Let me say this about that

January 21, 2000

BOB BOTHWELL, retired executive secretary-treasurer of the former Oregon State District Council of Carpenters, has received a salute from the Northwest Oregon Labor Retirees Council, which voted him into its Labor Hall of Fame.

The Labor Retirees Council is affiliated with the Northwest Oregon Labor Council, AFL-CIO, and meets at NOLC's offices at 1125 SE Madison St., Portland.

Bothwell, 61, took early retirement in 1996 after the Portland-based Oregon State District Council of Carpenters was merged by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters into the Seattle-based Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters.

Now diagnosed with colon cancer and cancer of the liver, Bothwell and his wife Carole divide their time between their longtime home in eastern Oregon's Baker City and the Willamette Valley town of Silverton, where Bob undergoes herbal medicine treatment.

"I'M PUTTING MY FAITH in herbal medicine and in the will of the Lord," said Bothwell. He stopped receiving chemotherapy after deciding that the conventional treatment for cancer was not helping.

Bothwell was born in 1938 at Livermore, Calif., southeast of Oakland. He served his apprenticeship in the Carpenters local at Hayward and worked out of that local for years. He and Carole, who were married in 1958, moved their family to Baker City in the 1970s because eastern Oregon's fishing and hunting opportunities appealed to Bob.

Working at the carpentry trade in Baker City, Bothwell joined Local 573 and became an officer. Later, that local and those in Hermiston, Bend and The Dalles merged to become Local 306. Bothwell became an organizer for the local in 1980 and the next year joined the staff of the Oregon State District Council of Carpenters as an organizer in eastern Oregon.

WHEN MARVIN HALL retired as the executive secretary-treasurer of the State District Council in 1987, Bothwell was appointed to fill out his term and later was elected to the office. He continued in the council's top job until the 1996 consolidation with the Pacific Northwest Council.

In most of his years as the leader of Oregon's Carpenters, Bothwell served on the Oregon AFL-CIO Executive Board and attended the Northwest Oregon Labor Council's night meetings of delegates.

Bob and Carol Bothwell have two daughters, a son and two grandchildren. Daughter Terry is a Gresham school teacher; Sherry lives in Prineville; son Christopher is a film industry lighting engineer in Los Angeles.

JAMES H. MORAN, retired financial secretary-treasurer of Portland-based Service Employees Local 49, died of a heart attack Jan. 11 while in Florida to judge a dog show. He was 64.

Moran had been a business representative of Local 49 for 14 years and was appointed secretary-treasurer by the union's Executive Board in April 1996 to fill out the term of Tom Cunningham, who retired. Moran ran for and won the post in a three-person race in December 1996. However, the Service Employees International Union overturned Local 49's entire election after challenges were filed in several races, including the contest for secretary-treasurer. When the international ordered a new election, Moran opted not to run, as did another candidate, Don Weston. Moran worked as a consultant to the newly-elected secretary-treasurer, Rick Henson, until retiring in 1998. (In this year's election, Weston was elected as Local 49's leader, defeating Henson.)

Before joining Local 49's staff, Moran had worked at the stationary engineer trade and eventually became president and a business agent of Stationary Engineers Local 87. That local has since merged with Operating Engineers Local 701.

BORN IN BUTTE, MONT., on Nov. 25, 1935, he moved to Portland with his parents in 1940. He graduated from Portland's Washington High School, attended the University of Portland for two years, and served in the U.S. Army in Germany in the late 1950s.

Moran raised pugs - small, snub-nosed dogs - and became an American Kennel Club-licensed judge of purebred dogs. He was a founder and president of the American Dog Show Judges Association and the Willamette Valley Kennel Club of Salem, and was vice president of the Portland Kennel Club. He was known internationally for his dog show judging skills.

His civic activities included serving on the Oregon State Rehabilitation Council and on the Gladstone Traffic Commission in the suburban Clackamas County community.

HE IS SURVIVED by his wife, Grace; a stepdaughter, Robin Barkley of Sussex, N.J.; a stepson, Joseph Biggio of Clifton, N.J.; and a sister, Noreen Schraeder of Portland.

A memorial service was held Jan. 19 at St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in northeast Portland. Arrangements were by the Covell Cremation Center in Bradenton, Fla. Memorial contributions can be sent to the American Dog Show Judges Educational Fund, P.O. Box 450, Weaverville CA 96093-0344.

"THE SIX-YEAR BATTLE to secure justice for 4,100 workers at Avondale shipyard in Louisiana came full circle when a neutral arbitrator certified their signatures on authorization petitions."

That report came from the national AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department in Washington, D.C., in an article in its Maritime newsletter.

The report continued: " 'Avondale shipyard workers have made history by winning this fight - a success built on unwavering solidarity and courage,' said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.

" 'This is an historic moment for the modern labor movement' added Michael Sacco, president of the Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO. 'Through their courage and determination, the workers there have shown just how powerful union solidarity can be.' "

The Maritime Trades newsletter further reported:

"THE TURNING POINT in the battle occurred this past August when Avondale was purchased by Litton Industries, which also owns the Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. The Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO, has held representation rights there for 10,000 workers since 1940.

"Three months after purchasing Avondale, Litton reached an agreement with the Metal Trades Department to resolve the issue. The company and individual unions promised to use their best efforts to put all outstanding National Labor Relations Board and Occupational Safety and Health Administration charges to bed. Litton adopted a neutrality agreement regarding union representation, and promised to recognize the union if a majority of employees signed petitions expressing the desire for representation."

Avondale's previous management "began a massive anti-union campaign of firings, harassment, intimidation and questionable legal maneuverings after workers voted for union representation in 1993," said the Maritime newsletter. The labor publication also said that the old Avondale had "the highest death and injury rates of any major American shipyard."

Sweeney noted that a majority of workers at the new Litton-owned Avondale had signed petitions for union representation "in less than two weeks." He added: "For years to come, their story will inspire other workers to stand up for their rights, and will serve as a special source of pride for workers and their communities across the South."