APRIL 1, 2011:NWLP
3/29/11
10:10 AM
Page 8
Bricklayers Local 1 honors
longtime members at dinner
Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers
Local 1 held its annual pin dinner
March 19 in Portland, handing out pins
to members with 60-plus, 50, 40, and
25 years of membership.
The keynote speaker was David
Alexander of the National Labor Col-
lege. Alexander lives in Portland.
“We’re here to recognize the
achievements of the brothers and sis-
ters who are being honored,” Alexan-
der said, “But we all should recognize
that we have a responsibility to carry
on that hard work. And never has that
need been more critical than now.”
Alexander pointed to recent politi-
cal attacks on public employees in the
Midwest as the next chapter of an on-
going campaign by corporate Republi-
cans to destroy all union workers.
“This is not a coincidence, what’s
happening,” he said. “Politicians all
over the country are using budget crises
to attempt to take away collective bar-
gaining rights of state workers.”
Alexander reminded the audience
that the labor movement was built from
the bottom up, with brave men and
women recognizing they needed to
stand up and fight, because they
weren’t going to take it any more.
“They were ordinary people who
showed extraordinary courage at the
most crucial times,” he said. “So as we
honor our past leaders, where will to-
morrow’s leaders come from?”
Alexander said many of tomorrow’s
leaders will come from the men and
women who stood up to Wisconsin
Gov. Scott Walker and his attack on
collective bargaining rights.
He encouraged Local 1 members
and retirees to embrace the new,
younger members, and to offer them a
role in the union. “This movement
won’t survive if we don’t engage the
next generation of workers to under-
stand their role in a vibrant and relevant
labor movement,” he said.
And despite its faults, Alexander
said the labor movement has truly been
a voice “not just for those who carry a
union card, but for workers as a whole.
You have been the one true counter-
weight to the overwhelming political
power of the corporate class.”
Presenting pins to longtime mem-
bers were Local 1 Business Manager
Keith Wright, President Matt Eleazer,
and International Secretary-Treasurer
Henry Kramer.
Members with 68 or more years
were: Robert Branch and Andrew
Pierce; 64 years: James Barrett, Sr.,
...Buy America
policies boost
manufacturing
(From Page 1)
Jim McNannay (second from left), a retired business manager of Bricklayers
and Allied Craftworkers Local 1, received his 50-year award at the local’s
annual pin dinner March 19 in Portland. Making the presentation from left
to right are: Local 1 Business Manager Keith Wright, President Matt Eleazer,
and International Secretary-Treasurer Henry Kramer.
Leo Gilmore, William Mehl, Conrad
Olsen, Jr., Donald Randall, Donald
Thompson, and Ernest Toffolo; 63
years: Robert Benschoter, Sydney
Hall, Jr., and Arthur Myers; 62 years:
Jeddie Aylett, Carl Carter, Cecil Mc-
Cranie, and Ernest ‘Bud’ Parsley, Jr.; 61
years: Wilhelm Andersen, Mario Fer-
rarin, and Wayne Knapp; 60 years:
Ken Bader and Gilbert ‘Ted’ Finley.
50-year Gold Cards went to Terry
Krebsbach, Paul Laufmann, Jim Mc-
Nannay, Melvin Pfel, Bob Schroeder,
Ken Streeter, and Tom Tallerday. 40-
year pin recipients included Bill Hall
and David Moody. And 25-year pins
went to Greg Bordal, James Curry,
Richard Dean, Darren Evenson, Chris
Free, Dean Hatzenbihler, Charles
Hughes, Scott Jarmer, Dennis Miller,
Roy Norton, Donald Pesek, Christo-
pher Smith, and Michael Titus.
“We’ve had over $50 million in or-
ders and there will be more to come as
streetcars return to communities
throughout the country,” Brown said.
“Should the federal government adopt
policy recommendations in Apollo Al-
liance’s Transportation Manufacturing
Action Plan, United Streetcar’s growth
would be even more robust.”
Brown said the company recently
invested $4 million on a new 3,100-
foot streetcar track for on site testing
— the only one in the United States —
as well as a new 6,400-square-foot en-
vironmental testing bay.
Schrader said initiatives like ‘Buy
America’ are key to growing America’s
manufacturing sector and “a great ex-
ample of common sense regulations
that support our local economy.”
“Instead of sending billions of dol-
lars abroad to buy foreign-made equip-
ment, we should be spending that
money right here in Oregon,” he said.
DeFazio said federal investment in
transit and rail creates needed family-
wage jobs in the United States and
helps to “revitalize the critical U.S.
manufacturing sector.”
...Challenge brings law
in Wisconsin to standstill
(From Page 4)
according to a yet-to-be-developed
merit pay system. Then March 25, a
bill passed 73-40 to ban automatic pay-
roll deductions of public employee
union dues. The bill would also require
written authorization by union mem-
bers for dues to be used for political ac-
tivities. Another bill would force
unions to send a letter to members ex-
plaining their right to decertify.
ALABAMA
A bill passed by the Alabama Legis-
lature in December bans school em-
ployees from having their union dues
directly deducted from their pay-
checks. On March 18, a federal judge
put a temporary halt to the law, saying
it violates rights to free speech and
equal protection.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
A Republican House committee ap-
proved a budget bill March 24 that
would make public sector workers “at
will” employees if and when their con-
tracts expire. It would also end the au-
tomatic collection of union dues out of
paychecks and force annual re-certifi-
cations for public employee unions.
Republicans have strong majorities in
both houses. The governor, a conserva-
tive Democrat, hasn’t yet committed to
vetoing the bill. Republicans could
have enough votes to override a veto.
PAGE 8
WISCONSIN
Defying a month-long uprising, Re-
publican majorities passed a draconian
anti-union law proposed by Republican
Gov. Scott Walker. It requires unionized
public-sector units to vote every year to
determine whether workers still want to
remain unionized; requires public-em-
ployee unions to bargain new contracts
every year, but bars them from negoti-
ating anything but base wages; and lim-
its public employee wage increases to
the consumer price index unless voters
approve higher raises via a referendum.
It allows state officials to fire workers
for striking, or for missing work for
three unexcused days; halts state col-
lection of union dues and gives union-
represented public employees the right
to pay no dues; requires public employ-
ees to pay half the cost of their pensions
and 12.6 percent of their health care
premiums; and eliminates collective
bargaining rights altogether for Univer-
sity of Wisconsin employees and for
home health care workers.
But a legal challenge has put the law
on hold. The measure was pushed
through March 9 without giving a 24-
hour public notice, and a judge has is-
sued a temporary restraining order pre-
venting the law from taking effect until
that issue is ruled on. The challenge is
expected to be decided by the State
Supreme Court, which has a one-vote
(Turn to Page 10)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
APRIL 1, 2011