Emmanuel Guzman won election Feb. 26 as full-time business manager of Elevator Constructors Local 23. Having outpolled fellow members Mike Kubina, Aaron Manlove, and Michael Schubert, he’ll serve through December 2027, the remainder of the unexpired three-year term of business manager Robert Larzalere. Larzalere was hired last month by the international union as Western region organizer.
Guzman, 36, spent his childhood in Mexicali and Utah, and moved with his wife to Portland in 2013. He had an interest and aptitude for things mechanical, and then in 2015 a chance visit to a government web site led him to apply for the Local 23 apprenticeship. He did well on the test and then waited over a year until a job became available in 2016. He spent the next four years learning the trade as an apprentice working for the Kone elevator company.
“The trade has been life changing for me and has blessed me quite a bit,” Guzman told the Labor Press.
Local 23 represents 316 workers in Oregon and Southwest Washington who build and repair elevators, escalators, and moving walkways. They’re highly skilled and make among the top wages in construction.
“It’s a very fulfilling trade, extremely humbling. There’s days where I’ve left the building after turning on an elevator that’s been down for months, feeling like I was God’s gift to elevators, and then the very next day, I’ll get my butt kicked by the simplest thing.”
—Emmanuel Guzman,
elevator constructor
Guzman says if he has a priority, it’s getting members to become more involved in their union. When Guzman joined, new members were expected to attend union meetings. Following the example of his coworkers, he kept attending. Maybe he was too vocal at meetings, Guzman says, so one day in 2019 a coworker nominated him for executive board. He was later elected vice president. Now he’s the local’s top officer. There’s no apprenticeship for business manager, but Larzalere says he’ll be a phone call away when Guzman needs guidance.
Guzman said he mourned leaving the tools behind. But advocating for others aligns with his values, his wife told him. As business manager his job will be to help members succeed in the trade — and to make sure employers stick to the contract.
“I’m not here for the title,” Guzman said. “I’m here for the responsibility.”
