NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | March 18, 2016 | PAGE 5
Pension fund investment creates
union construction jobs in Lake Oswego
Above is a rendering of Block 137 — a four-story, mixed-use devel-
opment with upscale apartments, retail, and underground parking.
Each of the three concrete and steel-framed buildings are consistent
with the Lake Oswego design
character. Block 137 sits on 2-1/2
acres in the heart of downtown
Lake Oswego. The all-union-built
project is being financed through
a union pension investment
fund.
Block 137 project supporters
State Rep. Ann Lininger, Clacka-
mas County Commissioner
Martha Schrader, Lake Oswego
Mayor Kent Studebaker, and
Lake Oswego City Councilors
Skip O’Neill , Charles Collins, and
Jeff Gudman pose for a photo
with union officials outside the
Block 137 jobsite. It is the first
large mixed-use redevelopment
project in downtown Lake Os-
wego in 15 years.
BCTGM boycotts
Made-in-Mexico
Nabisco products
Backed by the national AFL-CIO, the
Bakers union (BCTGM) has launched
a boycott of Mexican-made Nabisco
products. The boycott is in protest of a
decision by parent company Mondelēz
to shut a Nabisco production line in
Chicago and build a new $130 million
production line in Mexico. About 600
Chicago workers — half the current
workforce —will be permanently laid
off beginning March 21. For the highly
profitable company to outsource pro-
duction to Mexico also shows an utter
lack of gratitude: Chicago and the State
of Illinois gave Nabisco $90 million in
tax breaks from 1993 to 2003 in ex-
change for assurances it would keep
making Oreos, Fig Newtons and other
products in Chicago. Many Nabisco
products are still made in America by
union workers, including in Portland,
so consumers are asked to “Check the
Label” and don’t buy Made in Mexico.
Union pension funds are financ-
ing a $103 million redevelop-
ment of Block 137, also referred
to as the Wizer Block, in down-
town Lake Oswego. The loca-
tion was once home to union-
ized Wizer’s Oswego Foods
supermarket.
Seven building trades unions
have about $50 million in direct
pension funds invested in the
project. They are Sheet Metal
Workers, Glaziers, Floor Cover-
ers, Carpenters, Bricklayers,
Painters, and Electrical Workers.
Block 137 is a 290,000-
square-foot, four-story mixed-
use project with 200 upscale
apartment units, nearly 43,000
square feet of commercial space,
and 430 underground parking
spaces, of which 155 spaces will
be public parking. Developers
are targeting a LEED green
building Gold certification.
It is a 100 percent union job
—expected to generate more
than 1 million hours of con-
struction work over 24 months.
It is slated for completion in fall
2017.
“That’s a lot of jobs, and a lot
of training for our apprentice-
ship programs,” said Willy My-
ers, executive secretary of the
Columbia Pacific Building
Trades Council.
Block 137 is a joint venture
between the Multi-Employer
Property Trust and PHK Devel-
opment. Bentall Kennedy is the
real estate adviser for MEPT.
Lease Crutcher Lewis is the
general contractor.
MEPT is a real estate equity
fund with 327 pension fund
clients. The company has a re-
sponsible contractor policy that
requires all contractors working
on its portfolio properties be sig-
natory with trade unions. Eleven
properties in Oregon make up a
portion of their portfolio. Those
11 investments have created 6
million work hours, with an eco-
nomic impact of over $1 billion.
Amy Price, president and
chief operating officer of Bentall
Kennedy, said Block 137 aligns
perfectly with their investment
strategy of finding projects that
perform well over the long term.
“The Portland area is on
everyone’s radar,” she said at a
gathering at the jobsite March 8
with union officials, local politi-
cians, and developers.
Myers said the building
trades are eager to deliver proj-
ects “that not only we’re proud
of, but projects the community
will be proud of. Block 137 is a
prime example.”
Bowl for MDA set for April 17
The 27th annual Labor Bowl
Challenge for Muscular Dystro-
phy will be held Sunday, April 17,
from noon to 2:30 p.m. at Sunset
Lanes, 12770 SW Walker Road,
Beaverton. Registration opens at 11
a.m. The event is coordinated by the
National Association of Letter Carri-
ers (NALC) Branch 82 and the
Northwest Oregon Labor Council,
and includes a silent auction. Since its
inception in 1989, union members
have raised nearly $400,000 for
MDA. For more information, or to
sign up and receive fundraising pack-
ets and instructions, call Jim Falvey,
president of Letter Carriers Branch 82
at 503-493-5903. To donate silent
auction items, call Kyle Ellerbe at
503-223-3177 or email kellerbe@
mdausa.org.