SW Washington students get
taste of construction careers
SW Washington Labor Council backs
Clark County charter change
Amendment would add
two members to County
Commission, cut its pay,
and allow initiatives
Jack Miller and Tom Wishard (in baseball cap), field reps with Operating
Engineers Local 701, help a student operate a heavy equipment computer
simulator at the fourth annual Cowlitz Wahkiakum Construction Fair hosted
by Kelso High School. Several craft unions and their respective training
centers participated in the event, which attracted 1,200 students.
KELSO — Construction trade
unions participated in the Cowlitz
Wahkiakum Construction Fair Sept. 26
at the Cowlitz Expo Center. The fair,
in its fourth year, was hosted by Kelso
High School and drew approximately
1,200 students from Cowlitz, Wahki-
akum and Clark counties.
The fair is designed to introduce
students to careers that they might not
otherwise be familiar with. Some of the
union crafts displaying their wares
were Operating Engineers Local 701;
Plumbers and Fitters Local 26; the Ore-
gon and Southwest Washington Mason
Trades Joint Apprenticeship Training
Committee; the Washington and North-
ern Idaho District Council of Laborers
and Local 335; Cowlitz Fire Depart-
ment; IBEW Local 48 and the National
Electrical Contractors Association
Training Center; Bricklayers and Allied
Craftworkers Local 1, and the Wash-
ington State Labor Council.
Union signatory contractor JH Kelly
donated hard hats, eye protection and
safety vests for every student that par-
ticipated in the fair.
“This was an amazing community
effort that had a huge impact on our
high school students who took advan-
tage of such a great opportunity,” said
Mollie DuBois, a career specialist at
Kelso High School and event organizer.
VANCOUVER — The Southwest
Washington Central Labor Council,
AFL-CIO encourages Clark County
residents to vote “yes” on a proposed
Home Rule Charter that will be on the
Nov. 4 ballot.
Last November voters elected five
county residents from each of the
three Clark County commissioner dis-
tricts to serve as a Board of Freehold-
ers — charged with drafting new
rules for Clark County government.
The 15-member Board was a mix of
Democrats, Republicans and inde-
pendents. Members unanimously
elected Nan Henriksen, former mayor
of Camas, as chair. They elected Joe
Zarelli, former Republican state sena-
tor from Ridgefield, as vice chair, and
former Democratic state representa-
tive Val Ogden of Vancouver as sec-
retary. [Val passed away after com-
pleting a partial term and the Board
appointed Dan Ogden to fill his wife’s
unexpired term.]
The freeholders, who served with-
out pay, met for about six months and
came up with a proposal that makes
three main changes.
Their proposed charter strengthens
citizen representation by going from
three commissioners to five council
members, with four elected by district
and one at-large (the chair). Salaries
are lowered so that the cost for all five
will be no more than the current cost
for three. Salaries of the policymak-
ers would be reduced from $102,000
to $53,000. The chair, with additional
responsibilities, would make 20 per-
cent more ($63,600). Adjustments to
the salary would be based on percent-
age changes established for state leg-
islators by the Washington State
Salary Commission. The elected par-
tisan offices of Clark County Asses-
sor, Auditor, Clerk, Prosecuting Attor-
ney, Sheriff and Treasurer are retained
under the proposed charter.
The second change puts the county
under professional management. Un-
der the current commissioner form of
government, three commissioners
serve as “co-chief executives” as well
as “policymakers.” Under the pro-
posed council-manager form of gov-
ernment the council would hire/fire a
professional manager who has the re-
sponsibility and authority to imple-
ment policies adopted by the council
and to manage the administrative
branch. The council would serve as
the legislative branch: setting policy,
adopting the budget and representing
the County on various boards.
Third, the proposed charter would
give voters the right to initiate and en-
act legislation through the initiative
process similar to the way statewide
initiatives are considered on the bal-
lot. Through the referendum process
voters could petition to have an ordi-
nance that has been enacted by the
Council submitted to the voters for
their approval or rejection. Unlike in
the current system, Clark County vot-
ers could change the charter in the fu-
ture if they so choose.
“This proposed home rule charter
was truly created by the people, for
the people,” said Shannon Walker,
president of the Southwest Washing-
ton Central Labor Council.
The Charter YES campaign is led
by co-chairs Clark County Sheriff
Garry Lucas and Betty Sue Morris, a
former Democratic legislator and
county commissioner. Community
members John McDonagh, Nan Hen-
riksen, Greg Kimsey and Judie Stan-
ton serve as members of the steering
committee, along with the co-chairs.
The charter will become law if ap-
proved by a simple majority of voters
in the general election. It would go
into effect Jan. 1, 2015. On that day
the legislative and administrative
powers will be separated into two
branches of government. The charter
provides for the election of two addi-
tional council members during 2015
who will be seated on Jan. 1, 2016.
The transitioning of the salary de-
crease would occur over two years.
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OCTOBER 17, 2014
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
PAGE 3