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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 2019)
PAGE 2 | November 15, 2019 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 in Portland, Oregon as a voice of the la- bor movement. Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non-profit mutual benefit corpo- ration owned by 20 unions and councils including the Ore- gon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Office location: 4275 NE Halsey St., Portland, Oregon Mailing address: P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213 Phone: (503) 288-3311 Web address: http://nwlaborpress.org Editor & Manager: Michael Gutwig Senior staff reporter: Don McIntosh Office manager: Jill Lukens Printed on recycled paper, using soy-based inks, by members of Teamsters Local 747-M. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Individual subscriptions are $15 a year for union members, $23 a year for all others. Pay by credit card online at nwlaborpress.org/subscribe, or send a check to our mailing address (above) along with your name, address and union affiliation, if any. Group rates of 47 cents an issue per member — $11.28 a year are available for 25 or more subscriptions; call 503-288-3311 for details. CORRECTIONS: See an error? Please let us know at editor@nwlaborpress.org or by phone at 503-288-3311. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: If you move, let us know at nwlaborpress.org/subscriber-services or by mail at our mailing address (above). Be sure to provide your old and new addresses and the name/number of your local union. Please allow three weeks for the change to take effect. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS P.O. BOX 13150 PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150 UNION ORGANIZING Business owners call the union: We want in Hamer Electric determined there were undeniable advantages to signing up with IBEW Local 48 It’s not every day an employer calls a union to talk about sign- ing up. But that’s what hap- pened at Hamer Electric in Longview, Washington, and both the company owners and the union officers of IBEW Lo- cal 48 are celebrating a combi- nation they believe will make both sides stronger. Brothers Kyle and Cory Cole have been co-owners since 2017, when they bought the business their grandfather founded in 1971 from their fa- ther and uncles. Kyle Cole, company presi- dent, told the Labor Press be- coming a union-signatory con- tractor makes good business sense. Access to the union hiring hall means Hamer can scale up and take on larger projects. And being union gives Hamer oppor- tunities to bid on big upcoming projects where developers have signed project labor agreements, such as NW Innovation Works’ proposed $2 billion methanol plant in Kalama.“We also SEALING THE DEAL: Hamer Electric co-owner Kyle Cole (right) brought his employees into the union and signed on with IBEW Local 48 Business Manager Garth Bachman (left) after talking it over with Bachman and IBEW reps Randy Davis, Mike Bridges, Scott Zadow, and Tim Gauthier of the union electrical employer group NECA. wanted to offer our guys the best there was in benefits,” Cole said. “And we felt like the union’s training center was state of the art.” Hamer specializes in electri- cal work for heavy industry like pulp and paper mills, water treatment plants, and manufac- turing facilities, but has also done commercial and health care industry work. “They’re in a strategic loca- tion that will really help increase union market share in industrial work in the Longview-Kalama area,” said Local 48 Business Manager Garth Bachman. “We’re excited to have them on board and help them grow.” Mike Bridges, Local 48’s rep- resentative in Longview, said Hamer already had a reputation as a good employer, with com- pensation close to the union scale. Twenty Hamer employees — over three-fourths of the exist- ing workforce — made the tran- sition and are now Local 48 members. The owners signed on Oct. 18, employees signed up Oct. 25, and terms and conditions took effect Nov. 1. Low Prices! Coats, etc. Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6 PLEASE SHOW OUR ADVERTISERS YOU APPRECIATE THEIR SUPPORT FOR THIS LABOR MOVEMENT NEWSPAPER!
