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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 2017)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | February 17, 2017 | PAGE 3 At former Graphic Arts Center, presses go silent forever A massive Portland printing plant will shut down by March 31, terminating em- ployment for 72 members of Teamsters Local 117, and 19 other employees. Cenveo Corporation an- nounced Jan. 30 that it will permanently close the former Graphic Arts Center plant, which occupies three-fourths of a city block at 2000 NW Wilson Ave. Teamsters representative Adam Hoyt said the decision didn’t come as a complete surprise. At one time the plant employed over 300 workers, but in recent years under the ownership of multinational Cenveo, work has been shift- ing to other locations, and the plant was operating at about a third of its capacity. In No- vember 2015, Cenveo sold its Portland building and the 3.64 acres it sits on for $7.5 million to developer James Winkler, and then leased it back from the new owner. Winkler Development report- edly plans to redevelop the block for industrial or office use. Local 117, based in Tuk- wila, Washington, has repre- sented the plant since 2014, when it absorbed Graphic Communications Interna- tional Union Local 767-M. Hoyt said the union will seek to negotiate some kind of severance benefit. The State of Oregon and Labor’s Community Services Agency will also meet with the pink-slipped workers to help them sign up for unem- ployment and other benefits. Union wages at the plant range from $12 to $25 an hour. Cement Masons Brett Hinsley called up by international Brett Hinsley, business man- ager of Portland-based Cement Masons Local 555, has been appointed international field representative for the Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Ma- sons’ International Association. He succeeds Roger Better- man, who was appointed gen- eral secretary-treasurer. Better- man is a former business manager of Cement Masons Lo- cal 528 in Seattle. Hinsley, 50, has been busi- ness manager of Local 555 since May 2006. A graduate of Port- land’s Jefferson High School, Hinsley joined the union as an apprentice in 1998, and has been an active union member. He served two terms on the Execu- tive Board and as a trustee on the health and welfare and pen- sion trusts; he has served on the joint apprenticeship training committee, the NW Conference Committee, and the Construc- tion Industry Drug-Free Work- place Program. Prior to joining the Cement Masons, Hinsley was a member of Laborers Locals 320 and 483, where he worked at the Port of Portland. As an international rep, Hins- ley will assist locals in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, THOMAS, COON, NEWTON & FROST THOMAS, COON, NEWTON & FROST Brett Hinsley Geoff Kossak Alaska, Hawaii, North Dakota and Minnesota. “Basically, I’ll do whatever the international assigns me,” Hinsley said. That could include assisting with contract negotia- tions, helping with internal union elections, organizing, and more. Hinsley’s appointment ex- pires in 2019. At that time he will have to run for the position, along with all the other interna- tional officers. Geoff Kossak, a business agent since March 2012, was appointed by the Executive Board to complete Hinsley’s unexpired term as business manager. The term is up in April. Kossak, 42, is a third-gener- ation cement mason. His father and grandfather were both ac- tive members of Local 555. A graduate of Portland’s Franklin High School, Kossak joined the union as an apprentice in September 1994. He was elected to the Executive Board in 1999 and as vice president in 2002. He was elected president in 2006. He had to resign from that post to take the business manager’s job. Jeremy Kendall succeeded him as president. Noah Jones and Cliff Johnson are business agents/organizers at Local 555, which covers Oregon and Southwest Washington. Huge tenant win at Portland City Council It’s the closest thing to rent con- trol: All but the smallest land- lords will pay tenants a reloca- tion fee of up to $4,500 if they raise rent more than 10 percent or issue a no-cause eviction On Feb. 2, Portland City Coun- cil showed just how serious it is about fighting the city’s crisis of housing affordability. In a 5-0 vote, it passed an emergency or- dinance that comes as close as legally possible to rent control. [Outright rent control is banned for now under a state law the landlord lobby got the legisla- ture to pass in 1985.] The new city ordinance re- quires landlords to provide “re- location assistance” if they in- crease rent more than 10 percent in a year, and that causes a ten- ant to move — or if landlords evict a tenant without cause, which they’re legally allowed to do. The relocation assistance is $2,900 for a studio, $3,300 for a one-bedroom unit, $4,200 for a two-bedroom, and $4,500 for three bedroom or larger unit. The figures are based on two months rent plus deposit at the city’s average rent for similarly sized units. The ordinance does- n’t apply to landlords that have only one rental unit in Portland, or who live with their tenants. The emergency ordinance comes amid a rapid rise in rents that is fast turning Portland into a city where working people can’t afford to live. Portland rents have risen on average 30 percent since 2012. City Coun- cil declared an official housing emergency on Oct. 7, 2015, and later extended that for another year. The new ordinance took effect immediately, and will re- main in effect at least until Oct. 6, 2017, when the official hous- ing emergency is currently set to expire. The ordinance was sponsored by newly-elected Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, who defeated in- cumbent Commissioner Steve Novick after making housing affordability her number one is- sue. Newly sworn-in Mayor Ted Wheeler co-sponsored the ordi- nance. The vote took place after six straight hours of public tes- timony, including heated oppo- sition from landlords, and im- passioned support from tenants mobilized by the group Portland Tenants United. Portland Ten- ants United — which has been endorsed by Northwest Oregon Labor Council, the Oregon AFL-CIO, and other labor groups — will next campaign for the state Legislature to lift the ban on rent control. Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek has said she’s in favor of that.
