NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | January 6, 2017 | PAGE 11
Photo by TVF&R
Cements Masons recognize longtime members
House fire claims UFCW #555 member;
injures spouse, of Cement Masons #555
Gayle Brown, a longtime mem-
ber of United Food and Com-
mercial Workers Local 555,
died Dec. 21 from injuries sus-
tained in a fire that destroyed the
family’s home in Sherwood,
Oregon. Her husband, Chris, 58,
a 21-year member of Cement
Masons Local 555, was seri-
ously injured in the Dec. 14
blaze. He suffered burns on his
hands and arms, and broke
bones in his foot after jumping
from the second story of the
house.
Gayle, 56, was burned over
50 percent of her body and sus-
tained a broken back after
falling from the upper level.
According to a news release
from Tualatin Valley Fire &
Rescue, crews were dispatched
at 10:23 p.m. to a report of a
fully-involved residential fire.
The two occupants inside the
home woke up to the sound of a
crackling fire and inhalation of
smoke. Their smoke alarms
were not working.
A Go Fund Me account has
been started to help the family.
Brown has three adult children.
To donate, go online to:
gofundme.com/av-house-fire.
Cement Masons Local 555 recognized
longtime union members at their annual
Christmas Party Dec. 3. In the photo right,
Sheridan Foss receives his 60-year pin from
Business Agents Geoff Kossak (left) and
Noah Jones. Also
recognized, but not
present, was 60-year
member DeWayne
Bruce. In the center
photo, Kelly Wills
holds a plaque for
30-years of member-
ship. Fred Lane also
was recognized for
30-years in the
union, but he wasn’t
present. In the
photo below, Business
Manager Brett Hinsley
(left) presents 25-year pins
to Ed Ostlund, Howard
Waldo, E. Russell
Desbrisay, and Steve
Meyer. With them is
Business Agent Noah
Jones. Not present to pick
up their 25-year pins were
Gary Breese, Larry Fish,
Michael French, Lewis
Ochs, Brian Owens, and
Jeff Pierce. Thomas Lytle
and Paul Ouderkirk, Jr.
were recognized for 50
years of membership.
Neither was present. Also
receiving accolades were
new journeymen Jose
Gonzalez Gabriel and Jake
Prouty.
...The Stubborn
One Thousand
From Page 10
a corporate consolidation and
closures, a shift in consumer pref-
erences, and NAFTA, which
drove what frozen food process-
ing remained to Mexico.
“Since the 1980s, an entire
generation of workers has
grown up with little or no con-
ception of what it means to walk
a picket line,” Shapiro said.
Shapiro walked that picket
line with strikers, and 30 years
later, his book tells their story.
BOOK PRESENTATION – PLUS A
DRAMATIC RE-ENACTMENT
When:Wednesday, Jan. 18, 7 p.m.
Where: Milagro Theatre
525 SE Stark Street, Portland
Admission: Free
What: Author Peter Shapiro will give a
presentation, answer questions, and sign
copies of the book, and actors from the Mi-
lagro Theater will perform a dramatic read-
ings from a 1996 play about the strike,
“Watsonville: Some Place Not Here” by
playwright Cherríe Moraga.