General membership
General membership meets the second Tuesday, May 8, 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, May 14, at 11 a.m. at JJ North’s,
10520 NE Halsey, Portland.
Executive Board
Executive Board meets the fourth Tuesday, May 22, at 6:30 p.m. at the Carpenters
Hall, 2215 N. Lombard, Portland.
Greetings, fellow workers. At the April meeting we had 79
members and five guests present. Sixteen of the members present
were women. The Executive Board minutes were read and passed
with the exception of the Board’s motion to donate $500 to the
Luis Mendoza Solidarity Fund, which was pulled from the minutes
for further discussion under unfinished business.
President Bruce Dennis swore in three new members: Darrell
Bagley, Ryan Craig, and James Tricarico, Sr. The new members
were awarded T-shirts for coming to the meeting and taking the
“Oath of Obligation.” If you’re a new member and have not been
to a meeting to take the Oath, by all means you should do as
soon as possible so you too can proudly wear your Local 247
T-shirt at work or at play. Welcome and congratulations to these
new members.
Under Reports, John Schraner of Local 1388 gave a report
about the Willamette Carpenter Training Center and informed us
there will be a grand opening in May. Chelsee Layton gave us a
report on a LERC class about developing women’s leadership
skills. Gene Picariello and Mark Wagoner both gave reports about
the delegates training they received at the Las Vegas Training
Center. These were followed up by reports from Bruce Dennis, Joe
Whitney, Joe Baron, Ben Embree, and Pete Savage on work,
politics, organizing activities, and upcoming contract rallies.
Recording Secretary Steve Wright reported on the Providence
candlelight vigil, and lastly, retiree Chet Caruthers reported
that he is doing well traveling the country and living on his
pension, and how lucky we were to be able to have a pension.
Comments under “Good of the Order” were short. Chelsee Layton
asked for Sister members to volunteer for a table at the
contract rally. Brother Mike Fuls talked about how much we pay
for downtown parking and the need for us to have parking in our
next contract talks. John Jackson has been appointed as
recruitment coordinator for WCTC to help minority members stay
in the union.
Under unfinished business, Gene Lawhorn made a motion to not
concur with the E Board’s motion to donate $500 to the Luis
Mendoza Solidarity Fund. This motion was dependent on an
expected lawyer’s letter stating that it was legal for our local
to donate to the fund. The motion not to concur was seconded,
and passed by a close vote of 25 to 22, which means that the
local will not be contributing to the fund.
Under New Business, Jason Sheckler’s motion to support Jobs
with Justice’ annual banquet with a $475 donation passed. Jared
Fisher’s motion to hold an immigration debate at the next
meeting failed. Mike Anderson’s motion to allow the members to
be able to wear their hats at the meeting passed. Yeah!!! Kevin
Stokes made a motion on behalf of Mike Fuls to have paid parking
as part of our next Master agreement contract negotiations, in
2009, which also passed.
The meeting adjourned at 8:16 p.m. The next meeting is May 8.
Hope to see more of you there. Without you being present,
decisions are being made you may not agree with. You can only
lead if you participate!
Remember the wise words of Ben Franklin: “If you make
yourselves sheep, the wolves will devour you.”
Carpenters Local 247 would like to congratulate our apprentices who became
journeymen between April 1, 2006 and March 31, 2007. These members were
recognized at the Carpenters Honors Banquet on April 14, 2007: Jeffrey Anderson,
Abel Arango, Richard Cashin, Jason Crews, Jeffrey Dodd, Krista Farmer, Donell
Frank, Dennis Golden, Roland Joseph, Patrick Mapes.
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 24, 2007. Please call or drop by
the office for any questions or more information.
At the general May membership meeting, we will be nominating members for the
following position: Trustee (Currently served by Darell Duffy). Also, we will be
reviewing a proposal for a new dues structure. It is important that you attend!
At the general June membership meeting, members will elect the candidates who
are nominated at the May Special Called Meeting, and vote on the proposed dues
structure.
The meetings will be held in conjunction with the Regular Membership Meeting
at Carpenters Local 247 in the Upper Hall. These meetings will begin at 6 p.m.
You won the award challenge … you get to come to Carpenters Local 247 picnic!
Mark your calendars! The Carpenters Local 247 annual picnic will be Sunday,
August 12,2007, at Camp Withycombe in Oregon City.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.
Recommendations By Joe Baron, Chairman
PNWRCC Metro-wide Endorsement Committee
At the March Metro-wide Endorsement Committee meeting, we voted on these
recommendations:
Endorse Kevin J. Spellman for Multnomah Education District, Position 7,
Zone 3.
Measure 26-89 - Shall Council convene Charter Review Commission at least
every 10 years with recommendations submitted to voters in certain
circumstances? No position taken. The committee decided this measure had
little effect on our issues.
Measure 26-90 - Shall city simplify civil service provisions, authorize
Council to implement merit system, exclude certain policy-making employees
from civil service? Vote no.This measure would exclude some workers who are
currently civil service employees.
Measure 26-91 - Shall executive authority be transferred from
Commissioners to the Mayor and Council exercise legislative and
quasi-judicial duties? Vote no. The Strong Mayor measure would give more
power to the Mayor and exclude City Council members in decisionmaking for
their bureaus.
Measure 26-92 - Shall the Portland Development Commission budget be
subjected to City Council oversight with financial and performance audits by
City Auditor? Vote yes. This measure asks for oversight of the Portland
Development Commission budget and would require performance and financial
audits by the City Auditor.
Congratulations, journeymen. On April 15, 2007, the Willamette Carpenters
Training Center held its annual graduation banquet; 84 apprentices graduated as
journeymen carpenters,millwrights, piledrivers or exterior/interior specialists.
We also had four completions of the supervisory training program. The banquet
was well attended. Also recognized were:
Carpenter of the Year: Brandon Rutledge
Exterior/Interior Specialist of the Year: Brenton Halverson Millwright of the Year: Anthony Scott Krieg Piledriver of the Year: Charles Elliott Instructor of the Year: James Ortega BJ Cummings Award: Robert Burgess Dale R.Dvorak Award: Robert Hansen
Ralph Newton Clinton was born January 1920 in Portland Oregon to Samuel
Clinton and Etta (Vollum) Clinton. Ralph graduated from Gresham High School in
1938. He was preceded in death by Bessie, his wife of almost 60 years, and
sisters Evelyn, Thelma and May. His surviving sister Nellie currently resides in
Redmond, Oregon.
As a young man Ralph grew up on the family homestead, where he was no
stranger to hard work. Before they could afford a tractor, he tilled the fields
with a horse-drawn single-bottomed plow. He also assisted his father and uncles
(Clinton Brothers Construction) with building projects around Portland. He then
went to work in the shipyard as a loftsman making wooden patterns for ship
hulls. World War II brought changes and travel plans he would never have
imagined.
With minimal basic training, he and his buddies shipped out to the South
Pacific as members of the “Bobcats,” the U.S. Navy’s first WWII construction
unit, before the term “Seabee” was ever coined. Bobcat was the code name for
their destination – the island of Bora Bora. As a part of the Third Naval
Construction Battalion of Seabees, he soon found himself island-hopping in the
South Pacific in such exotic places as Pago Pago, Eniwetok, Kwajalein, Engebi
and Manus Island.
Upon his safe return from the war, he met and married Bessie McDaniel of
Seattle in June 1946. They moved to Pleasant Valley, where Ralph had grown up.
There they bought 19 acres of the old 160-acre homestead that had been in the
family since the 1870s. Ralph farmed there full-time until 1957, after which he
returned to full-time carpentry work but continued to farm part-time. He retired
from carpentry in 1982, after which he and Bessie frequently traveled throughout
the United States, attending Seabee Reunions, visiting distant relatives, and
sight-seeing. Ralph and Bessie raised three children on the farm — Carl, Keith
and Irene. Ralph is survived by: Carl, and his wife Dee of Portland and their
two children, Steven (wife Lindsey) and Danielle; Keith and his wife Jean of
Bend and their three children, Emily (husband Wes), Abigail (husband Jake and
their two children Tea’ and Amir) and John; and Irene and her husband Eric
Rathmann of Portland and their three children Thomas, Douglas and Mikel.
Ralph loved swapping stories with family, friends, neighbors and his old Navy
and carpenter buddies. He enjoyed working the farm and growing cauliflower,
broccoli, berries, hay, trees, beef calves and more. He was an avid fisherman
and hunter, and in his younger days led a 4-H photography club and was an
assistant Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 289.
In process for almost eight years, Ralph was making plans for 15 acres of his
farm to be developed as the site of 54 high-quality homes in one of the first
phases of the Pleasant Valley Plan. As a master carpenter and 51-year member of
the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, he wanted to see this
development come to fruition as his legacy to the community. He wanted it to be
a model of quality developments. His family will carry out his plan. He was
loved and will be missed.
Pictured, from left to right, are Amber McCoy, Tissi
Snelson, Oregon Executive Director Connie Ashbrook, and Chelsee Layton.
Thank you to Carpenters Local 247 for once again sending our sisters to the
second annual Women’s Leadership Institute of 2007.
For those unfamiliar with the yearly conference, let me give you a short
essay of what it’s all about. The Women’s Institute is geared towards union
women interested in building the skills and knowledge necessary to becoming
effective leaders and advocates for their communities and unions as well as in
the workforce. Six different workshops — lobbying skills, parliamentary
procedure, how unions work, public speaking, finding your power on the job, and
effective leadership through self-knowledge (what’s my communication style) —
contain the driving force to reach those goals.
I was honored to meet the likes of Sam Adams, Dan Gardner, Terry Richardson,
Chip Shields, and Regan Ray. Each personality presented unlimited knowledge and
support, which in turn built a stronger sense of self-confidence with my
beginning stages of becoming a community activist.
Another incentive is the networking the conference provides. Through group
exercises and classes, we get a chance to mingle, share experiences and contact
information. Lastly, I was impressed to meet two women who were the first women
of their trades, and two as presidents of their Locals. The experience of this
year’s conference changed my life politically and personally. Not only have I
become an active advocate, but a stronger member for our brothers and sisters.
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!
Walter Allen, Mikeal Anderson, Jason Asher, Chris Atkins, Kyle Bach, Michael
Banley, David Barber, David Bean, Harold Bernard, Axel Bledsoe, Dennis Brady,
Travis Brake, Sean Brown, Andrew Butcher, Christopher Cach, Jake Calvert,
William Celorie, Vadim Chain, Matthew Chapman, Leon Chapman, David Corbett, Mike
Couch, David Cross, Charles Davis, Jeff Dodd, Vsevolod Durshpek, Christopher
Ellisor, Michael Facer, Krista Farmer, Randy Garrett, Ted Gayman, James Gloria,
Eric Gunnarson, Troy Haffner, Ralph Hamilton III, Jamison Hampton, Darryl
Hannon, Ronald Hanson, Robert Harris, James Harrison, Gerald Hays, Kevin Heldt,
Bert Henderson, Jeromy Hettinga, Justin Hiatt, Wayne Holcomb, Edward Hollenbeck,
Jeffrey Jewell, Terry Johnson, Ahmad Johnson, Keith Kendall, Patrick Kennedy,
Kevin Klagge, Curtis Kohnert, Nels Kuust, Kurt Lauk, Lason Liebers, Gary Luckey,
Walter Mantow, Todd Marella, Peter Martin, Kenneth Mason, Keith Mathews Sr.,
John Mauro, John McGraw, William Melrose, Mark Meyer, Larry Michael, John
Mildfelt, Robert Miller, Paul Miller, Tony Mintz, Ivan Moore, Herbert Morehouse,
Gary Morgan, Nghia Nguyen, James Nicol, Lon Noe, David Oury, Dean Ozimkowski,
Ricky Parvin, Richard Petrich, Eugene Picariello, Dustin Pierce, Larry Pillster,
Charles Querner, Bruce Rabe, Charles Reardon II, Larry Reel, Taylor Rieff, Stone
Rose, Juan Santillan, Terry Schiffbauer, Matthew Schindler, James Schulze,
Jonathan Schwartz, Jim Scott, Damien Scruggs, Chris Senter, Chester Sergeant,
Keith Solbert, Tom Sowa, Alan Streeter II, Ron Swaren, Jeffrey Sylvester,
Michael Thacker, Adam Tillmon, James Tricarico Sr., Dan Unger, Petre Vlad, David
Wasche, Derek Williams, Michael Yandt, Christopher Young.
