NEWSLETTERDecember 2008 |
Past Newsletters |
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When you come to meetings,
please remember |
General membership
General membership meets the second Tuesday,
Dec. 9, at 6 p.m. at the Carpenters Hall, 2215
N. Lombard, Portland. If you have any questions,
please feel free to contact the office at
503-289-9632.
Retirees
Retirees meet for lunch the second Monday,
Dec. 8, at 11 a.m. at Hometown Buffet, 10452A
SE Washington St., Portland.
Executive Board
Executive Board meets the fourth Tuesday, Dec.
23, at 6:30 p.m. at the Carpenters Hall, 2215N.
Lombard, Portland.
Meeting Notices
Newsletter Committee
Newsletter committee meets the second
Thursday, Dec. 11, at 6:30 p.m., first
floor, Small Conference Room, Carpenters
Hall, 2215 N. Lombard, Portland.
By Joe Whitney Local 247
We lost our Brother Gary Sinn last month on October 11 at the young age of 50. Gary who was born June 8 1958 is survived by his wife Peaches and their four children; one of them being a young apprentice out of Local 1715 and quite the Carpenter at an early age. For those of us that had the wonderful opportunity to know Gary and to work with him, we could tell many stories about how he made every job his task to do the job right.
We could also tell many tales of how he enjoyed himself and somehow he got himself into a few predicaments, that only he could manage. I met Gary on a job working for Coco Construction and the first day there I was preparing to scale a wall form that we were getting ready to pour the next day. While putting on my harness and safety gear, Gary scaled the wall and hollered at me to grab a chalk box to set grade. Now this wall panel was about 30’ tall and I started to go up I heard a “Oh Noooooooo” and looked up just in time to see Gary falling the whole length on the wall and landing in the mud (this is the Pacific Northwest after all) laying there looking at me and saying I’m ok Joe just don’t tell anyone and be sure you tie off when you get up there especially after seeing that I did. He was pretty sore for a few days but after a while he was back to being Gary and by that I mean being the best that he could be and never a word mentioned again (until after his passing) about that incident. We worked without much incident for a couple of months and I learned from him many aspects of carpentry and at the same time humanity because Gary was of a faith unshaken and his whole life was devoted to his Family and his Religion . I also learned that he would take off on adventures helping other people in need and involving the whole family teaching his children that we are here for a purpose and Gary’s was to help anyone who needed it and he was there for them. He went to Tibet to help the underprivileged, he went to India to help when they needed it and these were people that he had never met but people who needed the special skills that he not only possessed but was willing to share. He spent time helping the survivors of Hurricane Katrina and asked for help from the Local to ease on the expenses as he wasn’t a rich man at least not in the material sense but rich beyond belief in the eyes of his Family and Friends and the people that he had unselfishly helped over the years. At his funeral at an extremely large church, with a huge parking lot, I found the lot almost full to capacity and the church had many people standing, though there was ample seating for a few hundred there.
The stories told and the love felt there was incredible and I found that Gary wasn’t a lonely man and that he had passed peacefully in his sleep and had a smile on his face as his wife Peaches found him in the morning dying early in the morning from an epileptic seizure leaving behind the Family he loved so much. I remember one last episode with Gary on the Ceco job and that was when we had built a walkway to the bottom of these walls. On the south side, it was about a 50’ walkway with a handrail and putting on clamps at the bottom I heard a “Hey Joe, Look out” and as I looked up saw Gary set a sheet of plywood on the handrail and ride it down like a surfboard; laughing all the way down and me shaking my head because the safety officer was at the top also shaking his head. But, that was Gary Zinn. If you are ever fortunate enough to work with someone like Gary, be sure to take advantage of it because he will show you unselfishly how to perform your work well and in a timely manner (except for sliding down walkways) and be sure to pay attention because men like him are few and far between. You will definitely be a better person because of it. We miss you Gary and wish the best to your family and friends.
Jobs with Justice Monthly Report
Jobs with Justice is building community support for the Employee Free Choice Act, a landmark piece of legislation now pending in Congress that will give workers a fighting chance to improve their lives.
As the economic crisis deepens it is becoming evermore apparent that that access to collective bargaining rights, freely chosen by workers is the best way to guarantee better benefits and wages for working families. Workers need the freedom to come together and organize for better working conditions, health benefits and retirement. But in today's company-dominated system there are few protections for workers who are trying to organize. Employers routinely harass, intimidate and coerce people who try to form unions and annually over 23,000 workers are fired or discriminated against for supporting a union at work.
The Employee Free Choice Act is a landmark piece of legislation now pending in congress that reforms labor law and restores workers freedom to form unions by:
Because we see this as an incredible opportunity to protect the rights of all workers Jobs with Justice is reaching out to our community allies to demonstrate broad support for this bill. We need your help to see this through. We are gathering postcards to send to Congress to demonstrate our support, we are also looking for folks to write articles or letters to the editor about the need for this legislation ,and we are asking our allies to sign on to an organizational letter in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. For more information check out www.AmericanRightsAtWork.org. Contact Andrea at andrea@jwjpdx.org or call 503-236-5573 to find out how you can be a part of this exciting campaign!
We write to invite you to join us at our Grinch of the Year Holiday Party on Saturday, December 6th at 7PMat the Peace House,2116 NE 18th Ave. There are some great contenders for this coveted award, deciding will surely be difficult. David and Edward Van Der Pol—owners of Oak Harbor Freight (where Teamster drivers are on strike!), Victoria Taft-anti-immigrant right-wing radio host, “Bailout King” and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Freightliner CEO Chris Patterson, or Pam Vukovich-Chief Financial Officer of Legacy. So many choices-and you can write in others. This award is so important that the police usually show up at the surprise presentation ceremony!
Figure out who you want to support, then come on down and buy some votes. That’s right-the votes are for sale-we like to call it “corporate-style democracy”. But don’t worry, the election will be completely free and fair-for those that pay!
Union office holiday closures
In observance of the Christmas holiday, the union office will be closed Dec.
24-25.
We will reopen the office Friday, Dec. 26 at 8 a.m. Also, we will be closed Jan.
1.
We will reopen Jan. 2 at 8 a.m.
Regional perspective: A Seattle
report on Barriers to Women in the
Building Trades (Port Jobs Report)
By Michael Brassell
Member, Local 247
What are the challenges to staying in the trades? Tradeswomen identified six predominant challenges that make the biggest difference in their ability and desire to stay in the trades. While all apprentices experience these challenges to some degree, they seem to be especially common for women.
Lack of well-rounded on-the-job training
Tradeswomen spoke of the difficulty of getting well-rounded on-the-job training. Most felt they had experienced some discrimination in training and job assignments. They said that women were often given low-skilled jobs, such as sweeping floors. Many had to “push, beg and pester” to learn the more challenging skills of the trade.
While apprenticeship programs have different methods for tracking apprentices’ on-the-job learning, lack of oversight and accountability were raised as problems. Some apprentice participants didn’t have a clear understanding of the skills progression they were expected to learn on the job. In the end, those women who reached journey-level without well-rounded skills found they were less marketable than others, with more limited job opportunities.
“At first it’s understandable that you don’t actually get to work with the power tools. But some people stay there. They are about to journey out, and all they’ve done is low-skilled work. It comes to a point where you have to respect yourself and say, ‘Hey, enough is enough, I want to learn.’
Lack of job security and steady work.
Unemployment is a fact of life in the building and construction trades. The lack of job security, however, was especially taxing for tradeswomen who were single mothers. Some women were reluctant to speak up about harassment or other problems they saw on the job for fear of being laid off. Many felt that female apprentices were hired to fill quotas and were kept on jobs because they were inexpensive labor, whereas journey level women were the first to be laid off. Others reiterated how critical a well-rounded skill set is to be competitive in the job market and stay employed. “When you don’t have job security, and you have a house and a child, it’s very overwhelming. The only thing you can rely on is that your boss is going to like you enough to call you back.”
Being judged for being women; lack of women in leadership positions.
Because of their small numbers, many women still felt like outsiders in the trades. Women spoke of having to prove themselves on each new job site, and of the sense – sometimes stated, sometimes implied – that they were taking jobs away from men who could be supporting their families. Others talked about the need for more women in leadership positions on job sites, in apprenticeship programs and in unions. “A thousand times I’ve showed up on the jobsite just to have them roll their eyes thinking ‘Oh jeez, look at this one they sent me.’ But then at the end of the job they shake my hand and say, ‘I’ll have you back any time. You outworked them all.’
Lack of daycare options and family friendly workplace policies.
Daycare is one of the most significant challenges for tradeswomen with young children, due to high costs and hours of operation that don’t fit long construction workdays. Juggling family and work requirements was especially difficult for single parents who had to take jobs or attend apprenticeship training out of town. While participants noted that some employers were family- oriented, many contractors showed a lack of understanding about the need to care for sick children or other family obligations. “As a first year apprentice, daycare was very difficult. It took two and a half of my pay checks each month just to pay for daycare. Then I had a year-long job that started at 6:00 a.m. I had to leave at 5:00, and the daycare didn’t open until 6:00. So I had to pay someone extra to take my daughter there.”
Lack of mentoring and support systems.
The tradeswomen interviewed for this report enjoyed getting together and sharing their experiences. Some women exchanged contact information, commented that they would like to get together again and said that the discussion had been cathartic. Others shared advice about how to navigate the apprenticeship system. Many recommended developing better support systems for women in the trades by, for example, fostering mentoring opportunities. “I think mentoring is important for the women coming in. It would be nice if the more experienced women would take young women under their wing. Show them things and let them know how to conduct themselves on the job, because a lot of times you don’t know.”
Need for stronger recruitment of women.
Many tradeswomen felt that recruiting more women into the trades is the number one issue to address. Some said that recruitment should happen in the high schools, while others felt that outreach needs to focus on people, like single parents, who are motivated to get ahead financially. Tradeswomen, particularly at the journey level, also discussed the pros and cons of affirmative action. Some felt that affirmative action helped bring women into the trades while others said the policies simply placed quotas on programs to bring more women in, but not necessarily the “right” women who are genuinely interested in the work. “Inmy opinion, we’re going backwards. We’re seeing the effects of Initiative 200. Without affirmative action – without that being a clear goal – it’s so easy to disregard women as potential employees. With affirmative action we had more strength to get a foot in the door and stay there.”
Note: Information for this article was taken from www.portjobs.org/resources/newsletters/pj2006-1.pdf .
By Gabriel Triplett
Member, Local 247
Usually in this article on International Labor you find a description of a labor struggle or victory taking place outside the country. However, that is not the case this month. The teamsters strike against Oak Harbor Freight has picked up international news. About 600 workers belonging to Teamsters Joint Council 28 walked off the job in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon Monday, Sept. 22.
The Union had been in negotiations for nearly a year and a half. The company bosses had stepped up their intimidation against workers and union members were feeling bullied by the company. According to Al Hobart (Teamsters International Vice President), 5 claims were filed with National Labor Relations Board against Oak Harbor in the last couple weeks leading up to the strike. When it became clear to the workers that the intimidation would not stop and that management refused to give the workers what they deserved, the Union went out on strike. The next day Oak Harbor cut off all Health Care Benefits to their employees and retirees. Since then the union has been putting pressure on retail chains that use Oak Harbor Freight for distribution. On Oct.21, Union members rappelled down a building in San Francisco near the Gap’s Headquarters dropping a huge banner that brought a lot of attention to the Gap’s use of the Union Busting company. Also in New York, supporters of the striking workers stormed the Gap in protest of Oak Harbor’s criminal behavior towards their workers. While the Gap has found no problem with profiting from the exploitation of workers and the stripping of health care from retirees, other companies have not been so cold hearted. REI and Urban Outfitters are two companies that dropped Oak Harbor Freight. The Teamsters are also calling on people not to buy any Polo/Ralph Lauren. Oak Harbor distributes Polo/Ralph Lauren to JOCK Penney, two more companies that don’t seem to give a damn about mistreated workers.
When the Carpenters threw up an area standards picket in front of a UPS distribution center many of the Teamsters would not cross our line. The best way to say thanks for the Solidarity it to give it right back, which is why I won’t be shopping for Christmas gifts from the Gap, JC Penney, or Ralph Lauren. The thing about solidarity is the more times it’s given back and forth the bigger and stronger it grows. Help the work along. These campaigns can change overnight to get the most updated information about the strike and boycotts go to www.teamster.org or call the teamster local near you. Note: Information for this article was taken from the Oregon Business Journal, www.teamster.org, and www.laborstart.org.
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Monthly dues
Carpenter & Scaffold Erector Apprentice Carpenter
$18.00 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 12-31-08
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Carpenter & Scaffold Erector
Apprentice Carpenter $51.00
Interior Exterior Specialist $87.00 Journeyman Commercial $87.00 Journeyman Residential $78.00 Journeyman Floor layer $78.00 Journeyman Scaffold Erector $87.00 Tradeshow Carpenter $60.00
Reduced yearly dues Carpenter & Scaffold Erector
Apprentice Carpenter $198.00
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By Joe Baron
Financial Secretary & Political Chair
Thank you for all of your help in getting the candidates that we supported elected. We greatly appreciate you taking the time to read our newsletter, listening to our advice and registering to vote. Even though those things may seem small, they help keep you informed and get our candidates in office. Also, you need to remember that helping bond measures pass such as the PCC Bond, the Zoo Bond, and the Salem/Keizer bond provides work for our members.
If you are out of work, please remember to contact the Regional Council regarding picketing opportunities. Also, remember that you can get on the Tradeshow Out of Work list too.
Thanks again for all of your assistance during the political season. Dawn, Sherrie and I would like to wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
