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September 15, 2017 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Union members celebrate Labor Day
Photo courtesy of Eryn Byram
A total of 375 children participated in this year’s Scavenger Hunt at Oaks
Park. Sponsored by Labor’s Community Service Agency, youngsters
from 1 to 18 use clues found in a “passport” to locate various unions at
the Labor Day picnic (photo above right). When the kids locate the
union, their passport gets stamped. Completed passports are returned
to LCSA and the kids are eligible to win a bicycle. This year, 27 unions
participated, including Bakers Locals 114 and 364 (above) and Machin-
ists District Lodge W24 (right). LCSA issued special thank yous to the
Northwest Oregon Labor Council and Oregon AFSCME for their part-
nership; International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 8 for do-
nating all the bikes used for raffle prizes; Oregon School Employees As-
sociation for donating Fred Meyer
gift cards for the older kids; Franz
Bakery for donating cookies (and
Bakers Local 364 for cooking
them); and Hollywood Impress
Printing for helping with signage
and printing the passports.
“LCSA is proud to bring this vital
program to our union families,”
said Executive Director Eryn
Byram. “Since the Scavenger Hunt
started five years ago, we have ed-
ucated 1,900 children and parents
on the union jobs in their every-
day lives and recognize them as a
vital part of the fabric of the com-
munity.”
Photo courtesy of Eryn Byram
Despite smoke from wildfires burning
throughout Oregon and Washington, thou-
sands of union members and their families
celebrated Labor Day with picnics, music,
games, and rides. Lines were long at Oaks
Amusement Park in Portland, where a crowd
estimated at 12,000 turned out for a picnic
sponsored by the Northwest Oregon Labor
Council. Other labor-sponsored gatherings
were held in Springfield, Salem, and Ash-
land, Oregon, and in Castle Rock, Washing-
ton. Smoky air conditions forced the cancel-
lation of a labor picnic in Bend, Oregon.
Among the crowd in Portland was U.S. Sen.
Jeff Merkley; Gov. Kate Brown; Labor Com-
missioner Brad Avakian; State Treasurer To-
bias Read; Attorney General Ellen Rosen-
blum; Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler; and a host
of city and county commissioners, state legis-
lators, and numerous candidates running for
local and statewide offices.