PAGE 32 | August 21, 2020 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Host of unionists served Labor Press board over the decades
Many, many union leaders over the
last 120 years have played an impor-
tant role in the growth and continuity
of the Labor Press as elected mem-
bers of its board of directors.
The Portland Labor Press was es-
tablished as a non-profit corporation
whose shares were owned by vari-
ous local unions and the Portland
area central labor council. The
Northwest Labor Press still operates
that way through the non-profit Ore-
gon Labor Press Publishing Com-
pany, Inc., whose shares are owned
by AFL-CIO and Change to Win af-
filiated local unions and councils.
The newspaper’s first board of
control, as it was then called, was
comprised of E. Edwards of the Ci-
gar Makers, the president; J.A.
Goldrainer of the Barbers; J.A.
Bushman of the Millworkers, who
was president of the Portland Feder-
ated Trades Assembly; John Beigi
of the Brewers; George M. Orton
of the Pressmen; B. Hesselberg of
the Typographers; C.H. Weber of
the Clerks; Frank Allert of the Ma-
chinists; W.H. Robertson of the
Letter Carriers; and August Eachie
of the Beer Drivers.
Today’s board is comprised of
Chair Bob Petroff, a business rep
for Machinists District Lodge W24;
Treasurer Bob Tackett, executive
secretary-treasurer of the Northwest
Oregon Labor Council; Vice Presi-
dents Jeff Anderson, secretary-trea-
surer of United Food and Commer-
cial Workers Local 555; Ed Barnes,
retired business manager of IBEW
Local 48; and Secretary Everice
Moro, retired officer of Oregon
School Employees Association and
current president of the Oregon Al-
liance for Retired Americans.
Barnes is the longest serving
board member, having first been
elected in 1991.
Another long-serving board
member was E.J. Stack of Portland
Cigar Makers Local 202. He served
from 1915 until his death in 1950.
He was secretary of the Portland La-
bor Council and later was executive
secretary-treasurer of the Oregon
State Federation of Labor.
Another mainstay was A.R.
Clayton, a longtime leader of Mult-
nomah Typographical Union No. 58,
who was on the Labor Press board
from the 1930s until his death in
1967. R.C. Henarie succeeded
Clayton as head of Local 58 and on
the Labor Press board and was asso-
ciated with the paper for two
decades until he retired. G.O.
Hunter of Portland-based Electrical
Workers Local 125 helped oversee
this newspaper from the 1930s to the
’50s, and was succeeded by Floyd
Parker of Local 125. Parker served
nearly 20 years by the time he
stepped down in 1971, and was fol-
lowed on the board by Jack Kegg,
then Local 125’s business manager.
A 25-year member of the board
was Charles T. Crane, whose
tenure covered the years from 1930
to 1955. He was secretary-treasurer
of Portland Barbers Local 75 for 35
years.
Seven women unionists from
Portland Waitresses Local 305 fur-
nished leadership for the Labor Press
as board members or trustees for a
half-century starting in the 1920s.
First came Agnes Quinn, followed
by Mary Todd, Rose Johansen,
Alice Wesling, Mary Jackson,
May Strand, and Ellen Hender-
son. Local 305 later became part of
Local 9 of the Hotel Employees and
Restaurant Employees International
Union when the Culinary Union’s
four Portland locals merged.
Ben Osborne, head of Iron
Workers Local 29 (who also was an
international vice president), sat on
the Labor Press board for many
years starting shortly after the pa-
per’s birth. From 1926 until his
death in 1938 he was the leader of
the Oregon State Federation of La-
bor, serving as its executive secre-
tary-treasurer. Other Iron Workers
who’ve provided guidance for the
paper include LeRoy Worley, a
business manager of Local 29 who
later moved up the international lad-
der to general secretary; Sid Stod-
dard, business manager of Iron
Workers Shopmen’s Local 516, who
became a general organizer for the
international after serving as Secre-
tary of Labor Ray Marshall’s Seattle
regional director during the Carter
Administration; and Tony Mongelli,
also a former business manager of
Local 516.
Food industry unionists who de-
voted their energies to the Labor
Press board included George
Lightowler and Gordon Swope of
Food and Drug Clerks Local 1092;
Keith Jons of United Food and
Commercial Workers Local Ten-
Eleven (father of former Labor Press
staffer Cheri Rice); and previous
UFCW Local 555 presidents Ken
MacKillop and Gene Pronovost.
Machinists John Petroff, an of-
ficer of Willamette Lodge 63 and a
business representative of District
24, was a stalwart supporter of the
Labor Press throughout his long ca-
reer in the labor movement. He’s the
only outgoing director who was ac-
corded emeritus status after retiring
in 1985. George Miller, directing
business representative of District
24, succeeded Petroff on the board,
and Bob Petroff, John’s son, suc-
ceeded Miller on the board.
Two Musicians Local 99 presi-
dents who were major chords on the
Labor Press board over a span of 40
years were Herman Kenin, a
lawyer who went on to become his
union’s international president in
1958, and Joe Dardis, a popular
swing band leader who chaired the
board for a decade.
Communications Workers of
America Local 7901 provided two
board members in Linda Ras-
mussen, a retired international rep-
resentative, and former Labor Press
staffer Gail Rosebrook. Local
7901’s membership includes former
members of Typographical No. 58.
Also providing leadership and
support as board members were
Gary D. Kirkland, former chief ex-
ecutive officer/secretary-treasurer of
Office and Professional Employees
International Union Local 11, who
went on to work for the interna-
tional; Judy O’Connor, a retired
executive secretary-treasurer of the
Northwest Oregon Labor Council,
and Jeff Richardson, former finan-
cial secretary-treasurer of UNITE
HERE Local 9.
Space does not permit listing all
those who have served the Oregon
Labor Press Publishing Co. as board
members. This anniversary issue is
dedicated to all of them and all staff
members and freelancers who’ve
been associated with the Labor Press
the last 120 years.