Brett Hinsley, business manager of Portland-based Cement Masons Local 555, has been appointed international field representative for the Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association.
He succeeds Roger Betterman, who was appointed general secretary-treasurer. Betterman is a former business manager of Cement Masons Local 528 in Seattle.
Hinsley, 50, has been business manager of Local 555 since May 2006. A graduate of Portland’s Jefferson High School, Hinsley joined the union as an apprentice in 1998, and has been an active union member. He served two terms on the Executive Board and as a trustee on the health and welfare and pension trusts; he has served on the joint apprenticeship training committee, the NW Conference Committee, and the Construction Industry Drug-Free Workplace Program.
Prior to joining the Cement Masons, Hinsley was a member of Laborers Locals 320 and 483, where he worked at the Port of Portland.
As an international rep, Hinsley will assist locals in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Hawaii, North Dakota and Minnesota.
“Basically, I’ll do whatever the international assigns me,” Hinsley said. That could include assisting with contract negotiations, helping with internal union elections, organizing, and more.
Hinsley’s appointment expires in 2019. At that time he will have to run for the position, along with all the other international officers.
Geoff Kossak, a business agent since March 2012, was appointed by the Executive Board to complete Hinsley’s unexpired term as business manager. The term is up in April.
Kossak, 42, is a third-generation cement mason. His father and grandfather were both active members of Local 555.
A graduate of Portland’s Franklin High School, Kossak joined the union as an apprentice in September 1994. He was elected to the Executive Board in 1999 and as vice president in 2002. He was elected president in 2006. He had to resign from that post to take the business manager’s job. Jeremy Kendall succeeded him as president.
Noah Jones and Cliff Johnson are business agents/organizers at Local 555, which covers Oregon and Southwest Washington.
Construction work is currently booming, with nearly all of the 517 members working.
