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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 2009)
OCT. 16, 2009:NWLP 10/13/09 10:21 AM Page 8 Dorothy Lyman clocks out after 31 years at Iron Workers Local 516 Dorothy Lyman, a 31-year member of Office and Profes- after submitting her application. “Finally, I called him before sional Employees Local 11, retired as office manager of Port- the start of Labor Day weekend and said, ‘Do you want me to land-based Iron Workers Shopmen’s Local 516 after ... 31 start on Tuesday or not?’ ” she said. Fortunately for her, Mon- years at the union. gelli said yes. “I trained quite a few new Three hundred seventy- business managers,” Lyman two months, and five busi- quipped a day after she re- ness managers later (includ- ceived a plaque from Local ing Tony Butkovich, Richard 11 for her years of member- Gardner, Bruce Bunnell, and ship. current business manager Lyman worked for five Mike Lappier) Lyman, 65, business managers, starting filed the paperwork neces- with the late Tony Mongelli, sary to retire. Her last day who hired her in September was Sept. 18. 1978. Lyman attended union She had heard about an meetings and served for sev- opening for a secretary at Lo- eral years as a Local 11 cal 516 after answering a trustee. She also was a union newspaper ad placed by Lo- representative on the Western cal 11. Having worked at a States 401(k) pension fund bank and for an appliance dis- for the past seven years. tributor, Lyman was experi- Lyman enjoys quilting enced, but none of those jobs and gardening and, as a re- paid very well. “I needed a union job,” she Dorothy Lyman receives a plaque from Local 11 tiree, plans to do some vol- said. Financial Secretary Mike Richards recognizing her 31 unteer work. Her successor at Local Lyman said she hounded years of membership in Office and Professional Mongelli for several weeks Employees International Union. Lyman retired Sept. 18. 516 is Kim Andrew. History committee puts out call for WTO photos The Northwest Oregon Labor Coun- cil’s Labor History Committee is in need of photographs, testimonials, and other paraphernalia related to the 1999 World Trade Organization (WTO) march in Seattle to use in its Labor His- NOLC to sponsor forum for veterans in Portland Nov. 11 As part of Labor History Month in Oregon, the Northwest Oregon Labor Council will sponsor a Veteran’s Day forum to honor those who served in the military. “Veteran Workers Tell Their Story: Our Living History,” will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, at the Multnomah County Central Library, 801 SW 10th Avenue, Portland. The event is free and open to the public. Space is limited and seating is available on a first-come, first serve ba- sis. In addition to scheduled speakers, the program will including readings from the recently published, “Voices of Vets: A Bridge Back to the World.” Labor History Month was enacted in 1991 by the Oregon Legislature. “This is an opportunity to recognize and honor Oregon’s veterans by listen- ing to their experiences in the service and back home on the job. We will hear about current experiences returning to the workforce. We encourage family members attending to share stories and memories,” said NOLC History Com- mittee Chair Jim Cook. For more information or to schedule an opportunity to speak, call Cook at 503 703-1693 or the NOLC office at 503 235-9444. PAGE 8 tory Month presentation at the NOLC delegates meeting on Monday, Nov. 23. November is Labor History Month in Oregon, and every year the council’s Labor History Committee presents a program looking back at a major labor events. Labor History Chairman Jim Cook and Jerry Fitzsimmons of the National Association of Letter Carriers are de- veloping a PowerPoint presentation showing the WTO protest. Photographs from that event are needed for scanning to include in the presentation. The program also will include re- flections of the WTO protests by Arthur Stamoulis of the Oregon Fair Trade Campaign, and Don McIntosh, associate editor of the Northwest Labor Press, who spent five days in Seattle re- porting on the event. WTO photos and items of interest should be sent to NOLC via e-mail at nolc@qwestoffice.net or to their office at 1125 SE Madison St., Suite 100-D, Portland, OR 97214. NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS Union volunteers help in campaign to quash Washington tax initiative Union members in Southwest Washington are fully engaged in the “No on I-1033” campaign. The statewide initiative is on the November General Election ballot. I-1033 is the work of initiative profiteer Tim Eyman, and would limit increases in state and local government revenues to a formula based on in- flation and population growth. Eyman is trying to cast the measure as a necessary restraint on state government spending, but the initiative’s result would be a crippling blow to counties and cities as well. The nonpartisan Washington State Office of Financial Management estimates the state would lose $5.9 billion over the next five years. Cities are expected to lose $2.1 billion and counties another $694 million. Union officials say I-1033 would permanently lock in billions of dol- lars in recessionary cuts to education and social services, fire and police, parks, roads, and other infrastructure. “It would kill job growth and cut public services,” said Shannon Walker, president of the Clark, Skamania, West Klickitat Central Labor Council. “Our economy is already unstable. It’s starting to get better, but this initiative could make it worse.” I-1033 is similar to the misnamed “taxpayer bill of rights” (TABOR) passed in Colorado several years ago that ultimately forced drastic cuts in public services in that state. That is why organized labor has joined a wide range of business and religious leaders, educators, advocates for the mentally impaired, envi- ronmental, civic and other groups in denouncing I-1033. A Washington State Labor Council fact sheet says that by imposing the cap when revenue is down due to the recession, the initiative “would lock in thousands of layoffs among teachers, nurses, firefighters, police, road maintenance and other public service workers,” and also lead to a ripple effect of private sector job losses. Those who kept their jobs would be stuck with unpaid leave, furloughs and pay cuts. Walker is asking union members in Clark County to volunteer for phone banking Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the International Air & Hospitality Academy, 2901 E Mill Plain Blvd, Vancouver. For more information, contact Heather Melton-Stuart at 360 521-6255 or e-mail her at Heather@no1033.com. Walker can be reached at 360 606-7317. OCTOBER 16, 2009
