PAGE 6 | February 19, 2016 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
WASHINGTON
Lawmakers reject bill linking tax breaks to Boeing jobs
OLYMPIA — A majority of the
Washington State House Fi-
nance Committee bowed to The
Boeing Company Feb. 5 by re-
jecting a union-backed bill that
would have tied $8.7 billion in
aerospace tax incentives to jobs.
The Legislature granted Boe-
ing the tax incentives — the
largest tax break in U.S. history
— during a special session in
November 2013 to “maintain
and grow” the state’s aerospace
workforce of 83,295. It was sup-
ported by the Machinists Union
and the Society of Professional
Engineering Employees in
Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE
Local 2001, as they expected
aerospace jobs to grow in the
state because of it. Since then,
however, Boeing has shed 4,057
jobs in Washington, including
3,000 high-paying engineering
and technical jobs.
Three statewide polls showed
73 to 84 percent of respondents
support tying the aerospace tax
breaks to specific job require-
ments in Washington. HB 2638
would have cut the tax benefit in
half if Boeing employment fell
by 4,000, and would have elimi-
nated it entirely if employment
fell by more than 5,000.
“[This] vote … demonstrates
the power of corporate influence
to overcome what is clearly the
will of the people and the intent
of the legislation,” said Machin-
ists District 751 President Jon
Holden.
HB 2638 was supported by
seven Democrats on the com-
mittee. It was opposed by seven
Republicans and one Democrat
— Rep. Larry Springer of Kirk-
land. The 7-8 vote means the
Workers Independent News.
Kelliher said lawmakers in
South Carolina, Missouri, Ala-
bama, and Oklahoma have all
passed legislation giving tax in-
centives to Boeing. “And all of
them had specific job numbers
tied to their incentives, which
were much less than the incen-
tives that our state offered,” Kel-
liher said.
The $8.7 billion Washington
State gave the aerospace indus-
try in 2013 was on top of $3.2
billion the state approved in
2003.
FREE CLASSIFIED ADS
UNION DEMOCRACY
New business manager at Insulators Local 36
In ballots counted Feb. 12,
Caudle has a family history
Walt Caudle defeated
with Local 36 dating
Alan Davis to become
back to its inception in
the new business man-
1913. His father Lindy
ager of Heat and Frost
Caudle and five great-
Insulators Local 36.
uncles all were mem-
Caudle, 57, has been
bers of the local.
the union apprentice-
Caudle is a delegate
ship coordinator since
to the Columbia Pacific
April 2009. He suc-
Building Trades Coun-
ceeds Stan Danielson,
cil, and serves on the
Walt Caudle
who retired after 30
board of directors of the
years at the helm.
IBEW and United Workers Fed-
Prior to his job as apprentice- eral Credit Union.
ship coordinator, Caudle was
As business manager, he said
the elected business agent at Lo- he wants to bring more partici-
cal 36 from 1996 until Decem- pation to union meetings, possi-
ber 2008, when he stepped bly through incentive programs.
down and briefly returned to Work is “pretty good right
work with the tools.
now,” he says, but he plans to
A native Oregonian, Caudle continue lobbying for large con-
worked in concrete after gradu- struction projects, such as the
ating from Sherwood High Jordan Cove LNG plant in Coos
School. In 1981, his father con- Bay.
vinced him to apply for the in-
“Stan and I worked together
sulators apprenticeship pro- for a long time. I learned a lot
gram.
from him,” Caudle said. “There
will be some changes, but
mostly internal office stuff.”
Member Dave Gamble was
hired to succeed Caudle as ap-
prenticeship coordinator.
In other election results, vice
president Ron Mathis outpolled
Executive Board member Matt
Grider by two votes to become
business agent. Business man-
ager and business agent are the
local’s two elected staff posi-
tions. Davis, the incumbent
business agent, did not seek re-
election; instead he ran for busi-
ness manager, and lost to Cau-
dle.
Also elected were: Dreng Es-
pelien, president; Jeff Marchi,
vice president; Nick Garrison,
treasurer; Angela d’Esposito,
recording secretary; Jesse
Markowski, trustee; and five
Executive Board members:
Level Sneed, Lincoln Caldwell,
Gary Downum, Rob Bates, and
Mike Thomas.
PEOPLE
Laborers Local 483 business
manager Erica Askin is leaving
office to take
a position as
in-house
counsel for
Service Em-
ployees Lo-
cal 49. Askin
has a law de-
gree from
Rutgers Uni-
Erica Askin
versity, and
has been with
Local 483 since 2010. She was
elected the local’s first female
business manager in 2014, suc-
ceeding Richard Beetle.
Local 483’s Executive Board
bill will not advance to a floor
vote in the House, and leaves
the aerospace giant free to con-
tinue taking tax breaks from
Washington, even if it keeps
moving jobs out of the state.
“They’re double-dipping by
collecting our tax incentives and
securing additional tax incen-
tives from other states at the
same time they’re creating capa-
bility that will be used to com-
pete against our Washington
State workforce in the future,”
Machinists Lodge 751 spokes-
woman Connie Kelliher told
appointed Local 483 president
Wesley Buchholz to replace her.
The 1,000-member local repre-
sents workers in several City of
Portland bureaus at the Oregon
Zoo, and several smaller public
employers.
Askin begins her new posi-
tion March 21.
Chris Ferlazzo has left his po-
sition as longtime organizer for
Portland Jobs with Justice af-
ter 14 years. Ferlazzo, 48, came
to the labor solidarity organiza-
tion after years as an activist
with the Portland Central Amer-
ica Solidarity Committee and
the Cross Border Labor Organ-
izing Committee. Over the
years, he helped organize innu-
merable
marches and
protests in
support of
embattled
workers. Fer-
lazzo says
he’ll spend
time travel-
ing before
Chris Ferlazzo
considering
future plans.
Portland Jobs With Justice does-
n’t plan to immediately fill the
vacancy, and will decide later in
the year whether to continue the
position.
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CORRECTIONS AND
CLARIFICATIONS:
In the Feb. 5 issue, an article
about the Oregon Bureau of La-
bor and Industries’ $2.5 million
construction wage settlement
with Southern Oregon Univer-
sity reported that Plumbers and
Fitters Local 290 union rep
Drew Waits had advised signa-
tory contractors not to bid on the
dorm portion of the project be-
cause it was set at lower residen-
tial prevailing wage rates, and
that possibly not enough work-
ers would be available to staff
the job. Waits was a journeyman
plumber at the time the project
was bid, and he did not discour-
age signatory contractors from
bidding the work. Waits said his
employer, Patterson Plumbing,
did not bid the project because
of concerns about paying the
lower wage rate.
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In 2015, there were 12 major
strikes and lockouts involving
1,000 or more workers, higher
than in 2014 with 11 major
work stoppages. The 12 major
work stoppages beginning in
2015 idled 47,000 workers.
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/
wkstp.nr0.htm