NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS |
June 2, 2017 | PAGE 9
Good news for building trades unions in May 16 election
Two labor-backed school bond
measures approved by voters in
the May 16 Special District
elections will add nearly $1 bil-
lion in construction work to the
area over the next few years.
That’s music to the ears of con-
struction unions.
The biggie is a $790 million
school bond at Portland Public
Schools. Voters papproved
Measure 26-193 by a margin of
61 to 39 percent. The money
raised will pay to rebuild Lin-
coln High School and Kellogg
Middle School; to retrofit Ben-
son and Madison high schools;
to repair or replace deteriorating
school roofs; replace old water
pipes and fixtures; to remove or
encapsulate exposed lead paint
and asbestos; improve building
foundations and ventilation to
decrease radon exposure; up-
grade fire alarm and sprinkler
systems; and improve accessibil-
ity for people with disabilities at
every school in the district.
In Lake Oswego, voters nar-
rowly passed Measure 3-515.
The meaure will raise $187 mil-
lion to rebuild Lakeridge Junior
High, perform maintenance re-
pairs, and implement safety and
security upgrades on existing
schools. It passed 50.72 to 49.28
percent.
The construction work will
fall under the “little” Davis-Ba-
con Act, which means contrac-
tors will pay prevailing wages
and benefits. That’s a plus for
union-signatory contractors,
who will be more likely to out-
compete nonunion contractors
and secure much of the work,
since they already pay at or
above the prevailing wage rates
set by the state.
The projects are broad in
scope, too, touching nearly
every union craft, said Willy
Myers, executive secretary-trea-
surer of the Columbia Pacific
Building and Construction
Trades Council (CPBCTC).
A third bond measure backed
by the building trades and other
labor groups wasn’t as fortunate.
A $75 million Mt. Hood Com-
munity College (MHCC) bond
was defeated 55 to 45 percent.
MHCC hasn’t been able to pass
a bond since 1974.
In other election results:
Two candidates for Portland
School Board endorsed by the
Northwest Oregon Labor Coun-
cil were victorious. Rita Moore
won in Zone 4, and Scott Bailey
won in Zone 5. Both candidates
also had support of the Portland
Association of Teachers and the
Portland Federation of School
Professionals Local 111.
Another Portland School
Board candidate — Julia Brim
Edwards — also was elected.
She was endorsed by the CP-
BCTC.
Rob Wagner ran unopposed
for Lake Oswego School
Board Position 2. Wagner, a
former employee of the Ameri-
can Federation of Teachers
(AFT), is associate vice presi-
dent of college advancement at
Portland Community College.
He was endorsed by NOLC,
Portland Community College
Local 2277-AFT, and PCC Lo-
cal 3922-AFT.
Ana Del Rocio won a three-
way race for David Douglas
School Board, Position 1. She
captured nearly 42 percent of
the vote against incumbent
Cheryl Scarcelli Ancheta, who
finished with 27 percent. Del
Rocio was endorsed by NOLC,
United Food and Commercial
Workers (UFCW) Local 555,
and the Oregon School Employ-
ees Association.
Retired Oregon AFSCME
Council 75 lobbyist Mary
Botkin was re-elected to the
Multnomah Education Spe-
cial District, with strong sup-
port from organized labor. She
captured nearly 90 percent of
the vote against her opponent.
Annette Mattson was
elected to the MHCC Board of
Directors, Zone 4, with broad
support from organized labor.
She captured nearly 80 percent
of the vote.
Moses Ross finished third in
a three-way race for Portland
Community College Board of
Directors, Zone 5. He was sup-
ported by NOLC and CPBCTC.
The winner, Valdez Bravo, a
Democratic Party activist, had
endorsements from PCC Local
2277-AFT and PCC Local
3922-AFT. Bravo won with
nearly 62 percent of the vote.
Ballot Measure 26-189, re-
ferred by Portland City Council
to amend the City Charter to in-
crease the independence of the
Auditors Department, won
handily. There was no opposi-
tion to the measure.
In the Gresham-Barlow
School District, labor-endorsed
Jason Dugan, a member of
IBEW Local 48, was unsuc-
cessful in a three-way race for
School Board, Position 4, at-
large. Blake Petersen won with
50.5 percent of the vote.
In Parkrose School District,
NOLC-endorsed Kori Basquez
lost her bid for School Board,
Position 4.
Overall, voter turnout was
low. In Multnomah County,
only 31.34 percent of 503,345
eligible voters cast ballots. In
Clackamas County, 19.55 per-
cent of 271,779 registered vot-
ers voted. And in Washington
County, 21 percent of 342,046
eligible voters turned in ballots.
LERA to discuss ‘Grand Bargain’
The Oregon state budget is fac-
ing a $1.6 billion shortfall.
Without new revenue, core state
services like health care and ed-
ucation are facing steep cuts. A
“Grand Bargain” compromise is
coming together in Salem that
could create new revenue while
trimming PERS benefits. The
Oregon chapter of the Labor and
Employment Relations Associ-
ation (LERA) will take a peek
behind the curtain of the “Grand
Bargain” Thursday, June 8, at
the Two World Trade Center,
121 SW Salmon St., Portland.
Speakers will include Joe
Baessler, political director of
Oregon AFSCME, and Trent
Lutz, assistant executive direc-
tor for the Center for Public Af-
fairs, Oregon Education Associ-
ation.
The discussion is part of the
Low Prices!
Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6
Oregon LERA Breakfast series.
Cost is $25 for LERA members
and $40 for non-members, but
includes a one-year LERA
membership.
Breakfast starts at 7:30 a.m.
The progam will be from 8 to
9:30 a.m. For more information,
or to register, go to www.ore-
gonlera.com.
Unionist to head House
Progressive Caucus
WASHINGTON, D.C. (PAI)—
Members of the Congressional
Progressive Caucus in the Re-
publican-controlled U.S. House
have elected union member
Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.) as their
new co-chair. Pocan owns a
print shop in Madison that is sig-
natory with Painters Local 770.
“With the Trump Administra-
tion attacking both the values we
hold dear and the programs
which provide vital services to
people across the country, it is
my goal to help make the Con-
gressional Progressive Caucus
the voice of the resistance,”
Pocan said.
Pocan said he will continue to
fight for “kitchen table issues”
and put forward pragmatic, pro-
gressive policies to combat Don-
ald Trump and House Speaker
Paul Ryan’s “radical agenda.”