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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (May 2, 2014)
Columbia Pacific Building Trades announces political endorsements The Columbia Pacific Building and Construction Trades Council an- nounced its slate of endorsements for the Oregon primary elections in May. The Council, which is comprised of 28 construction union locals represent- ing some 20,000 workers, supports a local option levy in Columbia County to fund jail operations. If passed, Meas- ure 5-238 will provide funding to con- tinue operations of the county jail. If it fails, county commissioners say the jail will close by June 30. The proposed levy is 57.97 cents per $1,000 of as- sessed property value for three years. The Building Trades Council op- poses an initiative in the City of Port- land that would create a new water dis- trict. The council urges members to vote no on Ballot Measure 26-156. Construction unions recommend voters re-elect Portland City Commis- sioners Nick Fish and Dan Saltzman. In Multnomah County, the Building Trades Council endorsed Deborah Kafoury for county chair, Jules Bailey for county commissioner in District 1, and the re-election of Commissioner Loretta Smith in District 2. At Metro, the Building Trades Council supports the re-election of President Tom Hughes, and Councilors Shirley Craddick, Carlotta Collette, and Kathryn Harrington. In Clackamas County, the Building Trades Council endorsed the re-elec- tion of commissioners Paul Savas and Jim Bernard. In Washington County, the con- struction unions support the re-election of Chair Andy Duyck. The chair of the Board of Commissioners represents all Washington County residents. Oregon primary election ballots are in the mail now. Ballots must be re- turned by May 20. Machinists-Woodworkers endorse Sen. Jeff Merkley The Machinists Non-Partisan Po- litical League (MNPL), the political arm of Machinists District W24, en- dorsed U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley for re- election to a second term. MNPL delegates met April 26 in Astoria in conjunction with the Ore- gon Machinists Council (OMC). MNPL also backed the re-election of state representatives Brad Witt (D- Clatskanie) and Lew Frederick (D- Portland). Witt is a union rep for United Food and Commercial Work- ers Local 555. He also has main- tained membership with Woodwork- ers Lodge 12. Robert Petroff was re-elected pres- ident of OMC. He defeated John Kleibocker in a secret-ballot election. Will Lukens was elected vice presi- dent; Marty Demaris was re-elected secretary-treasurer; and Frank Rouse, John Hall and Steve Del Gallo were elected trustees. Lukens succeeds Dan Sass, who is retiring. Hall was re-elected president of the Machinists Non-Partisan Political League. Also re-elected were Del Gallo as vice president and Demaris as secretary-treasurer. Terms are for one year. Remembering fallen workers In the photo above, Janet Irwin and Jeanne Ramsten, members of AFSCME Local 88, raise an American flag during a Workers Memorial Day ceremony April 28. The service was held prior to the monthly meeting of the Northwest Oregon Labor Council. Each flag represents a worker killed on the job in Oregon last year. In the photo below, Claudia Cook-Winkler (left) and Anna Cool-MacRae hold up a flag as the name of Benjamin Cool — Claudia’s son and Anna’s brother — is read. Ben Cool, a lineman and member of IBEW Local 77 in Seattle, was electrocuted in a bucket lift truck July 30, 2013 while working on a transfer box at the Bonneville Power Substation in Gold Beach, Oregon. Cool, 35, lived in Lewiston, Idaho, but was working for Canby, Oregon- based Wilson Construction. Claudia traveled from Clarkston, Washington (near the Idaho border and Lewiston), and Anna flew in from Las Vegas to attend the ceremony. Ben Cool had a seven-year-old daughter. “He wanted to be a lineman since he was 12. That’s all he wanted to do,” his mother told the NW Labor Press. The Workers Memorial Day observance was one of hundreds conducted throughout the country by union members on April 28. The Oregon AFL-CIO held a service at the Fallen Workers Memorial outside the Labor and Industries Building on the Capitol Mall in Salem. Thirty-nine workers died in job-related accidents in Oregon in 2013. Another 25 died of heart attacks, strokes or other ailments while at work. Since 2003, the Oregon Occupational Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (OR-FACE) Program has tracked over 600 work-related fatalities in Oregon caused by a traumatic injury. Nationally, 4,383 job-related deaths were recorded in 2012 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. State ombudsman can assist injured workers SALEM — The Ombudsman for Injured Workers is a state office that serves as an independent advocate for injured workers by helping them un- derstand their rights and responsibili- ties, investigating complaints, and as- MAY 2, 2014 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS sisting to resolve complaints. The om- budsman’s staff give straight answers, at no charge, about worker rights and responsibilities; time loss and medical benefits; returning to work; claim clo- sure; and litigation and settlement processes. The ombudsman can be reached toll-free at 800-927-1271, or by email at oiw.questions@ state.or.us. PAGE 15
