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Volume XX V Number 25
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Committed to cultural diversity.
June 21, 1995
(The lîo rth n tb (Ohseiner 1995
G m ,
„ / F o rta n d s Mefra F f e tf f e ,, T,a ,„,„9 C e« e< g a m e r ~ r e c e ^ n j ,
Metro Electricians Graduate Largest Class
A
a a l a a graduation
r a r i i i a t i n n c ceremony
o r o m o n x / a and
nd
i „u^,
~
gala
Labor Industries and Washington Depart
banquet marked the graduat
ment of Labor and Industries.
ion of 119 apprentices from
The Metro apprenticeship program is
the Metro Electrical Training Center
one in of the toughest and most well-respected
northeast Portland.
educational programs in the nation. A finan
The class was the largest group of elec
cial trust was started in 1963 by NECA’s
trical training apprentices in the nation.
. Oregon Columbia Chapter and IBE W Local
The ceremon ies were attended by guests
48 as a cooperative labor/management effort
from the International Brotherhood of Elec
to provide training and skills for union elec
trical Workers, the National Electrical Con
trical apprentices and journeyman.
tractors Association, the Oregon Bureau of
With its own 25,000 square foot training
A
Dennis McClay is promoted
To Vice President of Product
Support for the Hessel Tractor
& Equipment Co., 1425 N.E.
Columbia Blvd. McClay has
been with the Oregon
company for 20 years, most
recently as assistant vice
president and manager of
Hessel’s Bend store.
...........
facility at northeast 42nd and Killingsworth,
the center provides some ofthe most modem,
hands-on training equipment available to
apprentices and to journeymen workers con
tinuing their education.
The*state-of-the-art facilities, com
bined with the excellence o f the instruc
tors and the dedication o f apprentices
guarantee that the electricians and tech
nicians who graduate from the center are
some o f the most skilled and technolog
ically up-to-date as any in the nation,
M etro officials said.
Ken Fry, director of the center, noted
that the graduates had spent years in prepara
tion.
"These men and women have participat
ed in hundreds of hours of classroom instruc
tion, thousands of hours of on-the-job train
ing, as well as many, many hours ofhands-on
work, both in the field and in the classroom,”
said Fry.
“Congratulations to all the men and
women who join us today as brothers and
sisters." said Edward L. Barnes, IBEW Local
48 Business Manager. “We appreciate how
hard they’ve worked for this.”
"These are the future leaders who will be
providing the vision for our industry,” said
I imotliy Gauthier, NECA Executive Man
ager and Secretary of the Metro Training
Trust. “We salute them on this important
day.”
Students Chase IVIath, Science Careers
ummer school for area middle
encouraged to apply.
and high students pursuing
Instruction includes outdoor games and
careers in engineering, math
contests to sharpen math skills and science
and science will be offered at Portland
teacher-led visits to the Oregon Museum of
State U n iv e rs ity ’s School of
Science and Industry and the Washington
Engineering and Applied Science.
Park Zoo. Other features involve novel ways
The Portland Mathematics, Engineer
of learning concepts such as navigation,
ing, Science Achievement Summer Enrich
measurement, scientific inquiry and engi
ment Program offers a series of science and
neering systems.
math-related field trips and workshops for
The registration fee is $10 per student.
youngsters presently in grades 6 through 11.
Application forms are available from the
The program runs July 10 through Aug.
Portland-MESA office in Room 238C, Sci
11. Students of all ethnic backgrounds are
ence Building II, I719S.W. 10th Ave. onthe
S
PSU campus or call MESA director Joan
Kurowkski at 725-4665.
Enrollment is offered on a first-come,
first served basis, but students alreadypartic-
ipating in MESA will have first priority for
sign-up. Other students w ill be registered as
space is available.
Students can sign up for as many work
shops as their personal schedules can accom
modate, but should make sure the workshops
they sign up for do not overlap.
For specific classes and schedules, call
the MESA office at 725-4665.
Prevailing Wage Rate Law Heads
For Governor’s Desk
Family Leave Bill Passes House
he Oregon Family Leave Act
passed the House and is
headed for the Governor's
desk for signature.
The measure broadens leave benefits for
over 100,000 Oregonians, clarifies require
ments and ends the administrative nightmare
employers faced when they tried to sort out
the scores o f conflicting state and federal
leave provisions. The new law replaces the
state’s parental, pregnancy and family med
ical leave statutes with a single standard that
is either more generous than, or aligned with,
the federal Family and Medical Leave Act,
ending the confusion about leave administra
tion.
One of newly elected Labor Commis
sioner Jack Roberts’ campaign promises was
to simplify and clarify laws enforced by the
bureau—he used the 2" by 3" chart of the
state’s leave laws to illustrate his point He
sees the new Oregon Family Leave Act as a
win for both business and labor. Roberts
proposed the bill and brought together Asso
ciated Oregon Industries, the Women’s Com
T
mission and labor groups to work out com
promises on disputed amendments. He says
that working with them was the key to the
success of the bill. "This bill is aconsiderable
gain for Oregon families, and reflects the
commitment o f business and labor alike to
reduce work and family conflicts. What is
significant about this measure is that it sim
plifies and clarifies the law, providing a net
benefit for everyone-business, labor, and
families.
Under the new law, workers of compa
nies with 25 or more employees can take
family leave ifthey ’ ve been on the job at least
six months and w ork at least 25 hours a week.
Benefits include 12 weeks a year unpaid
leave to care for a critically ill parent, parent-
in-law, child or spouse; to stay at home with
a sick child; or to take time off because of a
personal illness. Additionally, any worker
with at least six months on the job (no 25-
hour threshold) is entitled to take time off to
care for a newborn or newly adopted child.
Employees taking such leave may also use
accrued sick time.
Graduates Can Catch The
Wave In Music
There’s a new small music system on the market that’s perfect for both
high school and college graduates. It features AM and FM stereo, a dual
alarm, 12 presets, scan and automatic sleep features, and spectacular sound
that rivals or surpasses larger stereo systems. It’s compact and transport
able, and can be regulated by a credit card-sized remote control. For more
information about the Wave radio, call Bose Corporation at I-S00-919-
BOSE (2673). (News USA)
he Oregon House concurred
form. Therefore it was our goal this session to
with the Senate and passed a
make the law work right. The three aspects of
new prevailing wage law that
this law-wage determination, employer edu
simplifies employers' responsibilities,
cation and enforcement-will serve to clarify
provides for wage surveys, and allows
the law, ease restrictions on employers, pro
the labor commissionerto impose civil
vide them with more information and educa
penalties for violations.
tion, ensure fair and accurate wage survey
The bill also raises the threshold for
and put teeth into the law by allowing the
eligible projects from $10.000 to $25,000.
bureau to impose civil penalties.”
“Voters told us they wanted to retain the
The prevailing wage law is also referred
prevailing wage when they rejected Measure
to as the Little Davis Bacon Act. The Act
12 last fall, said Roberts. "But there were
requires contractors of public works projects
enough problems with the law to signal re-
to pay the prevai ling wage to their employees
T
on all public projects. In the past, the bureau
has depended on wage survey conducted by
the federal government to determine the pre
vailing wage.
The measure passed today provides the
bureau with funding to conduct its own sur
veys, and to provide employer and contract
ing agency education and enhanced enforce
ment. Funding comes from a fee that the new
law allows the bureau to charge. The fee
equals I percent ofa prevailing wage project
contract price, but not more than $5,000 or
less than $100.
.
Portland Students Earn Legacy
Emanuel Scholarships
Six Portland high school students will
receive $1.000 grants for college in the
sixth year of the Legacy Emanuel Scholar
ship Program.
The awards were recently made to
DeMetrea Gill, Tova Johnson, Whitney
Lindahl. Christina McComb, Joy Preciso
and Amirah Moore.
Gill of Benson High School plans to
study dentistry at the University of Oregon.
Johnson of Grant High School plans to
study genetics at Oregon State University.
Lindahl will enter pre-medicine at
Stanford University. She also attended
Grant.
MCComb of Central Catholic High
School will study physical therapy at Or
egon State University.
Precisoof Roosevelt HighSchool plans
to study nursing at Portland Community
College.
And Moore, a Gran, High School Vo
cational Mentoring student, will attend
Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Ga.
The scholarship is renewable for up to
four years and can be used for tuition, books
and other college costs.
Four of the scholarships are funded by
a matching grant from Legacy Portland
Hospitals Community Relations and the
Emanuel Medical Foundation One schol
arship is funded by an endowment created
by the Emanuel Medical Staff. And the
final scholarship, designed for a Grant
High School Vocational Mentoring stu
dent, was created by Legacy Portland Hos
pitals President and Chief Executive Offi
cer James E. May.
The scholarship application process will
begin again in February. Students must re
side in north and northeast Portland They
must have a high school grade point average
of 2.75 and intend to study a heath care career
For more information, call Jan Shea,
Legacy Portland Hospitals Community Re
lations at 413-4630.
__________ 1
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(503) - 244-5794, Ext 45