Workers at Northwest Natural have a new union rep. Jordan Fosdick, 47, joined the staff of Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 11 June 20. He replaces Lori Ricketts, who retired.
Fosdick will represent nearly 600 workers at Northwest Natural, a regulated monopoly that supplies natural gas. He brings experience as a worker at the utility, where he started in 2014 as a service technician. He has served as a safety committee representative and a union steward.
“I’ve always been interested in the union portion of it. For me, I see it as a way to not be a complainer but a doer,” he said. “Being on this side of it (as a rep), I can be the doer. … I can make sure everyone is taken care of.”
Fosdick will participate in upcoming negotiations for the unit, the largest in Local 11; its current contract expires June 2024.
Fosdick wants to make the contract easier for workers to understand. For example, the contract’s section on on-call work makes it confusing to know how much rest time workers get between shifts.
Last month, he attended an event in Eugene opposing a natural gas ban that could cause layoffs at Northwest Natural.
Before Northwest Natural, Fosdick worked on machines that build rig walking systems and trailer tippers and worked for a racing wheel distribution company, among other jobs in the construction, maintenance, and warehousing industries. He also was the caretaker for his late parents. His very first job was as a grinder as a member of Sheet Metal Local 16, which his dad and two older brothers also belonged to.
