PAGE 2 |
January 1, 2016 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
NORTHWEST
LABOR
PRESS
(International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X)
Established in 1900 in Portland, Oregon as a voice of the la-
bor movement. Published on a semi-monthly basis on the
first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor
Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non-profit mutual benefit corpo-
ration owned by 20 unions and councils including the Ore-
gon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in
Oregon and Southwest Washington.
Office location:
4275 NE Halsey St., Portland, Oregon
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213
Phone: (503) 288-3311
Web address:
http://nwlaborpress.org
Editor & Manager: Michael Gutwig
Associate editor: Don McIntosh
Office manager: Cheri Rice
Printed on recycled paper, using soy-based
inks, by members of Teamsters Local 747-M.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: Individual subscriptions are
$13.75 per year for union members, $20 a year
for all others. Send a check for that amount,
indicating mailing address and union affilia-
tion, to P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213.
For 25 or more subscriptions, group rates of
$9.60 a year per person are available to trade
union organizations. Call 503-288-3311 for de-
tails.
CORRECTIONS: See an error? Please let us
know at editor@nwlaborpress.org or by
phone at 503-288-3311.
PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID
AT PORTLAND, OREGON.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICE: Three weeks
are required for a change of address. When or-
dering a change, please give your old and
new addresses and the name and number of
your local union.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
P.O. BOX 13150
PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150
Danielson ends 30-years at helm of Insulators #36
After serving a record 30 years
as business manager of Portland-
based Heat & Frost Insulators &
Allied Workers Local 36, Stan
Danielson is calling it quits.
Danielson, 65, retired Dec. 31.
He is the longest-serving busi-
ness manager in the history of
the international association.
Danielson was accepted into
the union’s apprenticeship pro-
gram in 1969, after graduating
from Reynolds High School in
Troutdale. His three brothers all
worked in the trade.
Danielson served as a shop
steward for many years, and he
was active at union meetings. He
was brand new to Local 36’s Ex-
ecutive Board in 1985 when the
business manager’s post became
vacant. Some colleagues encour-
aged him to run. With the econ-
omy slow (more than 50 percent
of the membership was on the
out-of-work list), Danielson
gave it some thought, and de-
cided to give it a shot.
In those days, the business
manager was the only staff
member. After winning the elec-
tion, Danielson recalls his first
day on the job. “I was sitting at
the desk and I literally didn’t
know what to do,” he said.
When he
came into of-
fice, Daniel-
son said the
local
had
$5,000 in the
bank
and
$8,500 in bills
to pay. The
Stan Danielson E x e c u t i v e
Board agreed
with him to cash in a $10,000
CD and to assess members $100
a month. That was on top of a re-
cently ratified collective bargain-
ing agreement that cut wages by
$2 an hour. It didn’t stop there.
Signatory contractors came to
the new business manager and
told him $2 wasn’t enough.
Danielson persuaded members
to agree to cut another $5 an
hour from their wages in order to
survive. And survive they did—
with only one strike over his 30
years in office, and it lasted one
day.
Today, Local 36 members’
compensation is $62 an hour,
with $42 on the check. The
union has increased its member-
ship to 260 actives, and doubled
signatory contractors to 16.
There are 110 retirees. Danielson
said 32 percent of the member-
ship and 50 percent of the con-
tractors were organized into the
local.
Contracts cover workers in
construction, at the Portland
shipyard, at industrial and com-
mercial buildings, in high-tech,
asbestos abatement, and fire-
stop containment.
The union staff consists of a
business manager, an elected
business agent, a full-time office
manager, and a full-time appren-
ticeship coordinator.
Over the last three decades
Local 36 set several “firsts.” It
was the first insulators local in
the country to create an organiz-
ing campaign; the first to form a
political action committee; the
first to purchase its own union
hall and training center; the first
to establish a market recovery
program; the first to bargain sep-
arate contracts for asbestos
abatement and fire-stop contain-
ment workers; the first to start a
pre-funded retiree health plan,
and later a health reimbursement
account.
“They say it takes a village to
raise a child. It also takes a vil-
lage to build a strong union,”
Danielson said. “I certainly did-
n’t do this alone.”
Danielson also helped estab-
lish a certification program for
asbestos abatement. Asbestos
was outlawed in 1973, but state
certification to work with the
substance didn’t happen in Ore-
gon until 1986. Exposure to as-
bestos is a health hazard that can
cause cancer, emphysema, and
other lung ailments, such as
mesothelioma.
During Danielson’s early
years in the trade, he and co-
workers were exposed to high
levels of asbestos without any
protection.
“Back then we mixed buckets
of mud that contained pure as-
bestos to apply to surfaces,” he
said, adding that he gets his
lungs checked regularly.
Danielson is currently presi-
dent of the Western States Con-
ference, which represents insu-
lator locals in 13 western states.
He will serve out his term
through mid-2017. He also will
finish out a four-year term on the
Oregon Mechanical Board, a
post he was appointed to by for-
mer governor John Kitzhaber.
“I consider it a privilege to
have represented our members
and their families, as well as our
Turn to Page 6
IRS PROBLEMS?
• Haven’t filed for ... years?
• Lost records?
• Liens - Levies - Garnishments?
• Negotiate settlements.
• Prepare offer in Compromise.
Call Nancy D. Anderson
Enrolled Agent
NPTI Fellow/America’s Tax Expert
LTC-1807
www.nancydanderson.com
503-244-2577