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January 1, 2021 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
UNION DEMOCRACY
Lou Christian re-elected as business manager of UA Local 290
Work is booming in the local,
drawing over 700 travelers from
other locals to meet demand.
By Don McIntosh
Lou Christian was elected to a
second three-year term as busi-
ness manager of 4,640-member
United Association of Plumb-
ers and Pipefitters Local 290, in
mail ballots counted Dec. 15.
Christian campaigned on con-
tinuing to improve the local’s
finances and promoting diver-
sity, and outpolled challenger
W. Paul Elder by 272 to 241.
Christian said a proposed by-
laws change is likely to go to
members in 2021 that would
put the local on better financial
footing. The current dues struc-
ture hasn’t been adjusted since
1989, and is based on wages,
but benefits have roughly dou-
bled since then as a portion of
the total compensation pack-
age. Right now most journey-
men in Local 290 make $47.43
an hour plus $32.83 an hour in
pension, health and other fringe
benefits, for a total of $80.26 an
hour.
Lou Christian
Christian, 63, has been a Lo-
cal 290 member since Jan. 9,
1979, and has served the union
as officer or staff since 1991.
As business manager, he’s re-
sponsible for negotiating and
enforcing collective bargaining
agreements and helping secure
work for members, directing 13
business agents and seven sup-
port staff at six locations
around Oregon.
Despite talk of a possible re-
cession, Christian says the
work picture looks good in the
near future, and signatory con-
tractors are still bidding on new
projects. In fact there’s so much
work right now that members
(including over 600 appren-
tices) are at full employment,
and more than 750 UA mem-
bers from other locals are
working as travelers in Local
290’s jurisdiction. Local 290’s
jurisdiction covers most of Ore-
gon, three Southwest Washing-
ton counties, and Humboldt
and Del Norte County in Cali-
fornia.
Most Local 290 members
are covered under a master
agreement with the union-sig-
natory Plumbing and Mechan-
ical Contractors Association of
Oregon (PMCA), which ex-
pires March 31, 2023. Local
290 also represents members at
the Portland shipyards and at
smaller units where they main-
tain facilities at the City of Port-
land, Port of Portland, City of
Vancouver, and a handful of
other public employers.
Because of COVID-19, Lo-
cal 290 hasn’t had an official
in-person union meeting since
February 2020, though it has
held informational meetings
online.
Besides business manager
(Local 290’s top elected office),
members also elected other of-
ficers:
President Bobby Porter outpolled Kevin
Fanning 300-175
Vice President John Foote (unopposed)
Recording Secretary Jacob Cooper
Inside Guard Irais Gandarilla
Finance Committee Robert Smithline
and Chris McNicholas. (no other
candidate was nominated, so the
president will appoint a third member.)
Executive Board Denny Tynan and Steve
Rossetto, Region 1; and Brad Archuleta,
Region 2. (No candidate was nominated
for Region 3, so the president will
appoint someone.)
Examining Board Ashley Haysom and Bill
Hannan (Pipefitting); Rebecca Greiff and
Rob May (Plumbing); Eric Fanning and
Erv Garrison (HVAC/R); Dave Rinaldi and
Andrew William Hollenbeck (Oil Burner);
and Ryan Garvey and Bill Duke (Metal
Trades)
Members also elected dele-
gates to the UA international
convention. Currently that’s
scheduled for August 202 in
San Diego.
Washington AFL-CIO’s
April Sims tapped for State
Redistricting Commission
Washington State Labor Coun-
cil Secretary Treasurer April
Sims
has
been
ap-
pointed to the
Washington
State Redis-
tricting Com-
mission.
The an-
nouncement
was made
April Sims
earlier in De-
cember by House Speaker Lau-
rie Jinkins (D-Tacoma).
The Redistricting Commis-
sion is tasked with redrawing
Washington’s legislative and
congressional district bound-
aries every 10 years following
the completion of the U.S. Cen-
sus.
“I am honored to be the first
woman of color and Black per-
son appointed to serve on Wash-
ington’s Redistricting Commis-
sion,” Sims said. “I look
forward to working with my fel-
low commissioners to develop a
process that is fair, transparent,
inclusive, and in line with the
values of our state.