NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | June 21, 2019 | PAGE 7
Crisis Team at
Local 701
training center
Operating Engineers Local 701
made its 87-acre training facil-
ity available last month to the
Clackamas County Sheriff’s
Department for its Crisis Nego-
tiations Team to train. The
Team deploys with SWAT on
calls, and one of its responsibil-
ities is to operate armored vehi-
cles. The training — which
took place at the Mark Holliday
Operating Engineers Training
Center in Canby — was to fa-
miliarize them with operating
in a variety of terrains and to
teach them how to pull their
own vehicles out when stuck.
Local 701 heavy equipment op-
erators were standing by in case
Oregon minimum wage will
rise again on July 1
Oregon’s minimum wage will
rise $0.50 an hour July 1, part of
a phased-in series of annual in-
creases. The 2019 raise will bring
the minimum wage to $12.50 an
hour within the Portland metro-
politan area’s urban growth
boundary, $11.00 an hour in the
predominately rural counties of
eastern Oregon and the southern
Oregon coast, and $11.25 an
they needed a little extra help ...
and they did.
Last year, the Clackamas
County K-9 Unit used the facil-
ity for training. Clackamas
County Search & Rescue also
has expressed interest. Local
701 Business Manager Jimbo
hour everywhere else. Under the
minimum wage law passed in
2016, the geographically-tiered
wage will reach $14.75, $13.50,
and $12.50 in July 2022, after
which it will increase annually
according to inflation.
May 31 that includes funding
for a new program to combat
wage theft. Starting July 1, the
County will let knowledgeable
members of the public, such as
union reps, volunteer to help en-
force prevailing wage and wage
and hour laws on County con-
struction projects. Volunteers
will have access to the certified
payroll records that contractors
submit to the County — and be
allowed to visit worksites to in-
terview workers.
Multnomah County
approves wage theft pilot
By unanimous vote, the Mult-
nomah County Board of Com-
missioners approved a budget
Anderson said fire, police, or
special rescue departments
from any jurisdiction are wel-
come to use the facility for any
training they need to do, at no
charge.
“After all, it’s all about pub-
lic safety,” Anderson said.