...Jobs, jobs, jobs theme of Oregon building trades convention
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“I will proudly display this on the
wall of my office next to the AFL-CIO
Legislator of the Year Award,” Hoyle
said.
Doherty, who was introduced as
“one of our greatest allies in Salem this
year,” said that when she heard that the
payment of prevailing wage on Oregon
University System projects was the
Number One listed issue for the Build-
ing Trades, she stepped up to sponsor a
bill to fix the problem.
“The path to victory wasn’t easy, but
we prevailed and received the strongest
vote for a prevailing wage in state his-
tory,” she said.
Delegates also heard from Sonia
Ramirez, political director for the na-
tional Building and Construction
Trades Department, and Henry
Kramer, secretary-treasurer of the In-
ternational Union of Bricklayers and
Allied Craftworkers.
Convention delegates passed resolu-
tions supporting several proposed con-
struction projects valued at more than
$10.6 billion — a majority of which is
private investment money.
They backed construction of the
$7.5 billion Jordan Cove liquefied nat-
ural gas export terminal and Pacific
connector natural gas pipeline at the
Port of Coos Bay. If allowed to pro-
ceed, Jordan Cove would be the largest
single construction project in Oregon
history. Jordan Cove’s general contrac-
tors have signed a project labor agree-
ment for the terminal, which will take
42 months to complete, employing
1,750 people on average, with a peak
workforce of 3,400.
A resolution in support of a $242
million Morrow Pacific coal export fa-
cility in Boardman calls on Gov. John
Kitzhaber, Oregon’s congressional del-
egation, Oregon lawmakers, and state
and federal regulators to support the
permitting and construction of the proj-
ect. The facility would be built under a
project labor agreement and create
more than 2,100 construction jobs.
Delegates also support construction
of a $100 million international eques-
trian competition venue proposed near
Willamina in Yamhill County. Wallace
Bridge will sit on 300 acres and consist
of two polo fields, a gallop track, steeple
chase facilities, and a 5-star resort. The
resolution calls on the National Re-
sources Conservation Service and the
National Appeals Division to expedite
the modified conservation easement
necessary to begin construction.
Additionally, delegates endorsed the
new scaled down ($2.75 billion) plan
for replacing the Interstate 5 bridge be-
tween Portland and Vancouver, also
known as Columbia River Crossing.
Delegates also passed resolutions
opposing a pair of initiative petitions
that could find their way on the ballot
in November 2014.
The first is Initiative Petition 3 —
the Affordable Renewable Energy Act.
It would weaken Oregon’s renewable
portfolio standards (RPS). The RPS
statute was passed by the Legislature in
2007, setting a goal for all large utili-
ties in the state to provide 25 percent of
the electricity they sell from renewable
sources (i.e. wind, solar, and geother-
mal) by 2025.
IP3 would allow utilities to include
hydroelectric power as part of their re-
newable energy requirements. Union
officials see that as a threat to the liveli-
hood of construction workers.
OSBCTC’s resolution says in part
that IP 3 “would stifle investments in
new renewable energy facilities and
will significantly reduce the number of
jobs associated with renewable energy
facilities, thereby increasing the rate of
unemployment and slowing the eco-
nomic recovery.”
IP3 needs 87,213 signatures to
make the ballot in November 2014.
The initiative was approved for circu-
lation May 15.
The other initiative petition has to
do with “right to work.” Backers are
still waiting for a ballot title from the
Oregon Supreme Court, but whatever
it is, construction unions will oppose it.
“OSBCTC will employ significant
resources to defeat any right-to-work
measure or legislation in Oregon,” the
resolution stated.
Delegates voted to continue a $1 per
member per month assessment to fund
Oregonians to Maintain Community
Standards to promote union construc-
tion workers and lobby for and against
legislation and ballot measures that
protect or harm union workers.
Scholarships were awarded to
Alexander Peterson and Laura Wagner.
Wagner is the daughter of Plumbers
and Fitters Local 290 member Daniel
Wagner, and Peterson is the son of
Dennis Peterson, a member of Cement
Masons Local 555.
The scholarships are funded by
$1,000 contributions each from Fergu-
son Wellman Capital Management and
Quest Investment Management Inc.
Recipients are selected by Duke Shep-
ard, a policy adviser to Gov. John
Kitzhaber, based on an application and
short essay.
Travis Hopkins (right), president of
Roofers Local 49, accepts a com-
memorative U.S. flag from injured
Iraq war veteran Sgt. Rob Boyce.
Volunteers from the union re-roofed
Boyce’s home in Keizer earlier this
summer, and the flag was his way of
saying ‘Thank you.’ The presenta-
tion was made Aug. 25 at the union’s
annual picnic.
Construction workers help nab bank robber
Union construction workers at Port-
land Community College’s Southeast
Center expansion project in Portland
helped nab a bank robber Aug. 19.
Scott Adams, a member of Roofers
Local 49, was the first man on the
scene. The 25-year-old father of one is
known as “The Kid” at Arrow Roofing
& Sheet Metal, where he has worked
since entering the trade as an apprentice
six years ago.
It was just before 11 a.m. on a Mon-
day morning when Adams and Brad
Hanson, a member of the Carpenters
Union, saw a man running through the
jobsite located at Southeast 82nd Av-
enue off Division Street.
“He had red paint all over his hands.
At first I thought he was a painter,”
Adams told the Labor Press. “But he
wasn’t wearing a hard hat and he wasn’t
in work clothes or wearing work boots.”
Suddenly, another worker yelled out
that the man had just robbed a bank.
Scott Adams, a member of Roofers Local 49, poses for a picture at the union’s
picnic Aug. 25. A 2011 graduate of the apprenticeship program, Adams was
instrumental in catching a fleeing bank robber while at work on Aug. 19.
After the incident, Local 49 posted a message on its Facebook page that read:
“Way to go Scott, you may not be that big, but you are plenty tough!”
SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
Adams and Hanson took off after
him. Adams got to him first.
The suspect, who was larger than
Adams, turned and squared off. “He
said he had nothing to lose, and that I
should turn around and walk away or he
would fight,” Adams said. “He didn’t
say he would shoot me, or stab me, so I
figured he wasn’t armed.”
The suspect threw an errant punch at
Adams, who countered with a left that
knocked the robber to the ground.
Hanson, who works for Fred Shearer
& Sons, Inc., then jumped on the man
and held his arm behind his back. He
described the hold to the Oregonian
newspaper as a “chicken-wing.”
Adams said a couple more construc-
tion workers showed up to hold the sus-
pected robber until police arrived and
took him into custody.
According to news reports, 44-year-
old Frazer Scott Piccolo took a cab to
Bank of the West at 8135 SE Division
St. and gave a teller a demand note for
money. He then got back inside the cab,
and a dye packet in the stolen money
exploded, leaving red paint all over his
hands. He fled from the cab in to the
construction site.
Adams said that after being inter-
viewed by police, all the men returned
to work, clocking out at their normal
quitting time.
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
OSBCTC opened its convention by
launching Twitter (@OregonTrades)
and Instagram accounts. The council
already has a YouTube channel and
Facebook page.
“Just a few years ago, many of us
thought that social media platforms like
Twitter were something for kids to play
with. After all, construction workers are
not the first thing that comes to mind
when thinking about Instagram,” said
Executive Secretary John Mohlis.
Roofers #49 gets special
flag from injured veteran
Injured Iraqi war veteran Sgt. Rob
Boyce honored Roofers Local 49 with
a special presentation at their union
picnic Aug. 25 — an American flag
that flew with U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
For Sgt. Boyce, it was a gift of
thanks to the union, whose members
volunteered to re-roof his home in
Keizer, Oregon, last June.
Fifteen members of Roofers Local
49 responded to a call for assistance
from the Oregon Military Support
Network and the Wounded Warriors
Project to help the injured Army Na-
tional Guard soldier. Boyce was serv-
ing a third tour of duty in Operation
Iraqi Freedom when he injured his
lower pelvis jumping from a rescue
helicopter that was under mortar at-
tack in Afghanistan. The injury re-
quired multiple surgeries, leaving him
permanently disabled.
In a day-and-a-half, the union crew
tore off the old roof, replaced several
sections of plywood sheathing that
had sustained water damage, and re-
shingled the entire home.
“You don’t know how much this
means to me and my family,” Sgt.
Boyce told the picnic crowd, which
also was celebrating the union’s 100th
anniversary.
The American flag Sgt. Boyce pre-
sented to the union was flown during
Operation Iraqi Freedom on over 30
lifesaving missions; it spent over 200
days in a combat zone with over 80
combat flight hours; and it had six
trans-Atlantic crossings with over
60,000 flight miles.
Accepting the flag were Local 49
President Travis Hopkins and Busi-
ness Manager Russ Garnett. Both
men were part of the volunteer team
that re-roofed the house. The flag and
accompanying plaque will be put in a
display case at the union hall at 5032
SE 26th Ave., Portland.
Also receiving flags were signatory
contractors Anderson Roofing and
Stryker Sheet Metal.
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