Accident at Thompson Metal Fab
takes life of Sheet Metal worker
VANCOUVER
—
Members of Sheet Metal
Workers Local 16 are griev-
ing the loss of a fellow
member, Michael Carpenter,
who was killed on the job
March 15 at Thompson
Metal Fab in Vancouver,
Washington.
Carpenter, 33, was a
third-generation member of
the union, and had been
working as a helper at Thompson for
just over a year.
He was grinding metal on an oil der-
rick when he was crushed by a steel
plate. Thompson Metal Fab makes
products out of structural steel for the
oil, gas, wind, high-tech and other in-
dustries at a 12-acre industrial facility
along the Columbia River. Washington
Department of Labor & Industries is in-
vestigating the accident to determine
whether workplace safety requirements
were met.
The accident
came as a shock to
Local 16 Business
Representative Del
Brown. Brown
worked at Thomp-
son for 20 years,
and describes the
company’s safety
record as stellar.
Thompson em-
ploys three full-time safety officers, and
all employees attend weekly safety
meetings. Thompson Metal Fab em-
ploys about 220 members of Local 16,
plus members of Painters Local 10.
“If there’s anything we can learn
from it, we need to learn from it,”
Brown said. “If there was something
done wrong, we need to fix it. We don’t
want this ever to happen again.”
Carpenter’s death was the first-ever
fatal accident at the shop, which has
been in operation since 1937.
“We take safety very seriously, and
we’re still trying to understand how it
happened,” Thompson Metal Fab pres-
ident John Rudi told the Labor Press.
The accident occurred on a Friday.
On Monday, Thompson held a com-
pany-wide safety training, and provided
grief counselors to co-workers. Co-
workers and fellow union members at
other shops took up a collection to help
the family, and the union is continuing
to collect donations. Checks to Local
16, with a memo noting it’s intended
for the Mike Carpenter Memorial
Fund, may be sent to 2379 NE 178th
Ave. Portland, OR 97230.
Carpenter is survived by his mother,
Debra Ables-Huft; step-father Terry
Huft; brother, Randy Carpenter; and
two nieces. Both his father and grand-
father, now deceased, were employees
of Thompson Metal Fab and were
members of the union, and his brother
Former Labor Press editor helped
pass workers’ comp law in Oregon
Former Oregon Labor Press Editor
William A. Marshall was considered “the
godfather” of Oregon’s workers’ compensa-
tion law. A member of the Multnomah Typo-
graphical Union No. 58, Marshall helped
push through a law to provide compensation
to injured workers and widows and orphans
of those fatally hurt.
In 1912, Gov. Oswald West appointed
Marshall to the first State Industrial Accident
Commission, where he served until 1927. In
that job he became known nationally as an
authority on what at that time was referred to
WILLIAM MARSHALL
as “workermen’s compensation.”
Later, he was appointed an administrator
in Seattle of the federal job-injury compensation program for long-
shoremen and harbor workers.
William Marshall died in Seattle in 1963 at age 88.
was a longtime employee and union
member there as well. Prior to working
at Thompson, Michael Carpenter
worked at Frito-Lay, where he was a
member of Bakers Local 364.
A memorial, held March 23 at
Layne's Funeral Home in Battle
Ground, was attended by family,
friends, co-workers and fellow union
members.
Proposed LNG export facility in Coos Bay would be union-built
COOS BAY — The Oregon State
Building and Construction Trades
Council and the Northwest National
Construction Alliance have signed proj-
ect labor agreements with Black &
Veatch Corporation, Inc. and Kiewit
Power Constructors on the $6 billion
Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas
(LNG) export terminal.
A consortium of Black & Veatch
and Kiewit Power will manage con-
struction of the Jordan Cove and its as-
sociated 420 MW power plant in Coos
Bay, located within the Coos Bay har-
bor on the North Spit.
Jordan Cove has received all local
land-use approvals and is seeking con-
struction, operation, and export permits
approval from the Federal Energy Reg-
ulatory Commission and U.S. Depart-
ment of Energy. Construction of the ex-
port facility and supporting power plant
is anticipated to span 42 months, with
an average workforce of 900 and a peak
workforce of approximately 2,000. The
average construction wage will be
$85,000 per year, including benefits.
The project could break ground as
soon as 2014.
The PLA is under the National Con-
struction Agreement of the Building
and Construction Trades Department,
AFL-CIO.
An identical agreement was
reached with the Northwest National
Construction Alliance, which is com-
prised of the Pacific Northwest Re-
gional Council of Carpenters and Op-
erating Engineers Local 701.
“We are very pleased to have
reached an agreement ensuring our fa-
cility will be built by experienced union
labor,” said Bob Braddock, project
manager, in a press release. “Black &
Veatch and Kiewit are world leaders in
designing and managing LNG and
power plant construction projects and
teaming them with quality, skilled la-
bor will enhance our long-term safety
and reliability.”
Jordan Cove Energy Project is a
subsidiary of Veresen Inc.
(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.
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PAGE 2
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
APRIL 19, 2013