We had 62 members present at our January meeting. Brother Jim Murphy gave
us a Willamette Carpenter Training Center (WCTC) report on apprenticeship
and training. The Skill Advancement position remains vacant, and members
were urged to apply. Dave Oury reminded us about the upcoming need for
workers at the annual Auto Show. Cliff Puckett gave us an Organizing report.
We continue actions at the downtown Benson Tower site, and are raising
awareness about drywall conditions with Ron Rust and his subcontractors. We
recently got a favorable National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling
against Newway Forming at the Benson Tower. We also participated in an
anti-World Trade Organization (WTO) rally in downtown Portland (See photo
below).
We had various other job start and work reports from several
representatives. Regional Manager Pete Savage reported about the Early
Retiree Medical Benefit starting this year. We are sponsoring some
construction training with Portland high schools and our contractors. He
reported on the re-organization of the Regional Council political
department.
Under Good of the Order, we discussed Carpenter licensing, steward
meetings, and picket guidelines.
Under New Business, we passed a motion to send a letter to our locals
regarding a committee to advocate a Carpenter licensing law. There was also
a motion passed for the Executive Board to look into the pros and cons of
having a Solidarity Charter with the Northwest Oregon Labor Council. And we
supported a motion to pay tuition for up to 10 members to attend a Labor
Education and Research Center seminar for women. The cost is $55 each.
The meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m.
This report merely covers the primary points of interest. For more
complete information … ATTEND YOUR Union meetings.
General membership
Meets the second Tuesday, Feb. 14, at 6 p.m. at the Carpenters Hall, 2215 N.
Lombard, Portland.
Retirees
Retirees meet for lunch the second Monday, Feb. 13, at 11 a.m. at JJ North’s,
10520 NE Halsey, Portland.
Executive Board
Executive Board meets the fourth Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 6:30 p.m. at the
Carpenters Hall, 2215 N. Lombard, Portland.
Volunteer Organizing Committee
VOC meets the first Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 6 p.m. in the Conference Room on the
first floor of the office. For more information, contact Jason Sheckler at
503-367-7694.
By action of the Regional Council Delegates in August of 2005 and reaffirmed
by them in November of 2005, the Hiring Hall Rules have changed in the
jurisdiction of Local Union 2154 and Oregon & SW Washington Central Dispatch
that includes the following counties:
For Oregon State: Baker, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Crook, Deschutes,
Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Hood River, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake, Malheur, Morrow,
Multnomah, Sherman, Tillamook, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Wasco, Washington,
Wheeler and Yamhill.
For Washington State: Clark, Skamania, and Klickitat
The Change is as follows: Anyone who does not accept two or more job calls on
separate days within their skills and within the geographic areas they stated
acceptable at time of sign-in will have their name moved to the bottom of the
list unless an explanation is offered in writing. A call shall be defined as any
attempt to reach a member at their registered phone number whether the call is
answered or not; refusal, turndown, or failure to respond to a message that day
will result in a member’s name being dropped to the bottom of this list.
The above changes will become effective March 1, 2006.
The streets of downtown Portland filled with marchers Dec. 10 as part of an
international demonstration of support for workers’ rights. One of the scheduled
stops of the Portland march was the Benson Tower project, where nonunion Newway
Forming out of British Columbia is working, and using some old-fashioned
technology. "Those forms look like a job I was on 20 years ago," said Carpenters
Local 247 president Bruce Dennis.
