Meeting Notices

General membership
Meets the second Tuesday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. at the Carpenters Hall, 2215 N. Lombard, Portland. The Local 247 Executive Board will be cooking dinner for the general membership. Portland City Commissioner Randy Leonard will be in attendance to address membership. Hams and turkeys will be given away to Local 247 members.

Retirees
Retirees meet for lunch the second Monday, Dec. 8, at 11 a.m. at JJ North’s, 10520 NE Halsey, Portland. .

Executive Board
Executive Board meets the fourth Tuesday, Dec. 23, at 7 p.m. at the Carpenters Hall, 2215 N. Lombard.

On Nov. 4, 2003, we all lost a good friend and brother, Earl Khoury. He was on life support up in Seattle, Washington, when it was decided after a brain scan, that there wasn’t enough activity or brain function to keep him on support. So it was then, that a decision was made to disconnect him and allow him to pass quietly.

Earl had moved to Wasila, Alaska, a few short years ago. He was working a union job, when it was time to get up and go to work. Not knowing that he had developed a leak in his propane stove, Earl, as he always did, lit a match to light a candle. The ignition of that match caused an explosion that blew Earl out of the house and into the yard. He had the presence of mind to somehow climb into his truck and drive 15 miles to his closet neighbor, where he collapsed and was driven, I don’t know how far, to the nearest hospital. He suffered 88 percent burns to his entire body and apparently had thrown up his hands to his face as a final gesture, as his face was the least burned. He was later transferred to Seattle, where he went into a coma from which he never recovered. There will be no services, but there will be a wake (or as Earl would have put it…”A Going Away Party”) in the near future, which will be announced at a later date.

He is survived by his daughter Meadow, a son Seth, his sister Rea, his brother-in-law David, Putsey (Earl’s ex-wife with whom he was still friendly), his mother, and a host of friends that he has made over the years. Let me tell you, he will be sorely missed by all of us that knew him and loved him. I had met Earl several years ago when we both worked for Ceco and though I had been a carpenter for quite some time, he was always showing me a new or different way of doing things. He ran the edgeform mostly and could outwork just about anyone on the job, even the young “Bucks” as Earl used to call them. His gruff outwardly appearance was just that, an appearance, as he had a big heart, as big as all outdoors and unlike some of his brother carpenters, he was not afraid to show others the tricks he knew or shortcuts. He was the first one to bring up matters of safety or any other issue that would one way or another affect his fellow brothers or sisters. When it came to working, it didn’t matter if we were up 200 feet in the air or working on solid ground, he was like a cat and as agile as anyone I’ve ever worked with. As a friend of his, he would sometimes find a nickname for us and mine was “Joey”. But one thing he never understood was my passion for golf (which he called “Whack Stick”) and why someone would chase a silly white ball and try and put it in a hole. One thing about Earl though, he always wanted to be a Mountain Man and always talked about living off the land, a dream that he accomplished and a dream that he was good at. He loved to fish and hunt, or to go camping with the guys, and if you ever hiked with him (Remember Mt. St. Helens, guys?) you had to almost run just to keep up with him. He recently went to Australia with Local brother Rick Vandeveer and poor Rick said he had to run across the entire country.

I could go on and on about adventures and fun, or tell you tales of mischief, but it would be wrong to not tell you how much he loved his family. When talking of his kids or sister his eyes would twinkle and his beard would twitch and you could hear it in his voice that his family was the most important thing in his life. He was a good and wonderful man, and a good and wonderful Father, not just to his family, but also to all of us that had the good fortune to know him or to work with him. We will all miss him, but thankful for the time that we were allowed to spend with him. Thank you, Lord, and thank you, Earl … thanks for the memories. Goodbye, old friend, from Dano. Rick, Curt and the rest of us who will miss you.

Monthly dues
Apprentice Carpenter $15.00
Scaffold Erector Apprentice $15.00
Interior Exterior Specialist $26.00
Journeyman Commercial $26.00
Journeyman Residential $26.00
Journeyman Scaffold Erector $26.00
Tradeshow Carpenter $17.00

Reduced quarterly dues
Payments for each quarter are due prior to the first day of the quarter. Payments received after the quarter starts will be applied at the monthly rate as shown above.
1st Quarter – Due by 12-31-03
2nd Quarter – Due by 3-31-04
3rd Quarter – Due by 6-30-04
4th Quarter – Due by 9-30-04
Apprentice Carpenter $42.00
Scaffold Erector Apprentice $42.00
Interior Exterior Specialist $66.00
Journeyman Commercial $66.00
Journeyman Residential $66.00
Journeyman Scaffold Erector $66.00
Tradeshow Carpenter $48.00

Reduced yearly dues
Must be paid by 12-31-03
Apprentice Carpenter $160.00
Scaffold Erector Apprentice $160.00
Interior Exterior Specialist $228.00
Journeyman Commercial $228.00
Journeyman Residential $228.00
Journeyman Scaffold Erector $228.00
Tradeshow Carpenter $180.00

Promoting unionism during the season
By Joe Baron
Trustee & Delegate

As we enter into this time of mass consumerism and spending time with family and friends, let me suggest a way we can promote buying “union” in our everyday ventures.

When you go grocery shopping, try to shop at a store where the workers are members of the UFCW union. Fred Meyer, QFC, some Safeways and others belong and also employ members of the Bakery & Confectionery union, who have an office in our hall! When you are ready to check out, ask them if they are a union member. If they aren’t, suggest they contact their local UFCW office. Wal-Mart is one of the most anti-union companies and pay their employees so little that many qualify for the Oregon Health Plan, which you pay for.

When booking a hotel, ask them if they belong to the HERE union. Many are and would appreciate your business.

Parr Lumber counter employees are Teamsters, and welcome your support.

Powell Books’ employees belong to the ILWU and are in the middle of contentious labor contracts. They need your support in purchasing and picketing. If we make it an ongoing pattern to support union shops and inform non-union shops that they have an option, we’ll all be better off this holiday season. Happy Holidays to you and your family!!

Labor history timeline
Compiled by Tom Day & Gene Lawhorn

1830 The Factory Girls Association is organized in Lowell, Massachusetts, and goes on strike over wages and working conditions. Under pressure from labor organizations, President Martin Van Buren signs into law a federal 10-hour workday for employees on public works.

1848 Pennsylvania enacts a 10-hour workday law. Women mill workers forced to violate the law riot and attack the factory gates with axes. On July 6 born into this world one of the most dynamic and hard working labor leaders, Peter J. McGuire. Iron Molders Union founded in Philadelphia. Oregon becomes a state. On April 12, Edmund Ruffin receives the honor of firing the first shot, bringing us the American Civil War.

1863 Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln. The Working Women’s Union and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers founded. The Draft, or Conscription Act is enacted, which allows the rich to pay a $300 commutation fee, or for cheaper price they can buy a replacement to serve for them in the Union Army. Workers throughout the nation riot in protest. The robber barons — Rockefeller, Jay Gould, J.P. Morgan, Philip Armour, James Hill, Andrew Carnegie and Jim Fisk — all opt out of serving their country using the Draft Act.

1865 Civil War ends, old Edmund Ruffin, who fired the first shot, puts another one into his own head. In the post Civil War boom, construction shoots up 250 percent. Industrial Revolution wipes out many crafts, replacing them with mass-produced goods. The National Labor Union founded, headed by Iron Molder William Sylvis. This was the first permanent national labor organization in the U.S. Within a decade the NLU would fade into oblivion due to its involvement in monetary reforms and strict political action.

1867 Shoe factory workers form a union called the Knights of St. Crispin, who is the patron saint of their craft. By 1870 they would become the largest labor union in the nation, with over 50,000 members.

1868 The first eight-hour day is granted to workers employed by the federal government. The law has no legal sanctions and is violated with impunity by employers. The Black National Union is founded by Isaac Myers. The Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor is also founded. First organized as a secret labor society with passwords and signs to combat labor spies and blacklist. They would go on to become one of the most important historical efforts in labor organization after they dropped the secret rituals. Originally founded by group of Philadelphia tailors under Uriah Stephens, they would go on to represent over one million workers, including women and Blacks, from carpenters to railroad engineers. One of the first great depressions hits the nation as the Jay Cook banking empire goes bankrupt. Massive unemployment hits the nation, and wages are depressed, and many labor unions dissolve as workers compete for what little jobs remain. Thousand of unemployed workers march on Thompson Square in New York City demanding relief. The chief organizer for this demonstration is a young trade unionist, P.J. McGuire who would go on seven years later to found the UBC. The marchers are violently attacked by the police. McGuire is denounced on the courthouse steps by his father for being a radical.