Wright retires at Bricklayers Local 1; Eleazer new business manager
he served on the union’s
Keith Wright has retired
brick arbitration board
as business manager of
and as sergeant-at-arms
Bricklayers and Allied
before being hired as a
Craftworkers Local 1. He
business agent and or-
has held the post since De-
ganizer in July 1994 by
cember 2005. His last day
then-business manager
was Aug. 31.
John Mohlis.
Local 1 represents some
Local 6 merged into
600 brick, tile, and marble
Local 1 in 1993.
workers, and caulkers, point-
Wright was appointed
ers, and cleaners in Oregon
interim business man-
and Southwest Washington.
ager in 2005 after Mohlis
Wright, 59, worked as a
was elected executive
bricklayer for 16 years,
K EITH W RIGHT
secretary-treasurer of the
starting as an apprentice at
Eugene-based Local 6. He grew up in a Columbia Pacific Building Trades
union household in Flint, Michigan, Council. Wright was elected outright a
where his late-father worked at General few months later, and has served two 3-
Motors and retired as a member of the year terms. During his tenure, he has
United Auto Workers. An older brother seen the highs and lows of the construc-
also retired from GM and is a member tion industry. The local took a hit fol-
lowing the Great Recession of 2008, ex-
of the UAW.
Wright performed odd jobs in periencing 30 percent unemployment
Michigan, including work as a hod car- for close to two years.
“Work is returning,” Wright said.
rier. With no career plan in mind, he de-
cided to move to Oregon in 1978 (he Unemployment at the local is currently
had visited Eugene several years earlier at less than 10 percent, with two large
and liked it). After arriving to the state jobs — a new high school in Sandy,
he got on the phone and started dialing Oregon, and a hospital in Salem just
for a job. He found one in the brick about completed.
Wright said he is most proud of a dis-
trade, and at age 26 he got plugged into
an apprenticeship training program and ability benefit he helped bargain into the
Bricklayers’ collective bargaining agree-
joined Bricklayers Local 6.
In 1984 he moved to Portland, trans- ment, in addition to a labor-management
ferring his union card to Local 1. There, cooperation compliance committee that
at several children’s centers.
was established in a col-
In retirement, Wright plans
lective bargaining agree-
to reacquaint himself to steel-
ment ratified earlier this
head fishing and hunting. He’s
year.
already booked a deer and elk
“We’ll do our own
hunting trip in Montana this
compliance; BOLI
month.
[Oregon Bureau of La-
Local 1’s Executive Board
bor and Industries]
appointed Matt Eleazer to
won’t have to do it,” he
complete the remainder of
said.
Wright’s term as business
Wright said increases
manager. The term expires in
in contributions to the
June 2012.
local’s market recovery
Eleazer, 32, is a 14-year
program also will help
M ATT E LEAZER
member of Local 1 and likely
signatory contractors
the youngest business manager of that
bid jobs and increase market share.
Wright is a strong proponent of ap- trade in the country. He was serving his
prenticeship training, and was chair of second term as president of the local and
the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers was working full-time as a business
Joint Apprenticeship Training Commit- agent and organizer when Wright an-
tee. As business manager, he also served nounced his plans to retire.
A native of Vancouver, Wash.,
on all the union trusts, on the Construc-
tion Industry Drugfree Workplace Pro- Eleazer joined the Bricklayers appren-
gram, and was a vice president on the ticeship program after graduating from
Oregon, Washington, Idaho State Con- Hudson’s Bay High School. A neighbor
and Local 1 member helped get him his
ference.
Wright said he will continue serving first job at Bratton Masonry, where he
as a trustee to the health and welfare worked until 2005, when Mohlis hired
him to work for the union.
trust, and the pension trusts.
“I wanted to be a game warden, but I
In keeping with the tradition of Lo-
cal 1, Wright helped spearhead many saw what kind of money they were mak-
volunteer community projects, includ- ing in the trades and decided to go in that
ing tiling work for Homes For Our direction,” Eleazer said.
Eleazer’s father, Ed, is a recently-re-
Troops, building baseball dugouts for lo-
cal high schools, and expansion projects tired member of Floor Coverers Local
Teamsters
Dental Center
1890 NE 162nd Ave.
Portland, OR
1236. A cousin, Dave Winkler, is the
business agent for Local 1236.
Mike Titus was appointed by the Ex-
ecutive Board to complete the unexpired
term as president of Local 1. Titus also
was hired to succeed Eleazer as a busi-
ness agent and organizer.
“We have a good team,” Eleazer said.
“Mike, Shawn (apprenticeship coordi-
nator Shawn Lenczowski) and I work
really well together. I’m also very thank-
ful that Keith left no secrets. He’s in-
volved me in every step of the process.”
Eleazer is a newlywed and lives in
Battle Ground, Washington. He is an
avid outdoorsman who likes to hunt and
fish whenever the opportunity arises. He
also owns a horse and competes in team
roping.
Baska Memorial Fund set
Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers
Local 1 has set up the “Scott M. Baska
Memorial Fund” to help the children of
Baska, who died in his sleep Sept. 20 of
a brain aneurysm. He was 36.
A single father of three young daugh-
ters, Baska joined the union in 2004 and
was an active member. Last November
he completed the Bricklayer apprentice-
ship program.
Donations can be made at IBEW
United Workers Federal Credit Union,
9955 SE Washington St., Portland.
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