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October 6, 2021
Minority & Small Business Week
Diversifying the Construction Industry
Honored for
economic
empowerment
Michael Burch, a member of Port-
land’s Black community who serves
as a labor representative, was recent-
ly honored for his work to bring eco-
nomic opportunities to minority and
disadvantaged populations.
Burch was recognized as a trailblaz-
er leader who personifies the Urban
League of Portland’s mission of equal
opportunity when he was the guest of
honor during the nonprofit’s annual
Equal Opportunity Day Awards event
on Sept. 23. He was credited with be-
ing a community activist, a relation-
ship builder, organizer, problem solv-
er and ambassador.
The native Portlander, raised in a
diverse neighborhood of northeast
Portland with two siblings, is the com-
munity relations and outreach repre-
sentative for the Northwest Regional
Council of Carpenters.
A profile of Burch’s life was pre-
sented as part of the Urban League
celebration:
Burch came to adulthood during the
Vietnam War when the draft took lots
of young men from his neighborhood
Michael Burch
and those returning were often seri-
ously injured or in body bags. Instead
of waiting to be drafted, he signed
up for the Air Force Reserves. After
8 months on active duty, he spent the
next six years as an Air Evacuation
Specialist.
Immediately after active duty he
enrolled at the University of Oregon
and spent the next five years earning
a bachelor’s degree in psychology and
attending law school for one year. Af-
ter college he worked a variety of jobs
with increasing frustration because of
the lack of opportunities or upward
mobility available to young Black men.
All his life Burch had been told ed-
ucation was the key to success and the
doorway to opportunity. As it turned
out, those opportunities were very
limited and, mostly not extended to
educated Black men in Portland in the
late 70’s. After a decade of attempt-
ing to prove his worth to a variety of
employers, he decided to try a career
move to something that fed his spirit
instead of his pocket.
Most of this new career placed him
in an alternative school setting serving
low-income youth ages 16 – 25 years of
age. After 16 years he left that setting
and began his career with the North-
west Regional Council of Carpenters.
Burch sits on two Joint Appren-
ticeship & Training Councils for the
Regional Council. He also serves on
several boards and commissions rep-
resenting the Carpenters efforts to
diversify the construction industry,
including Portland YouthBuilders,
Constructing Hope, All Hands Raised,
Metropolitan Alliance for Workforce
Equity, Fair Contracting Forum and
the Oregon State Apprenticeship and
Training Council.
In his spare time, he spends time
with friends, fishing, drag racing,
some off-roading and hanging out
with his daughters and four grandchil-
dren.
Jennifer Yruegas
Women Business
Leaders Honored
Mentoring and
supporting advancement
An esteemed college dean who
also serves as a faculty member and
attorney for Pacific University, and
two Portland area firms, have been
recognized for their efforts to mentor
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