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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 2020)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | BUILDING COMMUNITY Presents From Partners will host two parties this year The Portland event is expanding to Southern Oregon to help fami- lies devastated by wildfires. Due to the devastation wrought by wildfires and COVID-19, La- bor’s Community Service Agency (LCSA) will sponsor two Presents From Partners giv- ing events this year: the original one in Portland and a new one in Southern Oregon. For more than two decades, LCSA has hosted the popular holiday party at Sheet Metal Workers Local 16’s hall in Port- land, distributing gifts to union families facing tough times. Over 40 unions and 200 volunteers are involved, and some 350 kids and 200 parents from labor and the community at large participate. They enjoy a hot meal provided by Spin Catering, a visit with Santa Claus, a bag full of toys, handmade Christmas stockings, grocery gift cards, a “Parents Room” for kids to pick out a gift for their parent or caregiver spon- sored by the IBEW & United Workers Federal Credit Union, a used clothes boutique, and more. Because of COVID-19, this year it will be a contactless drive- through event at Laborers Local 737’s hall in Northeast Portland. The toy drive itself was can- celed due to safety concerns, but a fall fundraiser was hugely suc- cessful, so LCSA has funds to buy toys. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Federal Credit Union also donated $15,000 worth of toys. “We will be serving up to 900 children from 300 union families this year,” said LCSA Executive Director Eryn Byram. And, thanks to a large finan- cial donation from the labor law firm of McKanna Bishop Joffe, LLP, LCSA is planning a “holi- day caravan” from Portland to Central Point to deliver some holiday cheer to union families in Southern Oregon. The cata- strophic wildfires in September impacted thousands of union and community members across Jackson, Josephine, and Douglas counties, with more than 100 union families losing their homes. The plan is to load up the Teamsters’ 18-wheel semi-truck with toys, box food items pro- vided by Spin Catering, clothes from the IBEW and United Workers Federal Credit Union collection, hand-sewn Christmas stockings, and other goodies and deliver them to Central Point the first week of December. There, the Southern Oregon Central Labor Chapter will make arrangements for families to drive by and pick up the gifts. Logistics are still being worked out, but for more information, contact labor chapter chair Amanda Sager at president@ iatse154.com. To participate in the Portland event, union members need to contact their local to receive a re- ferral. The deadline to refer is Monday, Dec. 7. For more infor- mation, call LCSA at 503-231- 4962 or email director@LCSA portland.org. Gift Card Drive: Due to COVID safety concerns, LCSA is not conducting a toy drive this year for PFP. However, they are looking for gift cards to pass out at the events. Mail any gift cards to LCSA at 9955 SE Washing- ton St #301 PDX 97216. November 6, 2020 | PAGE 5 John Mohlis elected chair of SAIF board John Mohlis, retired executive secretary of the Oregon State Building Trades Council, was recently elected chair of SAIF. Corp. SAIF is Oregon’s not- for-profit workers’ compensa- tion insurance company. Its five-member board of direc- tors is appointed by the gover- nor. Mohlis was appointed by Gov. Kate Brown in 2018. Terms are four years. When he was working, Mohlis, a member of Brick- layers Local 1, served on the Management-Labor Advisory Committee (MLAC), the so- called “gatekeeper” to changes in workers’ compen- sation law in Oregon. He also served three terms as a com- missioner on the Portland De- velopment Commission, and two terms on the Oregon State Apprenticeship Council. SAIF’s vice-chair is Mau- rice Rahming, president of Portland-based union-signa- tory electrical contractor O’Neill Electric.
