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People

People power is what made the union movement. In this section we tell the stories of the people who make up the house of labor, and we celebrate their successes.

Building the trades: Randall Friesen

The new secretary-treasurer of the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council is a fourth-generation building trades union member.

Cement Masons honor Bill Wynn for a half century of service

Wynn, 71, worked as a cement mason, but also served as president of the local, and coordinator of its apprenticeship program.

Kevin Landreth, union organizer

Everywhere he goes, Kevin Landreth scans for signs of roofers at work. If they’re non-union, he wants to have a word with them. 

Looking back on Local 48

Charyle Molden found a job, and blazed a trail, as the first Black woman in IBEW Local 48.

Portland NLRB’s Dietz out indefinitely 

Seattle-based NLRB agent Janet Little will be stepping in to handle the management duties and correspondence.

Personnel changes

David Groves left the Washington State Labor Council after 32 years. Mike Burlingham left Bakers Local 364 to work for Oregon AFSCME.

Best wishes to Mallory … and welcome to Grant

Reporter Mallory Gruben has left for a job as a union organizer. Grant Stringer joins us after writing for The Oregonian and Willamette Week.

A union arborist, root and branch

Laborers Local 483 member Jayne Lacey has combined a lifelong passion for climbing trees with a commitment to public service.

Pipes of purpose: How a master plumber can change lives

From Brazil to Nepal, South Africa to New Guinea, Jed Scheuermann taps the skills of his trade to safeguard human health and dignity.

On a mission to organize every sign shop

One diehard union supporter has played a part in all three sign shops that unionized in the last several years.

MMA marks a new start for a laborer with a checkered past

Martial arts helped Jimmy Jennett recover from drug addiction, and he opened a gym in 2018 to share his story.

Five decades a Machinist

Bob Petroff left Machinists District Lodge W24 headquarters this month, the close of 49 years of involvement with the union.

Planting the seeds of solidarity

Union stewards like OPEIU Local 11 officer Kim King are the backbone of the labor movement.

Marcy Grail departs IBEW

Marcy Grail left IBEW Local 125 for a position at Kiewit. Russell Smith was appointed to succeed her as assistant business manager.

‘Organize the work’

After a decade helming the local union building trades, Willy Myers leaves a unique legacy.

Labor Council ambush: Union volunteer honored for ‘Job well done’

Near the close of NW Oregon Labor Council’s Oct. 23 delegates meeting, Mark Sturbois was called to the front for a surprise ceremony.

PERSONNEL REPORT

Staff changes at OPEIU Local 11, Oregon AFSCME, Oregon AFL-CIO, Oregon Building Trades, and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley's office.

Local 29 ironworker will work for Washington building trades

Journeyman Minna Long started a new job Aug. 28 with the Washington State Building Trades Council.

Referee for democracy

Larry Taylor is on a mission: training members on how to use the tools of democracy in their unions.

Jodi Guetzloe Parker’s life in Labor

Never one to seek the limelight, she served the Laborers for decades as a tireless foot soldier for the cause of labor.
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Northwest Labor Press is an independent union-supported newspaper founded in 1900. Our print version is mailed twice a month to about 45,000 members of over three dozen local unions in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Our online version has been maintained here since 1997.

Our staff are represented by:

Local 11

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