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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (May 7, 2010)
May 7, 2010:NWLP ★ 5/4/10 ★ 10:12 AM ★ ★ Page 2 ★ ★ ★ ★ May 18, 2010 Oregon Primary Election Recommendations From The NW Oregon Labor Council U.S. R EPRESENTATIVE DAVID WU, 1st District G OVERNOR JOHN KITZHABER Building trades’ Mohlis has to recuse himself from vote on PDC office lease John Mohlis, a commissioner on the Portland Development Commis- sion, has had to recuse himself from voting or even discussing whether or not PDC should move from its head- quarters in Old Town Portland. “I’ve never had to do this before,” said Mohlis, who is executive secre- tary-treasurer of the Columbia Pacific Building and Construction Trades Council. “But I understand how it could be looked at as a conflict of in- terest. When PDC’s attorney came to me and explained the situation, I re- ally couldn’t argue the point.” The issue revolves around PDC’s office space. Its lease in Old Town is set to expire Aug. 30, 2011. PDC has been downsizing its staff of 155 (most are members of AFSCME) and no longer needs as much space. Several developers and commercial property owners have solicited the Commission to relocate to one of their properties. One of those pitching PDC is TMT Development Co., owner of the unfin- ished Park Avenue West Tower in the heart of downtown Portland. S UPERINTENDENT OF P UBLIC I NSTRUCTION SUSAN CASTILLO Portland-based Carpenters Local 247 placed under supervision C ITY OF P ORTLAND Commissioner Position #2 NICK FISH Portland-headquartered Carpenters Local 247 has been taken over temporarily by its parent organization, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of Amer- ica (UBC). UBC General President Douglas McCarron has appointed Western District Vice President Michael Draper to supervise the local, assisted by Western District representative Jim Gleason. Explaining the decision, McCarron cited financial irregularities and charged lo- cal union officers with failing to fulfill their duties, detailing the charges in an April 12 letter to members that is posted on the Local 247 web site, www. ubc247.com. UBC got involved after receiving complaints from one or more Local 247 members. Gleason was assigned to conduct an initial investigation, and issued a re- port March 19. A March 29 report by a certified public accountant also found sig- nificant deficiencies in financial procedures, McCarron said in the letter. All of Local 247’s elected leaders have been suspended from office, pending a hearing to be conducted by the UBC, which will be open to members and officers. Local 247 had 1,239 members as of its latest filing with the U.S. Department of Labor. Commissioner Position #3 DAN SALTZMAN M ULTNOMAH C OUNTY Board Chair JEFF COGEN Commissioner Dist. 2 TOM MARKGRAF Sheriff DAN STATON M ETRO C OUNCIL Owner Tom Moyer had to stop construction on the 33-story tower in April 2009 after the Great Recession dried up construction loans. The stop- page pushed a lot of union construc- tion workers onto the unemployment line. TMT now needs PDC to commit to a long-term lease for three floors in order to qualify for a loan that would restart the project. [All that’s there now is a large hole in the ground.] With unemployment in the construc- tion industry as high as 40 percent in some crafts, restarting construction would put lots of people back to work. A conflict of interest emerges for Mohlis because as head of the build- ing trades council, union locals pay per capita taxes based on member- ship. An increase in membership would mean an increase in per capita to his council. Mohlis knows what he would like PDC to do, but he can’t talk about it. The commission said April 28 that it will make a final decision on wheth- er or not to stay in Old Town at its meeting May 12. Elizabeth M. Bedsole, LMT Lic. #16064 ...massage for every body... (503) 960-3631 10% discount for all union members President REX BURKHOLDER Councilor, District 1 DUKE SHEPARD Councilor, District 3 KATHRYN HARRINGTON Clackamas County Commissioner, Position #5 JIM BERNARD Commissioner, Position #3 ANN LININGER W ASHINGTON C OUNTY County Commission Chair DICK SCHOUTEN Oregon Legislature (contested races only) Senate District 24 ROD MONROE House District 44 TINA KOTEK Authorized and paid for by the Northwest Oregon Labor Council 1125 SE Madison St., Portland, OR 97214 ★ PAGE 2 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS MAY 7, 2010
