Unionized companies Oregon Iron Works, Vigor Industrial to merge
Washington, including about 600 union
workers in Portland at facilities in the
Swan Island Industrial Park. When the
merger is finalized by the end of June,
Oregon Iron Works will be a wholly
owned subsidiary of Vigor.
At Oregon Iron Works, the initial re-
action of some employees was concern
about possible job losses, said Local
516 Business Manager A.J. Blair. But
Blair said he thinks the merger will be
good for employment, because the
combined company will be better posi-
tioned to compete for new business.
Portland Metal Trades Council Pres-
ident Bud Bartunek shared Blair’s opti-
mism: Merging with Oregon Iron
Works could help Vigor expand beyond
marine work into things like oil rigs
and dam gates, Bartunek said, and
more diverse jobs would mean steadier
work all around.
At Vigor’s Portland ship repair yard,
workers make $16 to $31.37 an hour,
LERC awarded grant to document
Oregon home health care workers
ST. LOUIS (PAI) — A new five-
year contract for Teamsters workers at
the Anheuser-Busch brewery in the
firm’s home city of St. Louis, and 11
other locations nationwide, is a classic
“lesson to be learned: It’s never easy,
but always possible if we stay to-
gether.”
That comment from St. Louis
Teamsters Local 6 Secretary-Treasurer
Bob Gartner highlighted the result of a
unified effort by brewery workers
across the U.S
On April 30, they overwhelmingly
ratified a contract with the nation’s
largest brewer that will bring the aver-
age worker a total of $24,000 in new
wages and bonuses during its term.
The pact covers more than 4,500
Teamster-represented workers at the
firm’s St. Louis headquarters, and An-
heuser-Busch breweries in Los Angeles
and Fairfield, Calif., Jacksonville, Fla.,
Newark, N.J., Houston, Fort Collins,
Colo., Williamsburg, Va., Cartersville,
Ga., Merrimack, N.H., Columbus,
Ohio, and Baldwinsville, N.Y.
Oregon Iron Works is merging into
Vigor Industrial, the two companies an-
nounced May 21. Both are big indus-
trial enterprises that employ hundreds
of union members in the Portland area.
At Oregon Iron Works, about 250
members of Ironworkers Shopmens
Local 516 make products from street-
cars to boats to parts for nuclear and
hydroelectric facilities.
Vigor, meanwhile builds and repairs
ships, particularly barges, tugboats, fer-
ries, and fishing boats. It employs
1,800 workers in Alaska, Oregon and
EUGENE — The Labor Education
and Research Center (LERC) at the
University of Oregon was selected for a
national fellowship to fund a project to
survey home health care workers in
Oregon and document the occupational
culture of people who have become a
primary source of health care for the
elderly.
The award is from the Library of
Congress’ American Folklife Center.
The Archie Green Fellowship in Oc-
cupational Folklore will provide
$34,000 to interview 35 home care
workers over the next year. The inter-
views will be digitally archived at the
Library of Congress and the UO, where
they will be available to future re-
searchers.
LERC Director Bob Bussel told UO
Public Affairs Communications that the
interviews are expected to yield insights
in the occupational culture of home care
work and expand public knowledge of a
job that is only beginning to receive
greater scholarly and social attention.
He noted that many home care workers
develop close relationships with clients
and often come to be seen as part of the
patient’s family.
Bussel will lead the research team.
He will be joined by Helen Moss, a
LERC senior instructor; Nathan
Moore, a recent UO master’s degree re-
cipient in folklore; and Ivan LaFollette,
who will be the team’s videographer.
The interviews will be conducted
with support from Service Employees
International Union Local 503, which
represents more than 11,000 home care
workers in Oregon.
The project is called “Taking Care:
Documenting the Occupational Culture
of Home Care Workers.”
Teamsters ratify five-year
deal at Anheuser-Busch
depending on craft and experience, un-
der a contract with the Metal Trades
Council of Portland and Vicinity that in-
cludes members of 10 unions: Asbestos
Workers Local 36, Boilermakers Local
104, IBEW Local 48, Laborers Local
296, Machinists District Lodge W24,
Operating Engineers Local 701,
Painters Local 10, Plumbers and Fitters
Local 290, Teamsters Local 162, and
EE
R
F
BARGAIN COUNTER
Free classified ads to subscribers
DEADLINE: Friday prior to publication
Published 1st and 3rd Fridays
Now accepting e-mails
Send to: Michael492@comcast.net
Mail to: NWLP, PO Box 13150, Portland OR 97213
(Please include union affiliation)
• 15-20 words • No commercial or business ads • 1 ad per issue
• All lower case (NO CAPITAL LETTERS, PLEASE) •
Ads MUST include area code or they will not be published
A UTOMOTIVE
4 Matching goodyear P215/65r17
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goodyear tireS, P255/45r-19, 2
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100 acreS, trees, wildlife, will carry con-
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W ANTED
oLd woodworking tools, planes, leather
tools, levels, chisels, handsaws, slicks,
adzes, wrenches, rulers, chests. 503-659-
0009
U.S., gerMan, Japanese military, avia-
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BUying US & world coins to add to col-
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503-939-8835
coLLector, cash paid, old fishing
tackle, wood plugs, reels, creels, salmon
fishing photos, etc. 503-775-4166
coLLector PayS cash for older toys,
oil paintings, american art pottery, and cos-
tume jewelry. 503-703-5952
MotorcycLeS running or not, boats,
tractors, trailers, lawn mowers, car and
bike magazines, cash paid. 503-880-8183
S PORTING G OODS
goLF cLUBS, left-hand w/ bags; topFlite
tour 3-PW, 17 & 21 degree hybrids, SW,
putter, $40; adams a2 irons/hybrids, SW,
putter, $75. 503-522-6542
eide eLec Boat Loader, $250, eide
PAGE 10
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Sheet Metal Workers Local 16. The
contract expires December 2015.
At Oregon Iron Works, Local 516
represents all production workers at the
company’s facilities in Clackamas and
Vancouver. Entry-level helpers and
parts workers start at $13 to $15 an
hour, while journeymen make $22 to
$25 an hour, Blair said. The contract
expires Aug. 15.
transom wheels, $75; Merc cruiser prop,
17” pitch, alpa one, $100. 503-929-6898
SaVage ModeL 99, 300, fine condition,
excellent bore, $500 firm. 503-926-3253
(russ)
WeatherBy 300 mag, german made,
$1,100; 224 round ammo $2.25 ea. S&W
.45 colt, 6” barrel, $500. 541-543-3336
Sig SaUer 229 Mod. e29r-9-Sct
Sa/da custom magnaport, carry melt, ni-
tron sights $850. 360-750-1739 (Scotty)
attention BoWhUnterS, camou-
flage clothing, large size, everything you
would need. 503-652-8590
Beretta over/under 12 gauge shotgun,
beautiful model 682 sporting, with all good-
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762X39 aMMo 122gr, FMJ $420/1000;
762x39 ammo 122gr hP $440/1000. 503-
289-5884
M ISCELLANEOUS
BeLt Sander, 4"x106", cr Laurence,
wet/dry abrasive w/ roller platen, 110v, ex-
tra belts, $800. 360-274-6397
APPRENTICESHIP
Masonry Trades Union
Tile, Terrazzo,
Brick & CPC Finisher
Must have a high school
diploma or GED and be at
least 18 years old at time of
application
Applications will be taken the
2nd and 4th Thursday each
month for 2014
from 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Location:
12812 NE Marx St.
Portland, Ore. 97230
JUNE 6, 2014