airport Way. The event is sponsored by Local 48, the Oregon AFL-CIO, the Oregon State and Columbia-Pacific Building Trades Councils, and the Northwest Oregon Labor Council. Presenters will include Richard Ahearn, regional director of the Na- tional Labor Relations Board; manage- Q ment attorney Rick Liebman of the firm Barran Liebman; and Oregon La- bor Commissioner Brad Avakian. The conference organizer is Norm Malbin, in-house attorney for Local 48. The purpose of the conference is to provide information that will help union activists do their job better and help them avoid legal liability. For more information, call Kristi Straight at 503-889-3660 or Malbin at 503-889-3669. Quest Investment Management, Inc. • Serving Multi-Employer } Serving Multi-Employer Trusts for for Over Twenty Years Trusts Twenty Years Cam Johnson Cam Johnson Adrian Hamilton Adrian Hamilton Doug Goebel Doug Goebel Garth Nisbet Greg Sherwood Greg Sherwood Monte Johnson Monte Johnson Bill Zenk Bill Zenk Pat Worley Dennis steps down as president of Carpenters local, regional council Bruce Dennis, a longtime local leader within the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, has resigned as presi- dent of Portland-based Local 247 and as president of the five-state Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Car- penters. Both are unpaid positions. Until August, Dennis was also a full-time union representative at the re- gional council. He and three others were let go following the regional council elections, at which he won re- election as president. Based on age and years of service, Dennis, 57, was eligible for the pen- sion benefit offered to union staff, but not while he continued to serve as a union officer. So the decision to resign the unpaid elected offices was an eco- nomic one, he told Local 247 mem- bers in November — and arrived at after some soul-searching. Dennis has spent much of his life in the union. A Northeast Portland native and Parkrose High grad, Dennis said he was first exposed to the Carpenters while he was a long-haired anti-war student who had enrolled in Portland State University to avoid the risk of going to Vietnam. Dennis got a work- study job in the university facilities de- partment, and picked up skills from a former Carpenters member who en- couraged him to look into the union. When Dennis graduated in 1973 with a general studies degree, he promptly joined Local 247 as an apprentice car- penter. James Coon BRUCE DENNIS After 15 years in the trade, Dennis ran for union office. He won election as trustee in 1988, full-time staff rep in 1990, local president in 1992, and regional council president in 1996. Now that he’s no longer in the union leadership, Dennis said he’s us- ing his free time to do things he en- joys, but hasn’t had time for — fish- ing, working on his 1964 Corvette, helping a friend remodel. He sings in the choir at Trinity Lutheran Church. He serves on the board of the IBEW Raymond Thomas Cynthia Newton & United Workers Federal Credit Union. And he has more time to act on his beliefs. Among his biggest concerns are that big-dollar campaign contribu- tions make the political system unre- sponsive to regular voters, and that NAFTA-style trade policies have sold out the working class. Dennis, his hardhat covered in union stickers, has been a regular presence at anti-free trade rallies. Last fall he campaigned door-to-door for Portland Commis- sioner Amanda Fritz and Multnomah County Commissioner Judy Shiprack. And he’s active in the Oregon Work- ing Families Party, a union-backed third party. Carpenters are allowed to continue to work part time while collecting pension benefits, so Dennis also has returned to working at the trade, tak- ing occasional dispatches for short- term jobs. He said he will continue to attend Local 247 meetings, and is freer to speak his mind now that he’s not chairing them. “We’ve got a good union,” Dennis said. “It’s not perfect, but it’s up to us to make it better.” To fill its vacancy, Local 247 will hold nominations at its February gen- eral membership meeting, and vote on a replacement at the March meeting. The Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters will nominate and elect a replacement at a Feb. 15 delegates meeting in Spokane. Kimberly Tucker Chris Frost SWANSON, THOMAS & COON Get Workers’ Compensation benefits can help you: The team at for on-the-job injuries or illness. Workers Compensation Get Social Security benefits Construction Injuries if you can’t work. Death Claims Recover damages if you are injured by someone’s negligence. Personal Injury / Product Liability Helping injured people Social Security Disability for over 25 years. Call us today at 503-228-5222 Straight answers. No cost for consultation. One SW SW Columbia Columbia St., St., Suite Suite 1100, Portland, OR OR 97258 97258 One 1100 Portland, 503-221-0158 503-221-0158 SWANSON, THOMAS & COON A TTORNEYS AT L AW 820 S.W. Second Avenue, Suite 200 Portland, Oregon 97204 www.QuestInvestment.com www.QuestInvestment.com FEBRUARY 6, 2009 www.stc-law.com NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS PAGE 7
