NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | October 5, 2018 | PAGE 19
UNION DEMOCRACY
Guest Opinion
Melissa Unger wins
election at SEIU 503
By Mike Bridges President, Kelso/Longview Building Trades Council
West Coast aligned against new coal terminal
As a labor leader and a resident of the
Longview-Kelso area, I have supported
the Millennium Bulk Export Terminals
project since the company arrived in 2011
and negotiated a Project Labor Agree-
ment with our Building Trades Council.
The majority of the community hoped
that this facility, which would create
2,650 local family-wage construction jobs
as well as 300 permanent jobs, and pro-
vide ongoing economic benefits through
increased tax revenue, would be fully op-
erational by now. But because the project
would ship coal, it has endured the most
extensive project review in the history of
Washington State.
I think a thorough review is appropriate
for all projects, but that review also needs
to be fair, consistent, and timely. What
Millennium has been subjected to is far
beyond the normal scope of the permit-
ting process and has resulted in a water
permit being denied not because of water
quality concerns, but because of increased
rail and ship traffic.
This conflict over the project review
process prompted project funder, Light-
house Resources, to sue the Governor and
the state, claiming the state violated the
U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause.
This small but vital part of the Constitu-
tion gives Congress the power to “regu-
late commerce with foreign nations, and
among the several states.” It prohibits
states from restricting the ability of other
states to trade freely, while also ensuring
that the U.S. is a reliable trading partner.
Last spring, the National Association of
Manufacturers, along with six landlocked
states (Montana, Wyoming, Utah, South
Dakota, Kansas and Nebraska) filed
friend-of-the-court briefs in support of the
project and Lighthouse Resources. Those
states understood the potential harm of es-
sential trade being restricted just because
of the commodity being shipped. But this
August, six states — California, Oregon,
Maryland, New York, New Jersey and
Massachusetts — all filed briefs in sup-
port of the denial of Millennium’s permit.
In effect, Washington, Oregon and Cali-
fornia are trying to form a wall that could
prevent landlocked states from shipping
their goods out of the West Coast, de-
pending on the product. This could be
harmful for workers and businesses
throughout the country.
I continue to support this project be-
cause the results of this permitting process
could create not only a trade wall, but a
wall for future infrastructure projects. In-
vestors may think twice before moving
forward with projects in Washington
State, having seen what Millennium has
been through. If Millennium is now the
standard against which other projects will
be judged, it doesn’t paint a bright picture
for growth in Washington, nor for the
prosperity of our Brothers and Sisters in
Labor and the communities in which we
live.
I also continue to support Millennium
because they have proven to be a good
community partner and a quality em-
ployer. I want more companies like Mil-
lennium to choose Washington State, not
drive them away with a biased permitting
process. I hope you will join me in sup-
porting Millennium, and please watch for
opportunities to make your voice heard
for a fair process.
Mike Bridges is president of the Longview/Kelso Build-
ing and Construction Trades Council, and is a business
rep. for IBEW Local 48.
Rob Etulain
360.666.8944
Longtime political organizer
Melissa Unger outpolled two
challengers
to win elec-
tion as execu-
tive direc-
tor
of
O r e g o n ’s
largest union,
Service Em-
ployees Inter-
national
U n i o n Melissa Unger
(SEIU) Local 503. Unger, age
38, was appointed by the union
executive board to the post in
March after the resignation of
Brian Rudiger. In mail ballots
counted Sept. 27, Unger got
1,515 votes, compared to 709
for home care worker Holly
Garland and 623 for child abuse
hotline worker Shamus Cooke,
chief steward at the Oregon De-
partment of Human Services.
Voter turnout was 5 percent.
As executive director, Unger
oversees about 140 union staff
who work on behalf of over
58,000 union members — state
and local government workers,
and non-profit and home care
workers. Unger came to Local
503 in 2007 as a political organ-
izer, left for a six-month stint
with the Oregon House Democ-
rats in 2011, and then directed
SEIU’s Oregon State Council
before becoming Local 503 po-
litical director in June 2014.
Unger ran together with in-
cumbent union president Steven
Demarest, who was also elected,
turning back a challenge from
home care worker Avery Hor-
ton.
Members also elected mem-
bers of the union Executive
Board by industry sector and by
region as well as the following
statewide officers:
■ Vice President: Homecare worker
Rebecca Sandoval outpolled fellow home
care worker Echo Stickland, state child
welfare worker Guillermo Romero, and
Oregon Department of Education
employee Blake Whitson.
■ Secretary: University of Oregon employee
Theodora Ko Thompson outpolled home
care worker Nannett Carter-Jafri.
■ Treasurer: Department of Revenue
employee Mary Stewart ran unopposed
All offices are for two year
terms.
12/31/18
2018
