...WSLC convention resolutions
(From Page 1)
Reps. Mike Sells (D-Everett) and Bob
Hasegawa (D-Seattle). WSLC also
gave special legislative awards to eight
freshman Democratic state representa-
tives who earned 100 percent voting
records from the council: Andy Billig
of Spokane, Joe Fitzgibbon of Seattle,
Connie Ladenburg of Tacoma, Kris
Lytton of Bellingham, Luis Moscoso
of Everett, Chris Reykdal of Olympia,
Cindy Ryu of Shoreline, and Derek
Stanford of Everett.
Several Democratic allies in Con-
gress also attended the convention with
words of support for organized labor,
including Washington Senator Maria
Cantwell and representatives Jay Inslee
and Jim McDermott, as well as Con-
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gressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio.
Kucinich, a crowd favorite, is consid-
ering running for Congress in Wash-
ington if his home district is eliminated
in redistricting. Inslee, also well-re-
ceived, is running for Washington gov-
ernor in 2012.
Delegates also heard from Mary
Beth Maxwell, former head of Ameri-
can Rights at Work who is a now a sen-
ior adviser to U.S. Secretary of Labor
Hilda Solis.
On Aug. 5, delegates joined the ho-
tel’s workers to rally 400-strong out-
side the hotel calling for a decent con-
tract; members of UNITE HERE at the
SeaTac Doubletree are working under
an expired contract as bargaining con-
tinues for a new one.
Delegates also debate and pass res-
olutions that set policy for the labor
federation. Resolutions passed at the
2011 convention include:
• Opposition to a new Costco-
backed ballot initiative to privatize
liquor sales; Washington voters
soundly rejected two such measures on
the 2010 ballot.
• Calling for speedy end to wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan, redirection of
military spending toward human
needs, and raise taxes on millionaires
and multinational corporations.
• Calling on all friends of organized
labor to boycott all events celebrating
restoration of the Elwha River. [Re-
moval of the Elwha Dam is a major
federal project for the Olympic penin-
sula, but is moving forward without a
project labor agreement (PLA) to en-
sure that the work be done by union
contractors. The resolution also calls
on Washington’s Congressional dele-
gation to send a letter of protest to
President Obama about the lack of a
PLA.]
• Supporting International Long-
shore and Warehouse Union in its ef-
fort to assert jurisdiction at a Longview
grain terminal owned by EGT.
• Supporting the creation of a Wash-
ington state investment trust, similar to
the Bank of North Dakota.
• Supporting proposals to establish
“clawback” rules for tax breaks — if
companies that get tax breaks don’t
create the promised jobs or benefits,
they’d have to repay the money.
• Supporting construction of a new
port terminal in Bellingham that would
be used to export coal; the project is
opposed by environmental groups that
decry coal’s contribution to global
warming.
• Supporting a campaign to gener-
ate revenue for transportation infra-
structure.
• Calling for a jobs summit to be
held in November.
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Travis Eri elected to third
term at IBEW Local 125
Members of Portland-headquartered
International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers (IBEW) Local 125 elected
Travis Eri to a third three-year term as
business manager, in mail ballots
counted June 21. Eri outpolled chal-
lenger John Gervais, a meter relay tech-
nician for Pacific Power in Bend, Ore-
gon.
Business manager is the top elected
office in the 3,600-member local, which
represents electric linemen and utility
workers in a territory that covers parts
of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Mon-
tana, and Nevada. The business man-
ager oversees a staff of 14, including
eight union business representatives
who help bargain contracts and defend
members on the job.
Also re-elected were President Larry
Browning, Recording Secretary Ray-
mond Cowell, and Treasurer Douglas
Shaffer. For vice president, Paul Diet-
rich and Brian Williams (the incum-
bent) were the two top vote-getters; Di-
etrich won the office in a July 13
run-off. Joseph Gass, Jim Sweet, and
Patrick Winter were re-elected to the
Executive Board, where they will be
joined by a newly-elected member,
John Yates. And Jeffery Davis, Ryan
Hagel, Rick Larson, Clay Perth, and Joe
Spears were elected
to the Examining
Board, which eval-
uates applicants for
membership in the
union.
Members also
elected delegates to
the
upcoming
IBEW convention,
which will be held Sept. 19-23 in Van-
couver, British Columbia. Eri and
Browning will be delegates by virtue of
their office; in addition, members
elected Randy Bryson, Joseph Gass,
Shane Hester, Rick Main, Donald Rose,
Douglas Shaffer, Jim Sweet, Patrick
Winter, Rod Derting, Tim Titus, and
Byron Babka to serve as delegates.
For Eri, 40, it looks likely to be a
busy third term. Members at Pacific
Power voted Aug. 10 to reject their em-
ployer’s contract offer and thus go on
strike Sept. 6 if no settlement is reached
by then. PGE’s contract will be up for
renegotiation in late fall. So will con-
tracts at Bonneville Power Administra-
tion and several other employers.
Members will need to show un-
precedented unity in order to prevail in
those contests, Eri said. Fostering that
unity will be a priority.
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