Jan. 7, 2011:NWLP
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9:59 AM
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L a b o r a p p l a u d s C l a c k a m a s
C o u n t y ’ s e f f o r t t o f u n d
S e l l w o o d B r i d g e p r o j e c t
Organized labor applauded the
Clackamas County Board of Commis-
sioners’ unanimous vote Dec. 9 to in-
crease vehicle registration fees by $5
in order to pay for its share of the cost
of replacing the crumbling Sellwood
Bridge.
Union officials scoffed at some op-
ponents of the fee hike, who have be-
gun a petition drive to refer it to
Clackamas County voters. Some resi-
dents also have hinted at starting a re-
call campaign against some of the
commissioners.
“We support our elected officials
who are acting in good faith to do the
right thing,” said John Mohlis, execu-
tive secretary of the Oregon State
Building and Construction Trades
Council, pointing to the 85-year-old
bridge’s poor “sufficiency rating” of 2
out of a possible score of 100, and the
pressing need for construction jobs.
“We want to see this project move
forward,” Mohlis added. “We ask
union members not to sign any peti-
tion that would slow this project or
put it at risk.”
Construction is set to begin in July
2012, with a new bridge opening in
2016.
The Clackamas County auto regis-
tration fee doesn’t go into effect Jan. 1,
2012, and will be capped at $22 mil-
lion. A side resolution requires the
money to be used only for replacing
the bridge itself, while also calling for
“locally sourced” labor and materials.
The county vehicle registration fee
is allowed under the Jobs and Trans-
portation Act (House Bill 2011) that
was passed during the 2009 Legisla-
ture.
Multnomah County already ap-
proved a $19 annual vehicle registra-
tion fee to raise its $127 million share
of the project — which is estimated at
$290 million to $330 million, depend-
ing on what is done to the interchange
on the west side of the bridge. The
city of Portland has committed up to
$100 million, the Oregon Department
of Transportation $30 million, with
additional money coming from the
Federal Highway Administration.
The Sellwood Bridge sits in the
city of Portland in Multnomah County
— about one mile from Clackamas
County. The bridge serves as a vital
connection over the Willamette River,
and is the only connection in the 12-
mile stretch from Oregon City to Port-
land. Of the 30,000 cars that cross the
bridge every day, 21,000 of them (72
percent) are going to or coming from
Clackamas County.
Commission Chair Lynn Peterson
put safety and jobs at the top of the list
of her reasons for supporting the vehi-
cle registration hike.
“We are all concerned about the
safety of the bridge and we are all
concerned about using our money
wisely,” she said. “We are also respon-
sible for ensuring a safe transportation
system, and citizens have the right to
feel safe as they travel in Clackamas
County and throughout the region.”
In response to concerns from some
that Clackamas County shouldn’t have
to help pay for a bridge in a different
county, Commissioner Jim Bernard
listed several ways in which Mult-
nomah County and all Oregon citizens
help fund needed programs and serv-
ices available in Clackamas County.
“I hope our citizens don’t have to
use some of these services,” he said,
“but if they do, we have schools,
courts, drug and alcohol abuse preven-
tion, jails and lots of other programs
that we can’t afford to pay for on our
own.”
“Aside from the urgent need to re-
place the bridge for safety reasons,
there is also an opportunity to spur the
county’s economy both immediately
with the construction phase and into
the future by providing a viable trans-
portation path into prime undeveloped
commercial and industrial property in
the county,” said Paul Riggs, execu-
tive secretary-treasurer of the Colum-
bia Pacific Building and Construction
Trades Council.
Riggs was among several union
members who testified in favor of the
registration fee hike over the course of
three public hearings held by the
Clackamas County Board.
Opponents involved in the petition
drive must collect 6,252 signatures of
registered voters (4 percent of Clacka-
mas County voters in the November
election) by March 10 in order to have
the issue placed on the May 2011 spe-
cial election ballot.
Cowlitz Tribe closer to building new casino
VANCOUVER — The Depart-
ment of the Interior’s approval last
month of the Cowlitz Tribe’s applica-
tion to take 152 acres in Clark County
into trust was good news for Portland
area construction unions.
That’s because back in 2005 the
Cowlitz Tribe signed a project labor
agreement with the Columbia Pacific
Building Trades Council assuring that
the project would be built union. But
before work could begin, the tribe had
to get approval from several govern-
ment agencies. The Interior Depart-
ment’s announcement Dec. 27 cleared
a major hurdle in that quest.
Six years ago, the Cowlitz, which
gained federal recognition as a tribe in
2000, planned to spend $510 million
building a 134,000-square-foot
casino, a 250-room hotel, restaurant,
convention and entertainment center
at the La Center exit off Interstate 5
— which is about 16 miles north of
the Interstate Bridge. Construction
alone was expected to create some
4,000 jobs, with an annual payroll of
$185 million. The complex projected
employing 3,000 workers.
The scope of the project has been
scaled back due to the poor economy.
Instead, the tribe says it will build in
phases, starting with the casino and
5,000-seat convention venue that can
be used for music and entertainment.
“This project will allow the
Cowlitz Tribe to create hundreds of
jobs and invest in other forms of eco-
nomic development. It will also allow
the tribe to begin the restoration of its
homelands,” Larry Echo Hawk, assis-
tant secretary-Indian affairs at the De-
partment of Interior, said in a press re-
lease.
Cowlitz Tribe Chairman William
Iyall said barring further legal delays,
construction will start as soon as the
tribe secures financing. Construction
is expected to take two years.
The tribe has partnered with the
Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut, which
runs gambling operations on the East
Coast.
‘Solution to Resolution’
topic of LERA breakfast
“The Solution to Resolution” will
be the topic of discussion at the Jan. 25
breakfast program sponsored by the
Oregon Labor Employment Relations
Association. Labor attorney Mike
Tedesco and management attorney
Todd Lyon will answer questions and
offer advice on how to prepare each
side for a final settlement.
The breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m. at
Clackamas Community College in
Wilsonville, 29353 Town Center Loop
East. Cost is $35 — $25 if you pay for
a membership to LERA.
Questions and registrations can be
directed by e-mail to info@oregon
lera.org, or call Jim Bailey at 503-819-
4071.
LERA is an organization that brings
labor, management, neutrals and aca-
demics together to improve labor-man-
agement relations.
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NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
JANUARY 7, 2011