Greetings, fellow workers. The meeting for the month of
February was a short one as our standard meeting goes — just
under two hours. Four new members were sworn in by President
Bruce Dennis: John Degn, Jeremy Evans, Amber McCoy, and Steven
VanHoosen. Three journeymen turned out to receive their
Journeymen Certificate, and will also receive a new Carhartt
coat with their name and the year they turned out.
Congratulations to the following new Carpenter journeymen:
Roland Joseph, Donell Frank, and Krista Farmer.
Under Accidents, Sickness, and Death reports, we paid tribute
to news columnist and commentator Molly Ivins, who passed away
due to breast cancer Feb. 1. Molly was 62 years old. She
authored numerous books, including Shrub and Bushwacked. She
wrote a syndicated column that on rare occasions reached The
Oregonian. Finding one of her columns in the paper was like
discovering a diamond in a coal pile. She also was strongly
pro-labor, as well as constant thorn in President Bush’s side.
We’ll miss you, Molly!
Under Good of the Order, Kevin Stokes pointed out how badly
we need to have more volunteers for this year’s picnic. If you
can spare the time, please call Dawn at the office. John Svob
reported that he lost a family friend to the war in Iraq, and we
stood for a moment of silence. Richard Petrich (aka Surf ) stood
before the meeting and sang a couple of songs — one about his
strong affinity for catfish, just to warm up, and then a rousing
union carpenter song that he wrote that was very well received.
Keep it up, Surf. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll have our next
American Idol out of Local 247!
Much more goes on in the meetings than I have time to report
fully on, so if you really want to be keep informed about
politics, business rep, organizer reports, and possible jobs,
come to the meetings. Is a couple hours a month too much to ask
when so much of your life and work depend on a strong and
informed membership? Our next meeting is on March 13 at 6 p.m.
Hope to see you all there!
General membership
General membership meets the second Tuesday, March 13, 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, March 12, at 11 a.m. at JJ North’s,
10520 NE Halsey, Portland.
Executive Board
Executive Board meets the fourth Tuesday, March 27, at 6:30 p.m. at the
Carpenters Hall, 2215 N. Lombard, Portland.
Since we have a majority of Democrats in the House and Senate, the mood in
Salem is totally different than it was in the last session. This change was made
possible with the help and hard work of our members. Thanks again! Labor has
been able to introduce bills and actually have someone consider them. The bills
have been in committee and some have had public hearings on them. Two of the
ones we are following closely are HB2557 which relates to exemptions from
prevailing wage, and HB2618 which deals with apprenticeship requirements. These
bills and all others can be tracked by going to
http://www.leg.state.or.us. You can
actually listen to the testimony on the bills by going to this link. We are
following all bills relating to our issues and if we feel there is not enough
support for them, we may need our members to call or e-mail their
representatives in Salem. I will be in contact with the Volunteer Political
Committee chair from all the locals and we will coordinate these calls and
e-mails. If you are asked to make that phone call or send that e-mail, please do
it. It is for the good of the Brotherhood and your future as a Carpenter.
Any member who is taking advantage of reduced quarterly dues must have their
second quarter dues payment into the office no later than March 30, 2007. The
second quarter payment will pay for your dues for the months of April, May and
June. If you are not currently taking advantage of this option and wish to do
so, please send your payment into the office before the due date. However, you
must have your dues paid through March in order to take advantage of this
discount. The reduced rates are as follows: Journeyman - $72, Tradeshow - $48.
The following members are celebrating their birthday this month. We would
like to wish them all “Happy Birthday!” We hope you enjoy your special day!
Gabriel Achim, Randall Amos, Joseph Barron, Ben Basom, Paul Bauer, Dale
Beckwith, Robert Behrendsen, Santiago Bernal, Paul Blake, Dennis Boggs, Eric
Bolden, Jeremy Boyd, Brian Boyer, Eugene Brown, Robert Brown, Clayton Brown,
Timothy Burris, John Burton, Steve Callopy, Tim Carpenter, Chester Caruthers,
Richard Cashin, Raul Cervantez, Jon Clifton, Frank Corah, Beniamin Costea,
Anthony Cross, Kenneth Curry, Michael Dant, Jason Delfel, Ronald Dombroski, Sean
Donnelly, Darell Duffy, Timothy Dumont, Timothy Edwards, Richard Edwards,
Randall Estes, Jeremy Evans, Daniel Ewing, Dashia Fontleroy, Beckyrae Franks,
Mike Fuls, Norman Gammiere, Jacob Gloria, Claudiu Golas, Steve Grech, Ty Grobe,
Jorge Gutierrez-Garcia, Gary Hanson Jr., Larry Heckethorne, Paul Heineman, Cori
Higgins, Mary Hogan, Jeffrey Hogg, Archie Hunt Jr., Peter Jensen, David Johanson,
Tracy Johnson, Phillip Johnson, Kevin Kelleher, Bob Kitt, Aaron Knudson, Lloyd
Knutson, Jan Ledford, Virgil Lee, Thomas Lepley, Leighton Lepley, Paul Lesch
Jr., Michael Lindsay, Anthony Loomis, Irvin Massey, Zane McKarem, Michael
McLain, Michael McMullen, John Metts, Eugene Miller, Todd Million, William
Minter, Joshua Minturn, John Moellenhoff, Donald Montanino, Paul Montgomery,
William Mueller Jr., Carl Mullins, William Nesbit, Jon Opperud, Russell Oullette,
Efrain Palomares, Brent Parish, Wilbur Parker Jr., Kenneth Parries, Jeffrey
Parsons, Nick Peters, Joseph Peterson, Tom Pettijohn, Larry Phillips, Mike
Pillster, Patrick Poston, John Reel, Elmore Reese, Roland Rehm, John Richards,
Casey Richmire, Gabriel Rieff, James River, Robert Robson Jr., Randy Rone, Joel
Rosenberger, Raeleen Ross, Lemuel Sanciuc, Nedd Sandall, Dean Seefeldt, Matthew
Sever, Robert Shibley, Frank Shipley, Victor Shults, Juan Silva, Marvin Smith,
Kelly Snethen, Patrick Sticka, Dustin Stratton, Daniel Strom, Anthony Terry,
Thomas Thompson, Rodger Visto, James Warner, James Wells, Joseph Whitney, David
Wilkinson, Joseph Lee, Lee Wise.
