JULY 3, 2009:NWLP
6/30/09
10:25 AM
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Sheet Metal #16 re-elects
Phillips business manager
Incumbents running
Members of Sheet
unopposed for other of-
Metal Workers Local 16
fices included Rick Olan-
elected officers, in ballots
der, president; Joe Welter,
counted June 25. The
vice president; Ron Her-
2,300-strong union has of-
genrader, conductor; and
fices in Portland and Eu-
William Carr, warden.
gene and members in both
For recording secre-
production and construc-
tary, Art Himm defeated
tion.
incumbent Dennis Boyd.
Len Phillips was unop-
For Executive Board,
posed for a third term as
Charles Johnson, David
business manager and fi-
McBride, Seth Kerner
nancial secretary-treas-
L EN P HILLIPS
were elected to represent
urer. Also unopposed were
the building trades side,
incumbent business agents
out of six candidates; Joel Hutchinson
Delbert Brown, John Candioto, and
Willy Myers; Dennis Dover outpolled
outpolled one other member to repre-
two other candidates to win election to sent Southwest Oregon; and Darrell
Alcorn, Terry Hills, and Steve Nuna-
the business agent position held by
Doug McClaughry, who retired.
maker ran unopposed for election to
represent the production side. Union
Business manager and business
trustees, re-elected unopposed, were
agents are full-time paid positions. Of
the business agents, Brown is respon-
Carrie Barber, Dan Carroll, and James
Philley.
sible for the production members,
All offices have three-year terms.
while Candioto, Myers, and Dover
will be responsible for the building
Phillips, 59, said one priority in the
next term will be keeping the union’s
trades members. Phillips directs all
two pension funds in sound shape.
paid staff.
Both funds, like most around the
country, lost money in the stock and
housing downturn, though the Local
L EGAL P ROBLEMS ??
16 pension losses were less than aver-
For $16 a month
age.
Phillips said some members are out
coverage includes:
of work in the current recession,
❖ Unlimited toll-free phone
consultation with attorneys.
though not as many as were out in the
❖ A comprehensive will with
recession of the early 2000s. Some
yearly updates is included.
employers are scheduling workers for
❖ Representation for traffic tickets,
short weeks to spread the work around
accidents, criminal, and civil suits.
and keep as many as possible em-
❖ Coverage on IRS tax audits.
ployed.
❖ Divorce, child custody, bank-
Phillips said he hopes during this
ruptcy and many more benefits.*
next
term to merge the union’s four
THESE LEGAL SERVICES
construction contracts, covering about
ARE PROVIDED BY THE
1,400 members total, into one
VERY BEST LAW FIRMS
IN OREGON & WASHINGTON.
statewide contract. In preparation for
* Some services not 100% covered
that, last time around the four con-
tracts were negotiated to expire on the
For more
same date — June 30, 2010.
information,
And bargaining is currently under
call 503-760-2456
way with three of the larger produc-
or toll-free at
tion-side employers: Thompson Metal
(888) 252-7930
Fab in Vancouver and R&J Metal Fab-
www.prepaidlegal.com/info/randallnix
ricators and The Lynch Company in
Portland.
Optimistic AFL-CIO looks ahead
By DON McINTOSH
Associate Editor
Judging by the mood at the June 19
meeting of the Oregon AFL-CIO Exec-
utive Board, organized labor may be
near a resurgence. Congress is likely to
pass the Employee Free Choice Act,
Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom
Chamberlain told Board members —
though the “card check” part of the bill
may be replaced by some other meas-
ure to make it easier to unionize. When
it passes, Chamberlain wants affiliates
of the state labor federation to be ready
to hit the ground running.
In that light, leaders of affiliated
unions will spend two days in early
September at a strategy retreat led by
organizational consultant Kevin Boyle,
a member of the Communications
Workers of America. Boyle will prepare
for the retreat by interviewing labor fig-
ures about what could be done better.
The meeting is expected to generate res-
olutions that would then go to the Ore-
gon AFL-CIO’s biennial convention
October 25-27 in Bend.
The Board also voted to fund a pro-
motional campaign. It could be some-
thing like a state-level version of the na-
tionwide “Union Yes” campaign of the
1980s, which had lasting impact in rais-
ing labor’s profile. To research and de-
sign the campaign, the Oregon AFL-
CIO will be contracting with media
consultant Mark Wiener and pollster
Lisa Grove. The campaign would get its
public launch this autumn.
As the meeting progressed, Oregon
AFL-CIO Communications Director
Elana Guiney watched on her laptop
computer a debate under way in the
Oregon House. Led by Rep. Michael
Dembrow, a leader in American Feder-
ation of Teachers (AFT)-Oregon, the
House passed a bill giving Oregon
workers the right to refuse to attend
workplace anti-union meetings. Board
members cheered when the passage
was reported, and Oregon AFL-CIO
Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Byrd an-
nounced plans to hold a workshop for
union organizers on how to use that new
right in union campaigns.
For all the optimism, it was also ap-
parent that splits within labor could
threaten future progress, as tensions
with former AFL-CIO affiliates came
out at the meeting. Most unions remain
under the AFL-CIO umbrella, where
federation rules bar “raiding” each oth-
ers’ members. The idea is that unions
are supposed to organize nonunion
workers in their own industries, not
spend resources persuading existing
union members to switch unions. Ac-
cordingly, the Oregon AFL-CIO Board
passed a resolution, modeled on one ap-
proved by the Nevada AFL-CIO, that
condemns Service Employees Interna-
tional Union President Andy Stern and
international officials for their role in a
raid against UNITE HERE Local 226,
which represents hotel and casino
workers in Nevada. UNITE HERE, the
textile and hotel workers union, is go-
ing through severe internal conflict —
its former co-president, Bruce Raynor,
left and formed a new union, Workers
United, as an affiliate of SEIU. The new
union is making a bid for UNITE
HERE locals to break away and join it.
SEIU’s involvement in the UNITE
HERE dispute could result in UNITE
HERE leaving the Change to Win labor
federation and rejoining the AFL-CIO.
The Oregon AFL-CIO E-Board
passed two other resolutions. One,
sponsored by the American Postal
Workers Union, declares support for
HR 658, a bill in Congress that would
prevent the U.S. Postal Service from
closing postal facilities until consider-
ing the effect on the workers. U.S. Reps.
David Wu and Peter DeFazio have
signed on as supporters of the bill.
The other resolution, sponsored by
AFT-Oregon, calls on the Federal De-
posit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to
audit all banks seeking bailout funds
and make the audits available to the
public.
Zachary
Zabinsky
• Social Security
• SSI - Disability Claims
Personal Attention To Every Case
Working For Disability Rights
Since 1983
NO FEE WITHOUT RECOVERY
621 SW Morrison, Portland
503-223-8517
JULY 3, 2009
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
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