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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (July 6, 2012)
SW Washington Labor Council makes primary election endorsements VANCOUVER — The Southwest Washington Central Labor Council has endorsed Joe Tanner and Roman Battan for Clark County commissioners in the Aug. 7 primary election. Tanner, a Ridgefield Democrat, is challenging Republican incumbent Tom Mielke in District 1. Battan, of Ca- mas, is a Democrat trying to unseat Re- publican Marc Boldt in District 2. Both primary races have multiple candidates. The top-two finishers, re- gardless of their political party, will ad- vance to the Nov. 6 general election. The Labor Council also endorsed David Gregerson for Superior Court Judge for Clark County, and Phil Parker for Clark County PUD commissioner, Position 1. Parker is a member of IBEW Local 48. ‘Hire Local Labor’ rally held at Port of Kalama Union members from Longview, Wash., to Portland rallied at the Port of Kalama June 29, calling for the hiring of local workers on an upcoming $100 million expansion of the Temco grain terminal. Temco is a joint venture owned by Minnesota-based cooperative CHS Inc. and Cargill. Design-build contracts from two general contractors are currently being reviewed, and could be awarded in mid-July, said Mike Bridges, treasurer of the Longview-Kelso Building and Construction Trades Council, which organized the rally. One of the general contractors in the running is T.E. Ibberson of Minnesota. Ibberson was the contractor on the 2010 EGT grain terminal in Longview, which unions picketed because out-of-state and foreign workers were brought in and paid wages and benefits below area standards. Unions dealt with similar issues on grain terminal expansion projects at the Port of Vancouver and Kalama Export. In each instance, general contractors asserted that grain silo erection was “specialized work” and that there wasn’t enough skilled labor in the area to do it. Union officials say that’s nonsense. Case in point, the second general contractor in the running for the Temco job in Kalama is Borton LC of Kansas. Borton plans to use JH Kelly to perform 85 percent of the work, including concrete, structural steel, electrical, piping, and millwright work. JH Kelly is signatory with several trades unions in Washington and Oregon. It is estimated that 100 union jobs will be created in Southwest Washington for more than a year and a half if Borton is awarded the contract. “That’s all money that will be spent locally,” Bridges said. (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 at Portland, Oregon as a voice of the labor movement. 4275 NE Halsey St., P.O. Box 13150, Portland, Ore. 97213 Telephone: (503) 288-3311 Editor: Michael Gutwig Staff: Don McIntosh, Cheri Rice Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non- profit corporation owned by 20 unions and councils including the Oregon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Ore- gon and SW Washington. Subscriptions $13.75 per year for union members. Group rates available to trade union organizations. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICE: Three weeks are required for a change of address. When ordering a change, please give your old and new addresses and the name and number of your local union. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS, P.O. BOX 13150, PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150 PAGE 2 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS JULY 6, 2012
