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November 6, 2015 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
At Local 290, retirees get union support staying healthy
Members of Plumbers and
Steamfitters Local 290 are
highly sought after by employ-
ers for their specialized know-
how. But if there’s one thing
they need to know at the end of
their working lives, it’s how to
stay well so they can make the
most of their retirement.
In 2013, Local 290 decided to
invest serious resources into re-
tiree wellness — by paying re-
tirees to take classes on diet, ex-
ercise, sleep, and strategies to
fight depression and anxiety.
The program is funded by the
union’s Educational Reimburse-
ment Trust, to which active
members contribute 16 cents an
hour. Now in its third year, it
runs September to August, and
is open to all 1,200 Local 290
retirees and their spouses.
Classes take place at retiree
chapter meetings the third
Thursday of each month. Re-
tirees earn 3 points for each
class they attend, up to 4 points
for self-reported activities like
physical activity and volunteer-
ing, and several more points for
medical and dental screenings.
At the end of the year, those
who complete 24 points get a
check in an amount determined
by the trust; the first two years,
the amount was $575.
The program has been enor-
mously popular among retirees.
What was once a sleepy union
Wheeler picks up three
union endorsements
Several labor organizations have
endorsed Ted Wheeler for mayor
of Portland. They are the Colum-
bia Pacific Building Trades Coun-
cil, Communication Workers of
America Local 7901, and Carpen-
ters Local 271.
Wheeler, a Democrat, has
served as Oregon’s state treasurer
since 2010. He was the elected
chair of Multnomah County’s
Board of Commissioners when
then-Gov. Ted Kulongoski ap-
pointed him to serve out the unex-
pired term of Treasurer Ben West-
lund, who died in office. Wheeler
was elected outright in 2012.
Term limits prevent him from
seeking re-election.
In September, Wheeler an-
nounced that he would run against
first-term Portland Mayor Charlie
Hales. On Oct. 26, Hales an-
nounced that he would not seek a
second term.
The three union endorsements
were made prior to Hales drop-
ping out.
Above left, wellness program coordinator Tori Geter checks in with a Local 290 retiree before class. Right, retirees
ask guest speaker Judy Zehr about sleep, and offer their own suggestions.
retiree chapter with fewer than a
dozen monthly attendees has be-
come a lively and well-attended
meet-up with over 100 retirees
and their spouses attending.
The classes take place at the
union’s training center in Tu-
alatin, with live two-way video
hook-ups bringing in retirees
from Salem, Springfield, Med-
ford, and Redmond, Oregon;
and Eureka, California. Those
who can’t attend can take
classes online (ua290.org/
rwp.htm), followed by quizzes
to show what they learned.
To put together the retiree
wellness program, the union
trust hired Tori Geter, who was
then completing her masters de-
gree in public health at Oregon
State University. An Oregon na-
tive, Geter grew up in a union
family and was the first in her
family to attend college. Devel-
oping a program for Local 290
sounded like a great fit, so she
jumped in, drawing on Kaiser
Permanente’s worksite wellness
education program as a model.
[About half the retirees are
Kaiser members]. At meetings,
she connects with retirees,
checking in on their progress
and answering questions.
“Initially I think a lot of re-
tirees came on because they
wanted the check,” Geter says.
“Then they started coming.
Now they tell me the check is a
nice bonus, but they really enjoy
the classes.”
Local 290 retirees suffer from
the same conditions as most
older Americans, Geter says: di-
abetes, hypertension, obesity,
and depression. The wellness
program looks to give them
tools to combat those condi-
tions.
Are the classes leading to
healthier habits? It’s hard to tell
for sure. The October class was
about healthy sleep. As retirees
sampled the pre-class refresh-
ments — a month after their
“principles of a healthy diet”
class — donuts were the first
thing to run out, and plenty of
bagels went unclaimed. But the
fruit plates were pretty well
picked over too. And anecdo-
tally, retirees say the classes are
reinforcing good practices.
Peter Veldhusen, 69, says he
was already healthy — he plays
golf and bikes 20 miles at a
stretch — but he also drinks
more water than he used to be-
cause of what he learned in one
of the classes.
And retiree chapter president
Dave Stahly, 73, says the social
aspect of the classes may be
having an effect. “A lot of guys,
their social life falls off after
they retire,” Stahly said. The
classes, drawing lots of retirees,
give them a chance to reconnect
in a positive environment.
This year, the wellness pro-
gram is expanding to active
members as well as retirees. As
an additional incentive to partic-
ipate, the Plumbing and Me-
chanical Contractors Associa-
tion donated 100 Fitbits —
computerized activity trackers
that you wear like a watch.
Geter is working to sign up ac-
tive members for the program.
HOW TO GET BETTER SLEEP
See Page 11 for some highlights of
what Local 290 retirees learned at
their October wellness class.