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NEWSLETTER
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Past Newsletters |
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Is there something you want but don’t see in the Local 247 newsletter? |
June meeting report for Carpenters Local 247
| By Peter Savage, Financial Secretary The June meeting was a special called meeting to elect a new trustee and review the proposed changes to the bylaws. There were 79 members in attendance. Nominations were taken at the beginning of the meeting. Darell Duffy, Joe Baron and Kevin Stokes were nominated. Andy Wagner was also nominated, but declined. Candidates were given an opportunity to speak to the members about their qualifications before the vote was taken. The proposed changes for the bylaws were reviewed and will be voted on at the July meeting. Certificates of Appreciation were handed out to Tom Daugherty, Darell Duffy and Shawn Cushman for their special efforts in organizing. A motion was approved to provide entertainment and activities at the picnic. There were reports from several representatives about future jobs that are coming up, the last Regional Council meeting and an update on the 247 Picnic. It was announced that the trustees have hired a new trust office to handle the health and welfare, vacation, pension, apprenticeship and the 401(k). At the end of the meeting, the votes were taken and counted. Darell Duffy was elected as the new trustee, effective July 1, 2001. Congratulations to Darell!! |
General membership Retirees Executive Board ‘Special Call’ meeting July 10 |
 Vice President Willie Gore presents Darell Duffy his journeyman certificate at the June meeting. Darell was also elected as a 247 trustee at the meeting. |
Congratulations to our apprentices
Carpenters Local 247 would like to congratulate our apprentices who became journeymen. July 2000 September 2000 February 2001 April 2001 May 2001 June 2001 |
 Randy Simonatti was also presented his journeyman certificate by Vice President Gore at the June meeting. |
A fast track to corporate globalization
The House Republican leadership announced a fast track bill June 13. The bill would grant fast track status to trade agreements, including the Free Trade Area of the Americas. That treaty would extend the North American Free Trade Agreement to all of the Western Hemisphere except Cuba. Under fast track, Congress must limit the length of time it considers any agreement and cannot make any changes to a treaty. The AFL-CIO and affiliated unions have launched a campaign to defeat fast track on Capitol Hill.
247 Picnic at Blue Lake Park
Carpenters Local 247 has reserved three very spacious sites at Blue Lake Park. This year’s picnic features food, games and activities for all ages, swimming, canoes and paddleboats, volleyball, horseshoes and baseball. It will be a fun day for the whole family! Please be sure to join us!
We will be having a raffle for adults and children! Each child will receive a raffle ticket upon entry into the park! Adult raffle tickets are available for purchase, eight for $5 before the picnic or six for $5 at the picnic. All proceeds will go to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.
There will be lots of food available: hamburgers/cheeseburgers, hot dogs, ribs, chicken, salads, baked beans, corn on the cob, chips, beverages and brownies!
Games and activities: There will be a tattoo station, carnival game booths, 18-hole mini golf, air jump, Giant Amazing Slide, double-shot basketball, ping pong, swimming, paddleboats and canoes, bingo and relay Races.
Local 247 will also present pins to members for years of service.
No to corporate outlaws
One of President Bush’s first actions was to suspend temporarily “responsible contractor” rules that took into account a corporation’s record of complying with laws, including civil rights and workers’ rights laws, before awarding government contracts. A broad coalition of groups, including the AFL-CIO, is mobilizing to tell the government those rules should not be permanently repealed. “Making compliance with the law part of the test for being a responsible contractor … helps ensure that the government is awarding contracts to the most responsible, ethical, trustworthy companies,” AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson told a meeting of the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council
(FARC) June 18. The coalition has signed on to a newspaper ad asking why corporations shouldn’t play by the rules. The FARC is accepting comment on the responsible contractor rules until today — July 6. To send a message, visit
www.corporateoutlaws.org.
Scholarship essay
As reported last month, Local 247 children did very well in the Regional Council Scholarship awards.
Meribeth Hudnall, daughter of Larry Hudnall and Louise Brown, was awarded a $1,000 scholarship. Meribeth plans to attend Oregon State University and pursue a degree in natural resources. She has been active in her community volunteering for Rainer’s Hope food warehouse and annual food drive “Walk-n- Knock” which she helped organize. She is also a member of the Honor Society. Her essay appears in this issue of our newsletter. Congratulations,
Meribeth!
American labor unions: birth and continuation
By Meribeth Hudnall
Growing up I never questioned my family’s connection with unions. My dad had always been a carpenter to me and occasional layoffs were normal (my dad always called them his extended vacations). My connection to unions hasn’t stopped there though. My mom has been a school teacher for over 20 years. She has always been a very active member and served as the local teachers association president for three years. When I found my first job in a grocery store, it didn’t seem unusual that it was a union position, but I’ve slowly begun to appreciate that I’m a union member. I have guaranteed hours of work at a place that looks out for my safety. I also have no fear of suddenly losing my job just because my boss doesn’t like me, and I have a way of addressing my grievances about my workplace conditions and how I’m treated. Today, many people take these rights and protections lightly, but they should be appreciated. Many labor organizations, close to a half billion people, and 270 years of struggle have made the United States what it is today, a “sweet land of liberty” (Samuel Francis Smith).
Organized trade unions started around the beginning of the 18th century and slowly grew. These unions were very unlike the unions of today. Most of these were made up of skilled tradesmen, journeymen, who hoped by joining unions they could prevent the flood of products produced far away in factories and offered at a lower cost than what the tradesman could make goods at. Most of these unions were based in big cities like Philadelphia, New York City and Boston. When the economy started exploding, though, several national unions were formed and in the 1830s these grew fairly rapidly. In the early 1850s and with the Civil War there was an increase in jobs and a greater demand of goods. Many national unions of just one trade were formed like the National Typographical Union. Tradesmen like hat finishers, stone cutters, molders, machinists and blacksmiths also had national unions. Citywide unions were in almost every big city and there were many local, independent unions everywhere. The first effective national organized labor union was the Knights of Labor (Compton’s).
Founded in 1869, the Knights of Labor was concerned with uniting both skilled and unskilled labor for a number of goals. They wanted to establish the eight-hour workday, stop child labor, and make utilities and railroads public that were privately owned. Through a series of successful strikes, the organization grew, and in 1885 the national membership was almost 700,000. Eight hundred strikes were called for May Day of 1886 to demand an eight-hour workday, among other things. Even though many of the strikes were successful, the public’s view of what labor organizations stood for became clouded. One of the May Day strikes held in Chicago against McCormick Harvesting Machine Company came to be infamously known as the Haymarket Riot. Even though four anarchists were tried and sentenced to death for inciting the violence, the public saw unions as violence-causing organizations (Britannica).
The American Federation of Labor (AFL) first came into existence in 1881 and was later reorganized in 1886 to comprise of many local unions and some larger craft unions. The AFL was much different than the Knights of Labor. The AFL looked for immediate ways to make their members’ lives better, and unlike all previous national unions, including the Knights of Labor, it stayed away from politics. The AFL used economic polices such as boycotts and strikes to accomplish the group’s goals. And to implement policies, they used written collective agreements, and used newer ideas like the closed shop. A main difference between the AFL and the Knights of Labor was its membership was of only skilled workers. These members paid high dues but in return they were provided with insurance and strike benefits. Midway through the 1890s the AFL became the strongest union organization in the United States.
The AFL’s membership peaked at five million after World War I and would not recover until World War II. Most members were skilled tradesmen, and some industrial unions were also affiliated with the AFL. Its attempts after the war at unionizing the steel and meat industries failed, due partly to employers’ tactics and government policies of the time. During World War II union growth was spectacular. Almost 35 percent of the workforce was union members. In 1945 union membership swelled to 14 million, but the public disliked how unions interfered with production during war times. 1955 brought about the unification of the AFL and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). A total of 15 million members of both craft (AFL) and industrial workers (CIO) was finally brought about.
Labor unions of today are still changing to meet the needs of today’s workers. Today’s workers enjoy many benefits brought about by the unions, such as Equal Employment Opportunity Act. The eight-hour workday, workplace safety, insurance benefits, paid time off, and grievance procedures are firmly in place in American society today. The sacrifices made by all union members have made today’s workers’ lives substantially better. I’m proud to be part of the legacy left by my parents’ involvement in unions, along with my grandfather and of the millions who came before them.