NWLP-03-18-11:NWLP
3/15/11
10:16 AM
Page 9
Volunteers from a dozen union locals
are trained to be ‘resource navigators’
Bodendorfer
elected new
business rep
at Elevator
Constructors
Mike Bodendorfer has been elected
business representative of Portland-
based Elevator Constructors Local 23.
He defeated three others in a race to
succeed Frank Regalado, who did not
run for re-election.
The business rep is the only full-
time position at the local, which repre-
sents 266 workers who build and serv-
ice elevators and escalators in Oregon
and Southwest Washington.
A native of Chicago, Bodendorfer,
62, entered the trade as an apprentice
in 1972. At that time, the city was just
coming off a weeks-long elevator strike
and work was backed up. His wife was
a secretary at a company that manufac-
tured freight elevator doors, and one
day her boss asked if her husband
wanted a job working on elevators. He
took it, joining the apprenticeship
program of Chicago Elevator Con-
structors Local 2.
He transferred his card to Local 23
in 1999 after accepting a job with
Sound Elevator, which later was
Still time to sponsor,
volunteer at ‘fish in’
Sponsors and volunteers are still
needed for the Klineline Kids Fish-In
Saturday, April 9, in Vancouver.
More than 1,500 children ages five
to 14 are expected to attend. Entry fee
is just $5, and each child will receive a
Zebco rod and reel, a T-shirt and lunch.
A contribution of $250 will get your
union logo on the T-shirts and provide
space to hang your union banner the
day of the event. The deadline is near
— Monday, March 21.
Volunteers are needed to assemble
fishing rods prior to the fish-in, and to
assist kids the day of the event. Rod as-
sembly will take place March 24-25 at
5 p.m. at the Washington State Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife, 2108 Grand
Blvd., Vancouver; and March 26 at 8
a.m. at the same location.
The fish-in is presented by the De-
partment of Fish and Wildlife and
Klineline Kids Fishing, a partner with
the non-profit GoPlay Outside Alliance
of Washington.
It is held at Klineline Pond, located
at Salmon Creek Park in Vancouver.
“Volunteers can participate for a few
hours or all day,” said Roben White of
Painters Local 10. “We need hundreds
of volunteers.”
If you would like to sponsor the
event or volunteer, call Will Morrison
at 360-906-6705. White can be reached
at 360-608-8537.
MARCH 18, 2011
M IKE B ODENDORFER
bought out by ThyssenKrupp Elevator.
“It was a time in my life to make a
change, an opportunity came up to
work in the Pacific Northwest, so we
(his wife and daughter) made the
move,” Bodendorfer said.
Bodendorfer has served on Local
23’s Executive Board for the past six
years and as an instructor to first- and
second-term apprentices at the Na-
tional Elevator Industry Educational
Program (NEIEP) for the last decade.
He said the Great Recession has
taken its toll on the local, with nearly
one-third of its membership — mostly
on the construction side — out of work,
some for as long as two years.
“I’ve been through recessions be-
fore, but this is definitely the worst I’ve
ever experienced,” he said.
But Bodendorfer sees light at the
end of the tunnel. “It doesn’t appear to
be getting any worse at this point. Our
work is industry driven — Intel, high-
rises, hospitals. I’m optimistic.”
Bodendorfer defeated Dan Coyle,
Bobby Dukes, Jr., and Tom Jodry for
the job. His term of office is three
years.
In other voting results, Russ Vollen-
dorf ran unopposed for president; Dave
Tremain defeated Randy Carmony for
vice president; Bob Pyne ran unop-
posed for treasurer, as did Reo Ander-
son for recording secretary, and Dan
Garrett for warden.
Steve King and Lance Martin were
elected to the six-person Executive
Board, having received the most votes
out of five candidates. Others running
were Scott Augst, Greg Biornstad and
Eric Lindquist. Currently serving terms
on the Board are Randy Carmony, Jeff
Dunford, Don Hickman, and Brian
Jenkins.
Les Johns defeated James John for a
seat on the three-member Board of
Trustees. Other trustees are Perry
Cooper and Don Springer.
Bodendorfer succeeds Regalado,
who has served as business representa-
tive since August 2007, first under an
interim appointment, then elected in a
special election in April 2008. Regal-
ado previously served as business rep-
resentative from 1997 to 2003.
Volunteers from a dozen local
unions, Working America, and retirees
groups underwent a daylong training
session Feb. 26 to become “resource
navigators.”
The program is designed to grow a
network of specialists who can in turn
help other union members and co-
workers navigate the oftentimes con-
fusing world of social services.
Monthly “refresher” meetings will
be held for trained navigators to learn
more about individual resources, dis-
cuss problems and techniques, and
share information. The full training will
be repeated periodically as the first and
subsequent trainees gain experience
and can take on mentorship roles for in-
coming volunteers.
“We are proud of what this enthusi-
astic group of volunteers accomplished
in such an intense day of training,” said
Vickie Burns, executive director of La-
bor’s Community Service Agency, one
of three sponsors. “As resource navi-
gators, they will provide a strong foun-
dation to build an ongoing, ever-ex-
panding program that brings added
value to labor in the local union offices
and on the jobsite.”
Other sponsors were United Way of
the Columbia-Willamette and the
Northwest Oregon Labor Council.
Marc Levy, president of United Way
of the Columbia-Willamette, was a
keynote speaker, along with Bob Tack-
ett, executive secretary-treasurer of
NOLC, and Graham Trainor, field di-
recor for the Oregon AFL-CIO.
Retired federal mediator Paul Stuckenschneider (standing) gives instructions
about an upcoming break-out session where small groups were given sample
scenarios of problems they might be asked to help solve. They had to listen
objectively, use resources, and make appropriate referrals, then report back.
Twenty-seven union members attended the training session to become
resource navigators. The workshop was co-sponsored by Labor’s Community
Service Agency. Retiree Stuckenschneider is an outreach volunteer for St.
Vincent dePaul.
Volunteer training partners included
Helen Moss, an instructor at the Labor
Education and Research Center at the
University of Oregon; Paul Stucken-
schneider, volunteer outreach, and Car-
rie Slayter, outreach coordinator for St.
Vincent dePaul; and Melissa Crocker,
outreach specialist for 2-1-1 Info. All
27 new resource navigators received 2-
1-1 Community Information Directo-
ries.
Unions represented at the training
were Oregon AFSCME Council 75; In-
ternational Alliance of Theatrical Stage
Employees; Painters Local 10; Service
Employees Local 503; Inland Boat-
mens Union; Machinists District W24;
United Food and Commercial Workers
Local 555; Oregon School Employees
Association; Musicians Local 99;
UNITE HERE Local 9; Bakers Local
364; and Laborers Locals 483 and 320.
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for the BEST flowers call
503-288-5537
1638 NE Broadway, Portland
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
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