Tom Sowa, Mick Crum, and Bob
Tupper led a crew of volunteers at Port City, a non-profit agency
that helps disabled people.
We had 59 members and six guests present for
the April regular meeting of Carpenters Local 247. Under Reports of
Accidents and Sickness we heard about Brother Steve Boone’s fall off a roof.
He is recovering in the hospital. Andy Wagner had a minor heart attack while
working in Las Vegas. A moment of silence was observed related to the
passing of B.J. Cummings.
Under reports, we heard about a downtown rally
at the Benson Towers, a non-union high-rise building at Southwest 11th &
Clay. About 125 people attended the rally, and more rallies will follow. A
new organizer, Cliff Puckett (1388), was introduced. Richard “Swede” Irving
(2416), was also hired as an organizer, but was not present. Joe Whitney was
introduced as a newly hired union representative. Dave Oury reported on the
issues in the trade show industry. Negotiations on the trade show agreement
start soon. We had various work reports and an update on our negotiations
for the Master Labor Agreement. The council has a toll-free hotline set up
(877)248-6943 for up-to-date negotiation information. Mary Hogan gave a
report on the “Sisters in the Brotherhood” conference that she recently
attended
Under Good of the Order we heard a variety of
opinions regarding Council hiring, Organizing, and 247 merchandise. Under
Unfinished Business we passed a motion for our Delegates to take to the
Regional meeting regarding Council hiring guidelines. Under New Business we
agreed to contribute to the Apprenticeship appreciation dinner, Unions for
Kids fundraiser, and to recognize our faithful volunteers with Local 247
Carhartt jackets. We also set aside $300 for union posters to decorate the
Union Hall.
As per usual, this report only hits the high
spots, for more comprehensive info … attend your Union meetings.
When you come to
meetings, please remember to bring donations for the food bank.
Note: Membership
meetings will now begin at 6 p.m. This was voted on by the membership at
January’s Special Called Meeting.
General membership
Meets the second Tuesday, May 10, at 6 p.m. at the Carpenters Hall, 2215 N.
Lombard, Portland.
Retirees
Retirees meet for lunch the second Monday, May 9, at 11 a.m. at JJ North’s,
10520 NE Halsey, Portland.
Executive Board
Executive Board meets the fourth Tuesday, May 24, at 6:30 p.m. at the Carpenters
Hall, 2215 N. Lombard, Portland.
Congrats to our apprentices! Carpenters Local 247 would like to congratulate our apprentices who became
journeyman between April 1, 2004 and March 31, 2005. These members will be
recognized at the Carpenters Honors Banquet on May 7, 2005.
Amos M. Austinson, Travis Goffic, Michael R.
Gwaltney, Jeania R. Harris, Aleksey G. Koroteyev, Milton L. Lockett II, Dan E.
Maynard, Cecil McCollum III, David S. Pillster, Yolande Pompey Jr., Mike W.
Reynolds, James H. Robison, Juan Santillan, Jonathan P. Schwartz, Daniel I.
Stewart, Douglas Vinson.
“Special Call”
meetings - May 10 & June 14 At the general May membership meeting, the following positions will
be open for nomination: President, Vice-President, Financial Secretary,
Recording Secretary, Treasurer, Conductor, Warden and Trustee (Currently served
by Kevin Stokes). At the general June membership meeting, members will elect the
candidates that are nominated at the May Special Called Meeting. These meetings
will begin at 6 p.m.
Scholarship available Local 247 has a scholarship program available for members’ children
and grandchildren. Guidelines are available at the office. Applications and
Labor History Essays are due in the office by July 26, 2005. Please call or drop
by the office for any questions or more information.
Carpenters Local 247 picnic
Mark your calendars! The Carpenters Local 247 annual picnic will be Sunday,
August 28, 2005 at Blue Lake Park. There will be lots of fun, food and
activities for the whole family! Be sure to mark the date on your calendar
because it’s an event you won’t want to miss! More details will be provided in
the upcoming issues.
Ever entertain the thought of working as an
organizer, either as a VOC or a paid staff member? Or have you ever wondered
what kind of time and dedication it takes to be successful at it?
Maybe not. I guess I didn’t give it a great deal
of thought either. That is, before I applied for an interview and was fortunate
enough to be selected to the Three Day Evaluation at the United Brotherhood
Training Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
After arriving mid-evening, I took Brother Joe
Baron’s advice and followed the signs to the proper gate and exit, where I was
given a ticket for a shuttle ride right to the front steps of the Training
Center. After entering the building, I was greeted by the security guard and
(who else?) our very own financial secretary and Portland’s most famous union
boss, Joe Baron himself, who always has the most current information and was
very ready to begin the three-day in the morning. After a short discussion, I
said “good night” and went right to bed and fell fast asleep.
That was the easy part. From early on the next
morning until almost 10 p.m. that night it was go, go, go — non-stop training on
what it takes to be an organizer. From the fictional role-playing and mock
campaigns, house calling, and even a fake meeting designed to make the non-union
workers (us) afraid to join the union. It was some of the most intense training
that I have ever endured, even more brutal than the delegate training that we
took about two years ago. After the first day was over (so we thought) we went
to a mandatory “social hour,” where I’m sure that we were graded on our
performance there also. By that I mean how we acted after the first day of
pressure and how we let off steam.
The second day, though not quite as long, held a
lot of the same as the day before but with a lot of different scenarios,
boardroom meetings, planning stages and the like. If I was to tell you that I
wasn’t worn out by then, I wouldn’t be telling you the truth, because I was
tired, too tired in fact to go and visit “The Strip” or gamble or partake in any
of the activities that Sin City has to offer.
The third and final day was still intense, but
with a lot of the pressure off because the instructors were no longer grading
us. We all gave little speeches and thanked everyone involved, said our goodbyes
and eventually left and went to the airport and caught our respective planes
home.
Now looking over this article, I could go on about
a lot of what went on, but to tell you the truth, I wouldn’t want to do it
again. But then again, I wouldn’t have missed a single moment of the training
for all the tea in China. It was that exciting, and in all honesty, the
organizers that were brought here had to be some of the best in the world. These
guys were so professional and so good at their jobs that the inspiration of
organizing not only grabbed you by the belly, it tugged hard at the heart and
made all of us want to go out and do and organize as soon as we got home.
One last note was that when we first arrived, I
overheard some of the guys talking and looking around commenting on how stiff
the competition was and how some people were kind of stand-offish. But by the
end of the first day, we were all making friends. The second day we were all
giving each other high-fives, and by the third and final day we were all
brothers and sorry to see everyone go their separate ways.
But you know something brothers and sisters,
that’s what we are, we are one big family, not related by blood but related by
what we do as Carpenters, by our respective unions, ideas, emotions, and goals.
And in my opinion, that’s as close as it gets. I hope that you out there reading
this (if anyone reads this) keeps it in mind that we are just that — one big
family — and if that family is united and stays that way, there is nothing in
the world that can stop us. From organizing to working in the field, we can make
it better. But it’s going to take more and more of our family to get involved,
and with negotiations starting we need to make it clear to the contractors that
“In Unity there is Strength.”
So please make it known to our negotiators,
organizers, business agents and staff that you want a better life and better
working conditions. We need your input, your ideas, and perhaps a little of your
time to make this a successful contract. Don’t just sit on your heels. Get out
there and participate in any way that you can. Let the contractors know that we
are united, we are a family and we are a very powerful force to be reckoned
with. Remember, May 31 is the last day of our existing contract. We made a lot
of political gains in this last election. Now let’s go out and get a better
contract.
