Kathy Blay (wearing tiger print jacket), retired after 38 years as office
secretary for Floor Coverers Local 1236 and Glass Workers Local 740. Blay
has worked for nine business managers. Her most recent bosses threw a
surprise party for her on her last day of work.
After 38 years, Blay retires as
secretary for Locals 1236, 740
For 38 years, members and visitors
calling on Floor Coverers Local 1236
and Glass Workers Local 740 have
been greeted with a warm welcome by
office secretary Kathy Blay. Those
callers discovered what a wealth of in-
formation Bray possessed, as she effi-
ciently handled their requests.
“That’s what it’s all about,” she said.
“You’re a member. You pay your dues.
You should get service. That’s what
we’re there for.”
Blay retired Dec. 1, 2011.
She returned for a few weeks in
February to help train her successor,
Trisha Kasch. On Feb. 10, colleagues
and friends threw a suprise retirement
luncheon for her at a restaurant near the
union hall in Northeast Portland.
“I started out as the youngest person
working in the building; now I’m the
oldest person in the building,” said
Blay, 61.
She was a 23-year-old receptionist
at a union insurance company in the
Portland Labor Center on Southwest
Arthur Street downtown when — in
October 1973 — a job for an office sec-
retary opened up at Floor Coverers Lo-
cal 1236.
In those days, most union locals had
their offices at the Labor Center. Blay’s
father, the late Bud Barnes, was a busi-
ness agent for Asbestos Workers Local
36, which had an office on the third-
floor next to the Floor Coverers. He put
in a good word for her with the head of
the union, Don Long.
Fast-forward 38 years — and nine
business managers, just as many busi-
ness agents, organizers, and other
union staff — and Blay is ready to
clock out for good.
“That’s a lot of guys I’ve had to
train,” she quipped, naming Joe
Snedeker, Dick Olsen, Bill Wilkerson,
Kelly Ferderer, Dave Winkler, Ben
Johnson, Cris Baugher, and Jerry
Fisher.
But it’s true.
Business managers are elected, so
they can come and go. Oftentimes it’s
the office secretary who helps show
newcomers the ropes.
MARCH 2, 2012
The Portland Labor Center eventu-
aly shuttered, and in 1981 the Floor
Coverers, Glass Workers, and Asbestos
Workers locals moved to a building on
Northeast Sandy Blvd., along with
Painters and Tapers Local 10 and Dis-
trict Council 55 (now D.C. 5). There,
the Floor Coverers and Glass Workers
shared an office.
In 1986, with the advent of comput-
ers, Blay was reassigned as secretary
for both the Floor Coverers and Glass
Workers after the locals computerized
their offices. For the last 10 years of her
career she had help from a part-time as-
sistant.
The secret to her longevity? “I’ve al-
ways been treated as part of the team,
not as a ‘girl,’” she said. “I feel fortu-
nate that I’ve been able to work in a
place with such a congenial atmos-
phere. They treated me well. They
made me feel appreciated.”
Nothing can illustrate Blay’s value
to the locals more so than what took
place during the two weeks prior to her
departure. As she was spending time
training her replacement, the business
manager or a union rep would help an-
swer the phones, but members would
always ask for Kathy. When the union
officer identified themselves, the mem-
ber would still want to talk to Kathy.
“It became a running joke in the of-
fice,” she said.
Blay has been a member of Office
and Professional Employees Local 11
throughout her working career.
Several dozen people — ranging
from past business managers and Ex-
ecutive Board members to vendors and
other professionals — attended the sur-
prise retirement party. Blay was pre-
sented with a wristwatch, cash, gift
cards, flowers, and lots of well wishes.
In retirement, Blay, a widow with
several step-children and grandchil-
dren, plans to travel. She’s booked a
cruise for August and will visit her
brother, a retired member of Insulators
Local 36, who lives in Arizona.
“There’s still lots of things I want to
do,” she said.
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
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