SERVING ORGANIZED LABOR IN OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON SINCE 1900
NORTHWEST
LABOR
PRESS
IN THIS ISSUE
911 STATE OF CRISIS Bargaining between City of
Portland and AFSCME 189 heads to arbitration . | Page 3
Building Trades Convention Report p.4-5 Meetings p.6
PORTLAND, OREGON
SEPTEMBER 2, 2016
Photo by Andrea Bakas
VOLUME 117, NUMBER 17
WELCOME BACK! After a short hiatus, Bricklayers and
Allied Craftworkers Local 1 have re-subscribed to NWLP
Rock Against the TPP Concert in Portland: As the White House readies a final desperate push for the un-
popular Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, a large crowd turned out Aug. 20 for a “Rock Against the TPP”
concert at Director Park in Portland. The free event was part of a national tour by a group of musicians, comedians
and celebrities, including actress Evangeline Lilly (pictured lower right with campaign director Evan Greer), who are
sounding the alarm against the TPP. The trade deal between the U.S. and 11 other countries was negotiated in secret
by government officials and hundreds of corporate lobbyists. If it becomes law, it would be the largest deal of its
kind in history and would pose a grave threat to good-paying jobs, internet freedom, the environment, access to
medicine, food safety, and the future of freedom of expression, tour sponsors said. “Rock Against the TPP” was or-
ganized by guitarist Tom Morello (Prophets of Rage, Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave), his label, Firebrand
Records, and digital rights group Fight for the Future. The tour has sponsorships from several labor organizations,
including Communications Workers of America, the Teamsters, and United Steelworkers. Members of the Machinists
Union, Bakers Union, and IATSE assisted with the Portland event. In the photo above, the musical lineup of hip-hop
artist Talib Kweli, Pittsburgh punk rock band Anti-Flag, Downtown Boys, Greer, and Taina Asili took the stage to close
the show in Portland.
Mohlis retires from Building Trades Council; Frew tapped as successor
BEND—John Mohlis presided
over his last convention as exec-
utive secretary of the Oregon
State Building and Construction
Trades Council (OSBCTC), held
Aug. 11-12 in Bend. Mohlis, 60,
retired Sept. 1. Succeeding him
is Tim Frew, a member of IBEW
Local 280 in Tangent, Oregon.
During his 30-plus-year career,
Mohlis built a reputation as a
hard-working, respected union
leader who always brought a bal-
anced perspective and unifying
voice to contentious issues. He
forged relationships with Demo-
cratic and Republican lawmak-
ers, contractors, business owners,
bureaucrats, other union leaders,
and rank-and-file members.
That was evident at a retiree
party Aug. 23 which drew nearly
250 well-wishers from across
the political spectrum.
“Bipartisanship in the Legis-
lature is so important,” Mohlis
told the Labor Press. “In all four
caucuses the door is open to us.
We have friends in all of them.
And we have to maintain that.
You have to. We can’t rely on
one party. We just can’t. And we
can’t rely on one chamber. We
have to have friends in all of
them if we’re going to succeed.”
At the OSBCTC convention
in Bend, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
said Mohlis has been the gold
standard for the Congressional
John Mohlis (left) welcomes Tim Frew at the Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council convention held
Aug. 11-12 in Bend. Frew succeeded Mohlis, who retired as executive secretary of the council Sept. 1.
delegation.
“When John says something,
you can just count on it,” he said.
Mohlis is the only union offi-
cial to ever receive the “Compass
Award,” presented annually by
the Port of Portland. The award
recognizes individuals who serve
as civic and/or corporate role
models in the community, and
who demonstrate exceptional
support for the Port of Portland.
Last year, Mohlis was named
Outstanding Volunteer Fund-
raiser by the Association of
Fundraising Professionals of
Oregon & SW Washington for
his work on “Unite for the
Knight,” a campaign between
business and labor organizations
that helped raise $500 million for
the Oregon Health & Science
University Knight Challenge.
Mohlis served three terms on
the mayor-appointed Portland De-
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