New program offers scholarships for
kids of workers killed, injured on job
Kids’ Chance of Oregon, a new
nonprofit that provides post-secondary
and trade school scholarships to chil-
dren of Oregon workers who have
been severely or fatally injured in a
workplace accident, handed out its first
scholarships Sept. 4 in the downtown
Portland offices of Hoffman Construc-
tion.
The scholarship recipients are Erin
Fisher and twins Kayla and Randi
Johnston.
Kids’ Chance is a national organi-
zation founded in 1988 by Robert Cly-
att, a workers’ compensation attorney
from Georgia. Clyatt saw first-hand the
devastating impact that severe work-
place injuries had on children and their
families. With the assistance of the
Workers’ Compensation Section of the
Georgia Bar, Clyatt incorporated Kids’
Chance of Georgia and started educa-
tional scholarship fund raising for the
children of injured Georgia workers.
The Georgia Kids’ Chance started
reaching out to other states and sup-
ported them in establishing their own
chapters. Over 25 states have organ-
ized Kids’ Chance programs. Oregon
is the most recent, having received its
non-profit charter in July.
Bob Tackett, executive secretary-
treasurer of the Northwest Oregon La-
bor Council, and Bob Shiprack, a re-
tired executive secretary of the Oregon
State Building and Construction
Trades Council, serve as members of
the Kids’ Chance of Oregon Founders
Board. Also on the 12-member board
are Nelson Hall, a labor attorney at
Bennett, Hartman, Morris & Kaplan,
and Jennifer Flood, State of Oregon
ombudsmen for injured workers.
Shiprack, who serves as vice pres-
ident, said he hopes Oregon labor
unions will help raise funds for future
scholarships.
Fisher, whose father was paralyzed
in a workplace accident, attends Port-
land State University and plans to pur-
sue a master’s degree in speech-lan-
guage pathology, specializing in
swallowing disorders. She received a
$1,500 scholarship.
Kayla Johnston will study dental
hygiene at Lower Columbia College
and plans to finish at Clark College.
Randi Johnston will study social work
and education. Both are graduates of
St. Helens High School. They were
five when their father was killed in a
workplace accident. They each re-
ceived $1,245 scholarships.
For more information about Kids’
Chance of Oregon, call Linda Barno,
president, at 503-323-2812 or email
her at info@kidschanceoforegon.com.
Union members
nominated to
state boards,
commissions
Erin Fisher (left) and twins Kayla and Randi Johnston display scholarship
awards from Kids’ Chance of Oregon, a new nonprofit that provides post-
high school scholarships to children whose parent was killed or seriously
disabled in an on-the-job accident.
Unions join women’s groups
in new statewide campaign
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Oregon Education Asso-
ciation are teaming up with Planned Parenthood, Mother PAC, Family Forward,
and Oregon Action for a new campaign known as Fair Shot Oregon, which will
push for state laws that support working women and families.
That could include laws to raise the minimum wage, guarantee that all workers
have paid sick days, ensure that women get equal pay for equal work, and set up
a state-sponsored low-fee retirement savings plan that all Oregon workers could
choose to take part in.
The campaign launched Sept. 16 with press events in four Oregon cities, a cam-
paign web site (fairshotoregon.org) and an online video known as “19th Century
Man” that spoofs outdated workplace policies.
SALEM — Oregon Governor John
Kitzhaber this month nominated 127
individuals to serve on state boards and
commissions, including nine unionists
and at least one union-signatory con-
tractor. The Oregon Senate scheduled a
confirmation vote on the appointees for
Sept. 17, after this issue went to press.
The union member nominees are:
Oregon State Building and Con-
struction Trades Executive Secretary
John Mohlis, for the Energy Facility
Siting Council;
Oregon AFSCME staff representa-
tive Jaime Sorenson, for the Educators
Benefit Board;
Laborers Local 296 Apprentice Co-
ordinator Aida Aranda, for Workers’
Compensation Management-Labor
Advisory Committee (MLAC);
Plumbers and Fitters Local 290
member Blake Alexander, for Boiler
Rules Board;
American Federation of Teachers
member Rondall Brown and Service
Employees Internation Union (SEIU)
Local 503 member Patricia Todd, for
the Board of Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity;
SEIU Local 503 member Joanna
Steinman, for the Board of Southern
Oregon University;
SEIU Local 503 member Dana
Henry, for the Board of Oregon Insti-
tute of Technology; and
American Federation of Teachers
member Cornelia Paraskevas, for the
Board of Western Oregon University.
Also nominated was Maurice Rah-
ming, owner of IBEW Local 48-signa-
tory O’Neill Electric, for the Board of
Directors of State Accident Insurance
Fund Corporation (SAIF).
Construction unions to
showcase training programs
Portland area union construction ap-
prenticeship training centers and other
affiliated groups have teamed up with
the Oregon Bureau of Labor and In-
dustries to put on an eight-hour work-
shop that will provide math, science,
and Career and Technical Education
teachers — as well as guidance coun-
selors, administrators, and workforce
development professionals — with a
greater understanding of union appren-
ticeship programs.
The workshop will be held Friday,
Oct.10, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the
NECA-IBEW Training Center, 16021
NE Airport Way, Portland.
Apprenticeships are often over-
looked as a promising post-secondary
option. Many advisers and parents are
unaware that most apprentices com-
plete their training debt-free, while
earning living wages, health insurance,
and contributing to a pension plan.
To register or learn more about the
workshop, contact Bridget Quinn at
bquinn@nietc.org.
SEPTEMBER 19, 2014
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
PAGE 9