Union investment brings new development, jobs to Portland
Workers, elected officials and com-
munity leaders will gather in Northeast
Portland to acknowledge Workers Me-
morial Day on Monday, April 28 —
and take part in a ceremonial ground-
breaking on a new union-funded con-
struction project.
The $43.2 million Lloyd District
Commons is a six-story, multi-family
apartment complex that will be located
adjacent to the Oregon Convention
Center at 330 Multnomah Street.
The project is funded by the AFL-
CIO Building Investment Trust (BIT),
and will be built, serviced and main-
tained 100 percent with union labor.
Construction is expected to be com-
pleted in July 2015.
Lloyd District Commons will have
186 rental apartments, 190 parking
spaces, and 3,500 square feet of street-
level retail space. Starbucks has al-
ready signed a lease for 1,850 square
feet of space.
“It is very encouraging to see union
pension dollars in Portland put to work
to create hundreds of new jobs in our
community. And Lloyd District Com-
mons is something that workers can be
especially proud of for this reason,”
said John Mohlis, executive secretary
of the Oregon State Building and Con-
struction Trades Council.
Mike Stotz, president of the AFL-
CIO Investment Trust Corporation,
said that as the nation honors workers
who died on the job, “it is essential that
the labor movement lead by example
and set the standard for good, safe, and
skilled job creation. The AFL-CIO
Building Investment Trust does this
with all of its projects.”
The BIT has 10 projects currently
in development across the country,
with total development costs of ap-
proximately $1.1 billion. The projects
are expected to create some 5,500
union jobs throughout the course of
construction. Additionally, hundreds
more union maintenance, retail, and
service jobs will be created once those
projects are completed.
Tom Chamberlain, president of the
Oregon AFL-CIO, said projects such
as those funded by the BIT create safe
jobs, and safe jobs save lives.
“We know that strong training leads
to safe jobs. The Lloyd District Com-
mons is making sure the construction
jobs we create in Portland are highly
trained, with never-compromised,
stringent, job-safety standards,” he
said.
“It is essential that we do more —
through legislation and through hold-
ing a few bad-acting employers ac-
countable to address workers dying
needlessly on the job each year,” said
Bob Tackett, executive secretary-treas-
urer of the Northwest Oregon Labor
Council.
“Workers Memorial Day puts a
spotlight on this crisis, and projects like
Lloyd District Commons are essential
to demonstrate what the bar should be
in terms of creating safe and healthy
working conditions on construction
projects.”
The memorial service and ground-
breaking ceremony are sponsored by
the Oregon AFL-CIO, the Northwest
Oregon Labor Council, the Columbia
Pacific Building Trades Council, the
Oregon State Building and Construc-
tion Trades Council, BIT, project de-
veloper Legacy Partners Residential,
Inc., project manager Rembold Com-
panies, PNC Realty Investors, Inc., and
the AFL-CIO Investment Trust Corpo-
ration. The ceremony is slated to begin
at 10 a.m. at the construction site, 330
NE Multnomah St. Portland.
IBEW’s Ed Barnes a
finalist for Clark Co.
Commission seat
VANCOUVER, Wash. — Ed
Barnes, a retired business manager of
IBEW Local 48, is a finalist to succeed
Steve Stuart on the Clark County Board
of Commissioners.
Stuart, a Democrat, resigned his
District 3 seat this month for a job as
Ridgefield city manager. His term as
Clark County commissioner expires at
the end of this year, which means the
seat is up for election in November.
Under Washington law, the political
party of the resigning county official
must submit a list of three names to the
Board of Commissioners, in order of
preference, to complete the term.
Clark County Democrats chose
Craig Pridemore, a former county com-
missioner and former state senator as
their top choice. They picked Kelly
Parker, president of the Greater Van-
couver Chamber of Commerce and a
former news reporter for KGW Chan-
nel 8 in Portland, as their second
choice. Barnes was their third choice.
Both Parker and Barnes support Pride-
more, and Pridemore intends to run for
election.
Now it’s up to Clark County Com-
missioners David Madore and Tom
Mielke, both Republicans, to select the
replacement. They have 60 days to do
so. The clock started ticking April 7.
If the commissioners do not make
an appointment in that time, the gover-
nor makes the choice.
Social Security
Disability benefits:
You paid into the
system while you
worked, and if you
can’t work anymore,
it’s time to obtain
them.
APRIL 18, 2014
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
PAGE 5