NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | June 21, 2019 | PAGE 3
UNION DEMOCRACY
Painters and Allied Trades District Council 5 elects new leadership
By Don McIntosh
IUPAT District Council 5 —
one of the Northwest’s largest
construction union councils —
elected new leadership June 8.
Based on votes cast at 12 locals
on June 8, the 6,100-member
district council will be headed
by Todd Springer from Port-
land-based Glaziers Local 740.
IUPAT stands for Interna-
tional Union of Painters and Al-
lied Crafts. Springer, 45, wants
to strengthen the “allied” in the
union’s name, by getting mem-
bers in different crafts to look
out for each other at job sites, in
order to raise standards for all.
District Council 5 provides sup-
port and coordination for the 12
locals, which represent workers
in Washington, Oregon, Alaska,
Utah, and Northern Idaho. The
District Council includes mem-
bers of at least six distinct crafts,
each with its own sub-special-
ties: painters, glaziers, drywall
finishers, floor coverers, traffic
control stripers, and sign and
display workers.
Springer is a glazier by train-
ing. He grew up in Billings,
Montana, where his father
worked as a Teamster-repre-
sented truck driver. After gradu-
ating high school, he moved to
the Portland area in 1992 at the
urging of his uncle, an employee
Raymond Thomas
Cynthia Newton
Melissa Haggerty
Todd Springer of Portland-based Glaziers Local 740 won election among 12 IUPAT locals to head the district council.
of curtain wall contractor Har-
mon, Inc.
“He said, ‘We’ve got work
for you for three months,’”
Springer recalls. “… it’s been 27
years.”
At Harmon, Springer learned
how to fabricate and assemble
glass panels used for storefronts
and for curtain wall. Later, he
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worked in the field putting them
up—constructing exterior faç-
ades, installing gaskets, and ap-
plying sealants.
Springer became active in
Local 740 early on thanks to a
trick played on him by Jerry
Havens, a journeyman he was
assigned to work with.
“He had me convinced it was
mandatory for apprentices to
come to union meetings,”
Springer said.
Springer completed his ap-
prenticeship and became jour-
neyman in 1997, and not long
after, was made a foreman and
general superintendent at Moun-
tain Glass. In 2013, he was at
the union hall paying his dues
when business rep Jerry Fisher
approached him and suggested
he apply for a position as union
organizer. Springer got the job
in January 2014 and got busy
organizing contractors, using a
positive message about the ben-
efits of becoming a union-signa-
tory contractor. [Those advan-
tages include affordable
high-quality benefits, and access
to top-tier skilled labor through
the union hiring call.]
Springer succeeded Fisher as
business rep in August 2015, but
continued to prioritize organiz-
ing, and hired Mike James as or-
ganizer.
This year, with District Coun-
cil 5 Secretary-Treasurer Busi-
ness Manager Denis Sullivan re-
tiring, Springer decided to run.
Also vying for the office was
John Boufford, business repre-
sentative at Seattle-based Dry-
wall Finishers Local 364.
Springer approached the
campaign like an organizer,
building a team, Team Springer,
that campaigned at worksites in
all five states. Springer ran in
part on the strength of his record
of growing Local 740: When he
joined the staff in 2014, Local
740 had 11 contractors and
about 300 members; today it has
22 contractors and about 600
members.
When ballots were tallied, the
result was a 618-448 win for
Springer. [One vote of confi-
dence: Among those who know
him best—members of Local
740—the vote for Springer was
266 to 0.]
He’ll have a four-year term to
implement his agenda. Organiz-
ing is a top priority. Springer has
a goal of growing membership
to 7,500 by the end of 2022. He
also wants to increase wages
and benefits, especially among
painters, who right now are the
lowest paid of the allied trades.
Part of that will be a fight
against competing employers
who commit wage theft by mis-
classifying workers.
He also wants to better unite
the crafts that make up District
Council 5. Whenever union
members in any of the allied
crafts find themselves working
alongside nonunion workers in
other crafts, Springer will en-
courage them to call their union
representatives to visit the site.
Members themselves are the
most credible organizers,
Springer says, and becoming
eyes and ears for their reps will
help them build union power.
Besides electing Springer to
head District Council 5, mem-
bers of the locals also elected
their own business representa-
tives, and District Council dele-
gates. The District Council’s
other elected offices—president,
vice president, warden, execu-
tive board, and trustees—will be
elected by those delegates when
they meet on July 13. That’s
also when Springer will be for-
mally sworn in.
Two business rep candidates
who ran in contested races
alongside Springer were also
elected: Toby Hoffman at
Tacoma-based Painters and
Stripers Local 1964, and Brandt
Goble at IUPAT Local 77/427 in
Idaho.
Business reps elected in Ore-
gon and Southwest Washington
were:
▪ Scott Oldham for Painters Local 10
▪ Fred Hawkins for Paint Makers, Sign,
Display, Truck Painters & Allied Trades Local
1094
▪ Dave Winkler for Linoleum, Carpet and
Soft Tile Applicators Local 1236
▪ Mike James for Glaziers Local 740