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.
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NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
JULY 6, 2012