Sheet Metal Local 16 re-elects Phillips business manager

Members of Sheet Metal Workers Local 16 elected officers, in ballots counted June 25. The 2,300-strong union has offices in Portland and Eugene and members in both production and construction.

Len Phillips was unopposed for a third term as business manager and financial secretary-treasurer. Also unopposed were incumbent business agents Delbert Brown, John Candioto, and Willy Myers; Dennis Dover outpolled two other candidates to win election to the business agent position held by Doug McClaughry, who retired.

Business manager and business agents are full-time paid positions. Of the business agents, Brown is responsible for the production members, while Candioto, Myers, and Dover will be responsible for the building trades members. Phillips directs all paid staff.

Incumbents running unopposed for other offices included Rick Olander, president; Joe Welter, vice president; Ron Hergenrader, conductor; and William Carr, warden.

For recording secretary, Art Himm defeated incumbent Dennis Boyd.

For Executive Board, Charles Johnson, David McBride, Seth Kerner were elected to represent the building trades side, out of six candidates; Joel Hutchinson outpolled one other member to represent Southwest Oregon; and Darrell Alcorn, Terry Hills, and Steve Nunamaker ran unopposed for election to represent the production side. Union trustees, re-elected unopposed, were Carrie Barber, Dan Carroll, and James Philley.

All offices have three-year terms.

Phillips, 59, said one priority in the next term will be keeping the union’s two pension funds in sound shape. Both funds, like most around the country, lost money in the stock and housing downturn, though the Local 16 pension losses were less than average.

Phillips said some members are out of work in the current recession, though not as many as were out in the recession of the early 2000s. Some employers are scheduling workers for short weeks to spread the work around and keep as many as possible employed.

Phillips said he hopes during this next term to merge the union’s four construction contracts, covering about 1,400 members total, into one statewide contract. In preparation for that, last time around the four contracts were negotiated to expire on the same date — June 30, 2010.

And bargaining is currently under way with three of the larger production-side employers: Thompson Metal Fab in Vancouver and R&J Metal Fabricators and The Lynch Company in Portland.

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