Union leader Ben Heurung thought he had a deal. On July 17, pre-fab housing manufacturer Full Stack Modular signed an agreement with the Portland Metal Trades Council committing to “union neutrality” — setting up a non-adversarial way for workers to unionize if they choose.
Full Stack is setting up a factory in Portland’s Swan Island Industrial Area to make pre-fabricated building sections that can be stacked up like Legos. In the neutrality agreement, the company pledged to provide employee names and contact info to the metal trades council so that union organizers could reach out and see if they want to unionize.
“We were supposed to have it within 10 days of signing,” Portland Metal Trades Council president Heurung told the Labor Press. “Within five days, everything went radio silent.”
Heurung says the council reached out to owner Roger Krulak by phone and email but never heard back. The site itself also went quiet, he says.
“It seems to be a ghost town,” Heurung said.
Reached by phone Oct. 10, Krulak told the Labor Press he’s been busy, has a lot going on, and there are “twists and turns” with every business. He also said he did not intend to ignore anyone, and pledged to get back in touch with the Portland Metal Trades Council. Two and a half weeks later Heurung says he still hasn’t heard from Krulak.
