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June 1, 2018 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
UNION DEMOCRACY
BUILDING COMMUNITY
ILWU convention in Portland
About 200 union delegates
will convene at the Portland
Hilton June 4-8 for the 2018
convention of the International
Longshore and Warehouse
Union (ILWU). The 35,000 -
member union represents dock
and warehouse workers in
Hawaii and the West Coast of
the United States and Canada,
as well as workers at Powell’s
Books and the Oregon Histor-
ical Society in Portland. For
ILWU leader “Big Bob”
McEllrath, it will be his last
convention as president.
McEllrath, originally from
ILWU Local 4 in Vancouver,
Washington, has been ILWU
president since 2006, but under
Volunteers from left: Jim Hale, Cris Corral, Darrell Hopkins, Jason Joeckel, Brandon Liggett, George Weaver, Caleb
Hopkins, David Liggett, John Dev, Ryan Hoover, Jason Barthel, Devin Hopkins, Ray (RC) Carpenter, Jr., and Travis
Hopkins. Not pictured are Rosa Rivera, Elizabeth Gonzales, Steve Dalton, and Brad Basom.
Building Trades’ conservation project helps Boy Scouts
Volunteers from Roofers Local 49
and Laborers Local 737 teamed
with the Union Sportsmen’s Al-
liance (USA) May 19-20 to help
construct a shooting sports com-
plex for the Cascade Pacific Coun-
cil Boy Scouts of America at Camp
Meriwether on the Oregon Coast.
The shooting range will be used
for archery, shotguns, and rifles. A
portion of the money for the proj-
ect was raised at two USA conser-
vation dinners sponsored by the
Oregon State Building Trades
Council in 2016 and 2017 in Port-
land. The third annual dinner will
be held July 13 at the IBEW Local
48 Hall in Northeast Portland. For
more information, contact Travis
Hopkins of Roofers Local 49 at
503-883-3656 or by email at
travis10hopkins@ gmail. com.
Hopkins helps coordinate the an-
nual dinner, and he helped coor-
dinate the project with the Boy
Scouts. Construction volunteers
raised trusses and placed ply-
wood sheeting on the roof. More
volunteers will return to com-
plete the project June 2-3. USA is
a union-dedicated, non-profit
whose members hunt, fish, shoot
and volunteer their skills for con-
servation. For more information,
visit www.unionsportsmen. org.
Retired roofer Darrell
Hopkins saws ply-
wood sheeting for
roof at new shooting
sports complex at
the Boy Scouts’ Camp
Meriwether.
the ILWU Constitution he is
age-limited from running
again. Delegates are expected
to winnow down candidates
for international union office
so that rank-and-file members
can choose between the top
two in mail ballots later this
summer.
Ironworker Robert Camarillo will
head Oregon Building Trades
The Executive Board of the business manager of IBEW
Oregon Building Trades Coun- Local 280, a position he held
cil has chosen Iron-
from 2009 to 2015.
workers organizer
Camarillo was
most recently an or-
Robert Camarillo to
succeed Tim Frew as
ganizer for the Pa-
cific Northwest Re-
executive secretary.
The council coor-
gional Council of the
dinates the state-
International Associ-
level political efforts
ation of Bridge,
of 21 affiliated build-
Structural, Ornamen-
ing trades unions
tal and Reinforcing
Robert Camarillo
with a total member-
Iron Workers. He pre-
ship of about 25,000 construc- viously served as business
tion workers. Executive secre- agent, vice president and pres-
tary is the council’s top elected ident of Iron Workers Local
office and is a full-time posi- 29, where he completed his ap-
tion.
prenticeship. He also served as
Frew, who served one two- president of the Columbia-Pa-
year term as executive secre- cific Building Trades Council.
tary, is seeking election as
Ever notice that people
say workers are “forced”
to pay union dues?
But they don’t say a thing
about being “forced” to
take the pay, benefits and
protections that come with
a union contract.