NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS |
Labor loses spot on the Port of Portland Commission
For now, Gov. Brown has ended
the tradition of having two
labor reps on the board.
The nine-member Port of Port-
land Commission used to have
three representatives of organ-
ized labor. Now it has just one.
Appointed by the governor,
Port commissioners may not
get a lot of public attention, but
they oversee a vast publicly-
owned enterprise, including
four marine terminals, a river
dredging operation, the Port-
land International Airport, and
five massive industrial parks.
The Port’s mission is economic
development, and it’s sup-
ported by property taxes as well
as revenue from its operations.
Four-year terms of office ex-
pired this year for Port Commis-
sioners Tom Chamberlain (who
was Oregon AFL-CIO presi-
dent) and Gary Young (who was
IBEW Local 48 business man-
ager.) To replace them, Oregon
Gov. Kate Brown nominated
Meg Niemi, president of 14,500-
member Service Employees In-
ternational Union Local 49, and
Katherine Lam, a minority busi-
ness owner. Both were con-
firmed by the Oregon Senate
Nov. 20.
Niemi’s nomination makes
sense: Portland-based Local 49
represents service workers and
has campaigned for years to im-
prove wages and conditions for
workers at the Portland Interna-
tional Airport, where the union
represents over 550 janitors,
cabin cleaners, and workers who
assist senior and disabled pas-
sengers. And Niemi herself
comes from a maritime family
that goes back several genera-
tions in Astoria, she told the Sen-
ate Rules Committee Nov. 19.
Lam is co-owner of Bam-
buza Vietnam Kitchen, a chain
of restaurants that has a conces-
sion to operate at the Portland
International Airport. She
served on the advisory group
that selected the Port’s execu-
tive director, Curtis Robinhold.
And she serves on the commis-
sion that oversees Business
Oregon, the state agency that
gives tax breaks and other sub-
sidies to businesses. Her hus-
band, Daniel Nguyen, is co-
owner of Bambuza and a
member of Lake Oswego City
Council.
As the sole remaining union
representative on the commis-
sion, Niemi will have to speak
for all working people region-
wide. Judging by Chamber-
lain’s experience, it may be a
lonely job.
When then-governor John
Kitzhaber nominated Chamber-
lain to the board in 2011, he
joined two others from organ-
ized labor: Ken Allen, who was
then Oregon AFSCME execu-
tive director, and longshore
worker Bruce Holte, who was
then International Longshore
and Warehouse Union Local 8
president. When Allen retired,
his seat went to a representative
of business. Holte was replaced
by Young in 2015. With over a
billion dollars in planned con-
struction in the works, it made
sense to have a building trades
leader on the commission,
Chamberlain said. But even as
one of two labor representatives,
Chamberlain often felt like a
voice in the wilderness.
“The Port’s more like a corpo-
ration than any other semi-gov-
ernment entity in the state,”
Chamberlain told the Labor
Press in August. “They’re al-
ways thinking about the bottom
line.”
Reached by phone in early
November, Chamberlain praised
the choice of Niemi: “She under-
stands the struggles of low-wage
workers. We have a lot of low-
wage workers at the Port.”
But Chamberlain said he
was “extremely disappointed”
with the choice of Lam, not for
any specific gripe with her, but
because she’s taking a spot that
was held by a labor representa-
tive. Neither Chamberlain nor
Young—nor the Northwest
Oregon Labor Council—were
contacted by the governor’s of-
fice for input into who might
replace them.
“We don’t need another busi-
ness owner on the Port Commis-
sion,” Chamberlain said. “The
majority of [the commissioners]
already come from management
or are business owners or huge
corporate farmers. It’s really im-
portant that you have folks rep-
resenting workers, not just man-
agement or business.”
Niemi said she’d hoped both
positions would remain occu-
pied by representatives of or-
ganized labor.
“I would love some com-
pany,” Niemi told the Labor
Press.
December 6, 2019 | PAGE 5
UNION DEMOCRACY
NW Oregon Labor
Council re-elects
slate of officers
Northwest Oregon Labor Coun-
cil—the central labor council for
AFL-CIO-affiliated unions in
the Portland metro area—
elected a slate of incumbent of-
ficers Nov. 25.
■ Executive Secretary-Treasurer Bob
Tackett, Steelworkers Local 330
■ President Jeff Anderson, UFCW Local
555
■ 1st Vice President Everice Moro, Oregon
School Employees Assoc/AFT Local 6732
■ 2nd Vice President Ed Barnes, IBEW
Local 48
■ Executive Board Tracey Powers, Office
and Professional Employees Local 11;
Darren Hamann, Bakers Local 114; Jaime
Rodriguez, American Federation of
Teachers- Oregon; Jeff Cuellar, UFCW Local
555; Dave Tully, Teamsters Local 223; Will
Lukens, Machinists/District Lodge W24;
and Scott Zadow, IBEW Local 48.
■ Reading Clerk 1 Dianna Hess, OSEA/AFT
Local 6732
■ Sergeants at arms 1 – John Hall,
Machinists Local 63; and Ellen Ino,
Laborers Local 483
■ Trustees Mike Housley, Machinists Local
1005; Joe Esmonde, IBEW Local 48; and
Lucy Carrier, UFCW Local 555.
All ran unopposed. The new
four-year terms begin Jan. 1,
2020. Labor Commissioner Val
Hoyle will officiate at a ceremo-
nial swearing-in at the labor
council’s Jan. 27 meeting.
JOB TRAINING
Oregon Tradeswomen
is moving to Gresham
Bethany Sherer
971.978.9534
12/31/19
2018
Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc.
(OTI) is moving. The non-profit
works to recruit and prepare
women for careers in the con-
struction, manufacturing, me-
chanical, and utility trades. In re-
cent years its staff of 16 has
operated out of a ground floor
storefront at 3934 NE Martin
Luther King Jr Blvd.
On Jan. 10, the group will
move into a newly renovated
8,300-square-foot space in Gre-
sham. Located at 484 SE 187th
Ave., it’s part of the 5.5-acre
Rockwood Rising development
on the site of a former Fred
Meyer store. Besides offices, it
will include about 4,000 square
feet of workshop and classroom
space that OTI will use for its
pre-apprenticeship training pro-
gram. The eight-week program
gets women ready to enter skilled
trade apprenticeship programs.