Chip Elliott was elected president/directing business representative (DBR) of Machinists District W24. He ran unopposed in a delegates’ election held Dec. 6.
Elliott has been serving in the post since July 2013, when he was appointed by the Executive Board to finish out the term of DBR Robert Wilson, who retired. That term expired in December 2014. Prior to that, Elliott was one of three assistant directing business representatives of District W24.
Machinists District Lodge 24 and Woodworkers District Lodge W1Â merged in January 2011 to create the International Association of Machinists (IAM) District W24. Officers were appointed to their respective posts at the time of the merger.
Prior to the merger, Elliott was the assistant DBR to Wilson at Woodworkers Lodge W1.
This is the first outright election since the district lodges joined together.
In other election results, Noel Willet of Woodworkers Local 130 was elected assistant directing business representative. He defeated the incumbent, Robert Petroff of Machinists Lodge 63.
Petroff, who serves as president of the Northwest Oregon Labor Council, was DBR of Machinists District Lodge 24 prior to the merger. He served as an assistant DBR following the merger. He will remain on staff assigned as a business representative.
Marv Abbott of Woodworkers Local 157 outpolled three other candidates for secretary treasurer. Chris Taylor of IAM Lodge 1005 had been serving in that post since the retirement in July of longtime secretary-treasurer Dan Sass. Taylor, Pat Maloney of IAM Lodge 63, and John Hall of Lodge 63, ran for the full-time job.
Elected as trustees were Les Auman of Woodworkers Local 536 and Mike Hicks Jr. of Woodworkers Local 98, (representing Wood); and John Kleiboeker of IAM Lodge 63 and Ray Simonis of IAM Lodge 1005, (representing Metal). Other candidates running were Tom Thede of Woodworkers Local 246; Aaron Arnold of Woodworkers Local 38, Tim Timmreck of Woodworkers Local 38, and Jeff Wagner of Woodworkers Local 130; and Frank Rouse of IAM Lodge 1005.
Caryn Kaufmann of Woodworkers Local 261, Larry Hendrickson of IAM Local 1432, and Kelly Zink of Woodworkers Local 536, were elected to one-year terms as auditors.
All officers and trustees were sworn in Dec. 6 by IAM Western Territory Grand Lodge Representative Kevin Cummings.
Terms of office are four years.
