Machinists Local Lodge 1432 has a new president.
Andrew Davis, a machinist and chief steward at the Clarios auto battery plant in Canby, outpolled coworker Victor Vera in officer elections held at the union’s Dec. 11 meeting. Then at the local’s Jan. 10 meeting, Davis appointed Vera to the vacant position of auditor.
Local 1432 represents about 350 manufacturing machinists and maintenance mechanics, including about 180 at the Clarios plant in Canby, 80 at ConMet’s aluminum die cast factory in Clackamas, and smaller numbers at C-TRAN, City of Vancouver, Clark County, and BPA. It also represents support staff at Sunrise Dental. And it counts about 400 retirees as members, for a total membership of about 760.
Davis, 37, grew up in Woodburn and went to work at age 20 for the battery plant, then known as Johnson Controls. The pay was amazing, Davis told the Labor Press, but the hours were crushing: Mandatory overtime kept him on the job 12 hours a day, seven days a week, for the first six months. The job meant he could support his wife and kids, but not spend much time with them. The experience motivated him to get involved in the union. He served on the bargaining committee, and says the local was able to make some progress reining in overtime. He also served as the local’s treasurer and most recently vice president.
Johnson Controls spun off its battery division as a separate company called Clarios in 2019. Local Lodge 1432 will be back at the bargaining table with Clarios next month, with a contract that expires Feb. 16.
As president, Davis said he’ll work to get members more involved and attend meetings in what has been a sleepy local. He’d like to see the local start a women’s committee and a retirees committee, and get younger members involved. He’d also like to try to organize non-union shops in the area.
“I want to help us grow,” Davis said. “We may not be big in numbers, but we can change that.”
