*0 INEER ION NO. 3 A EDA, CA APRIL 1 Elect- n Notice See pag 20 21 for Important infdrmation regardlng thefschedule of £*6*8,1*16r the 'opmlizat&01; ot,officers 0 * 770,1 1-1. 1 8 -7 & * 1 2 April 1994/ Engineers News Local 3 mourns death of Good retired officer Don Kinchloe By James Earp, Managing Editor - - Members of Local 3 bid a fond farewell to .. r : ·' a -:4' Welfare former Treasurer Don Kinchloe, who died ~ 'if »i"C- - =4»3:LA .t - . .v. ' 1 -F 2 :, ~_- ~-»_~ ~ -- ~, -- ·-· - ~ -_- =8 April 5 at the age of 73 after suffering a long f~.*~ · ft>fjft'577=-?-~ . ~-'~#LI~~~ bout with cancer. ~C~ 7 , T. 1 .'V / ~ I-3-I., Kinchloe retired August 1, 1984 after 43 I , „ years in the union. No other officer in the his- , On April 5, Governor Wilson made a special trip ~ r -* p ., ". ' ~ . ~4.'Lyk tory of Loca1 3 held the office ofTreasurer as LE="Ii'm/- 1:~ '·'' ·'4 'G/:" -1 .' :- down to Los Angeles and held a press conference to long as Kinchloe. Elected Treasurer in 1962, B.Irr,mli, .... , applaud the efforts that had been made to get the he was re-elected to that post in every local "* 1 39 j earthquake damaged Santa Monica Freeway back in union election until his retirement in 1984. service 74 days ahead of schedule. "Today we lose not only a true friend, but · ., , -j, mll....4 This section of Interstate 10, which runs from one ofthe most committed and dedicated offi- ~ 7 Lk '' ' 1 downtown Los Angeles to cers that ever served the members of this : . , * . 1 , union," Local 3 Business Manager 'Ibm Staple- 1 5Ct~ndllYjatlgh- A lesson for ton said. "Don was a professional. His word .. - f e// was his bond. He earned his respect through 1,4 6. UNUCtte those anti. years of hard work and unflinching loyalty to <, world. It was severely the union that was so much a part of his life. damaged in the quake union folks "I will miss him deeply as a friend," Staple- . 4'... that ravaged Los Angeles - ton said. "We grew up together in this union ' 1 . 1 ....:"' '" '72/ in January. and we learned our jobs literally working in , , - V Working around the clock, union contractor C.C. the same car day after day." . .,--,6„.cd..,6. Myers Construction of Rancho Cordova, built an en- Stapleton recalled their early days in Local , 1 tirely new stretch of freeway in record time. 3 organizing employers in the East Bay. "We . -1 .11 Governor Wilson praised the "commitment of the used to bring our books on labor law with us Don Kinchloe addresses the members at the workers on the job," and announced that, because and during the many hours of travelling to- semi-annual meeting in July 1984 just prior their early completion had saved commuters and gether, we would study and test each other. to his retirement. businesses an estimated $74 million, the contractor Don was always wanting to learn. That was members carried their books with them, while would receive a sizable bonus. one reason he was so valuable to this organi- others, Like Kinchloe, left theirs on file at the There are some valuable lessons that Governor zation." union hall. Wilson and the rest of the anti-union folks in govern- Kinchloe's life and Local 3's history seem to Shortly after Local 3 was formed, Kinchloe ment should learn from this experience. be inseparably connected. Born and raised in was brought into the union by business agent • C.C. Myers is a union contractor employing Oakland, he began to work in the industry in (Continued on page 21) highly skilled union workers. They worked seven 1939, fresh out of high school. It was the same days a week around the clock. They were paid union year Local 3 was formed through the amalga- wages and overtime. These workers made a lot of mation of several smaller local unions. money, but because of their expertise, they saved the The Great Depression was winding up. State of California and the people of Los Angeles mil- World War II was on the horizon and work lions of dollars. They were worth every dollar spent. was still relatively slow. There weren't many • There's a lot of crap circulating about how pre- large construction jobs. /:)3*iwiawa~r vailing wages should be suspended on the earth- Kinchloe spent most of his time operating a50'm--N.W.1 quake work in Los Angeles to "save money." You ...25*' , shovels, elam shells, backhoes, piledrivers, im/IM 13*=M tial7744 don't save money by cutting wages and hiring any W~ cranes and draglines on various construction ~ 9.20' Joe Blow off the street to run heavy equipment. jobs throughout the East Bay. .<14«Er .AF / A recent study conducted by our International "It was really the beginning of the labor 0-4 Union showed that it costs less to build a mile of movement for the building trades in our area," LJ. (Tom) Stapleton Business Manager highway in California than in Georgia or Florida or a Kinchloe recalled in an Engineers News inter- Don Doser President number of other states which have very few union view at the time of his retirement. 'Back then contractors and pay low wages. Prevailing wage rates wages were 90 cents an hour and our union Jack Baugh Vice President do not cost California money Well paid, skilled union dues were $4.50 a month. workers are not the problem. Unskilled, low-ball con- "Every once in a while the business agent Rob Wise Recording-Corres. tractors who screw up the job, take too long and don't would come around and collect $5 off you for Secretary r get it right the first time - they are the problem. the death benefit fund. There was nothing Pat O'Connell Financial Secretary · Governor Wilson should take a lesson from the more distressing than to see a members' Santa Monica job and apply it to the Cypress Free- widow left without any death benefits." Don Luba Treasurer way project in the Bay Area. In the past few months, Members paid their dues at the union hall Managing Editor James Earp we have been working with the Mayor of Oakland and received dues stamps for their book. Some Asst. and key City Council members to show them how a Editor Steve Moler project agreement would expedite the project, insure Services Graphic Artist Arlene Lum the proper payment of wages and benefits and pro- ENGINEERS NEWS (ISSN 176-560) is published vide for proper affirmative action and apprenticeship At press time, Local 3 was assisting the monthly by Local 3 of the International Union of Op- training opportunities. erating Engineers, AFL-CIO; 1620 South Loop Rd We had their support. We took our proposal to family in arranging a memorial service Alameda, CA 94501. Second Class postage paid at Caltrans and were told in so many words that such for Don Kinchloe. Details on time and lo- Alameda, CA and additional mailing offices. Engi- an agreement was against the "policy" of Sacramen- cation of the service will be posted in the neers News is sent without charge to all members of to. If Governor Wilson would like to see more success- hiring halls and will be published in the Operating Engineers Local 3 in good standing. Non- es like the Santa Monica freeway, he would do well to member subscription price is $6 per year. POST- take another look at our proposal. Contra Costa Times as soon as they are MASTER : Send address changes to Engineers He might be surprised how good the union con- finalized. News, 1620 South Loop Rd., Alameda, CA 94501 struction workers in this state could make him look. - m# -dr'7e»,i. April 1994/Engineers News 3 3 disposal sites OK'd for Oakland port dredging job ...i.t··.bl Two recent developments in San Francisco Bay agencies and environmental groups over , , -' ·~ ] ~'·lit ip dredging puts the Port of Oakland much closer to the past several years have stifled gaining final approval to deepen its harbor dredging within San Francisco Bay to ~ channels from 38 feet to 42 feet. the point that Oakland, once the ~ ~ 1 The $100 million project, which is needed to number one container port on the West ~_djk 2 44 , make the harbor channels accessible to the new Coast, is losing significant market generation of giant container ships, would entail shares to rival ports in Southern dredging 5.6 million cubic yards over about 18 California and the Pacific Northwest. If ., '' ''.„'.)9"L,11 , , months beginning as early as this fall. the port continues to lose business,the l' .0 In the first new development, the Bay Area could lose hundreds ofjobs Environmental Protection Agency formally and millions of dollars in shipping- , 1,·. I proposed February 17 a deep-ocean disposal site related economic activity. 55 miles west of the Golden Gate just beyond the The corps has been looking at some ~ Farallon Islands that will allow for the deposit of 23 possible disposal sites throughout the up to 400 million cubic yards of clean spoils over Bay Area, including other deep-ocean 4 p r: 50 years without posing a major threat to fish sites and several wetlands areas. The '~ ~ and other marine life. The EPA had previously EIR will be reviewed by 18 federal, state approved the site in a draft environmental impact and local agencies over the next two statement issued in January 1993.