State and local building trades councils expect to keep Teri Watson busy. After 10 years working as legislative coordinator for Oregon OSHA and one year at the state Building Codes Division, Watson went to work in January as political and special projects coordinator for the Oregon Building Trades Council and the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council, splitting her time between each and putting her in-depth knowledge of state agencies and the legislature to work.
Watson grew up in Toledo, Oregon, and comes from a thoroughly union family: Her mom was president of her Oregon School Employees local, her dad a member of UA Local 290, and her uncle a president of the pulp and paper workers union. Insulators Local 36 made her an honorary dues-paying member.Â
Watson has a law degree from Willamette University. She also serves on the board of Kids Chance of Oregon, a nonprofit that gives scholarships to students whose parents died on the job, and on the board of Oregon Young Employee Safety Coalition.
