Back to: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041129/BUSINESS03/411290329 Article published November 29, 2004
Utility contractor sees high-voltage results
Perrysburg-based firm is 3rd largest in region
Photo
Stanley and Kathryn Chlebowski are co-owners of U.S. Utility Contractor Co. and Reliance Rental & Leasing Co., both of which are headquartered in Perrysburg.
( THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH )
By JON CHAVEZ
BLADE BUSINESS WRITER
When he was a teenager, Stan Chlebowski was sure of two things: he wanted a secure job one day and working at a factory job was boring.
So, he opted for a job with more sizzle. He became a "high voltage" man, building power lines for a national electrical contractor, Myr Group Inc. of Chicago.
The move suited him well because two decades later Mr. Chlebowski and his wife, Kathryn, are co-owners of U.S. Utility Contractor Co. The Perrysburg-based electrical and telecommunications contractor has six offices in four states, 345 employees, and $30 million in sales in 2004, he said.
Along with a second firm, Reliance Rental & Leasing Co., which owns a fleet of more than 300 cranes, aerial bucket trucks, and other heavy equipment, the couple has succeeded way beyond even their own expectations.
Added Mr. Chlebowski: "I'm still just having fun."
"We said when we hit $3 million in sales we were going to take it to easy," he said. "But then sales hit $5 million, and the next thing we knew we were at $8 million. We said, 'Let's see if we can reach $10 million,' but then we were heading towards $20 million."
U.S. Utility, which began in 1989, does a lot right now. One of the three largest electrical contractors in the region, the company's bread and butter is installing and hooking up electrical poles, having wired or connected thousands of miles of voltage lines for utilities from Ohio to the East Coast and to the southeast United States.
Over a third of its workers have been in Florida for three months, helping to repair hurricane damage there.
Locally, the firm is the largest local electrical contractor working on the Maumee River Crossing project, charged with installing 18 miles of plastic pipes, 130 miles of wiring, and 900 permanent lights.
But the company also handles fiber optic and regular phone line installation and has worked for 10 major telecom firms.
This month, SBC Communications Inc. hired it to remove 1.3 million feet of unused lines in Ohio over a six-week period. The job will be finished early, Mr. Chlebowski said.
"Low price really kinds of drives our market, but [U.S. Utility] is also very capable," said Vince Strazzo, vice president of operations at Cleveland-based Great Lakes Construction Co., a general contractor. It has hired the Perrysburg firm to install heavy-electrical rail-transit lines and towers in Cleveland and to relocate electric cables on a bridge there.
"We've had a long relationship with them. They're a good firm," Mr. Strazzo said.
Mr. Chlebowski said timing and opportunity are how his company grew so large. But the couple never would have begun a business if both had not been savvy about electrical contracting.
In the 1980s, they worked for an area contractor that since has gone out of business. Mr. Chlebowski was a supervisor; Mrs. Chlebowski unofficially was an office problem solver whom supervisors sought for advice.
After he finished a job in Maryland in 1989, officials at Baltimore Gas & Electric suggested that Mr. Chlebowski start his own firm. He said he'd think it over. He did, and they gave him a contract.
The couple started Reliance Rental in 1984 and owned a small crane and two other pieces of equipment. They sold all three for $35,000, using the cash to start U.S. Utility and working out of their basement.
The thought of bankruptcy scared them, they said, but Doris Richards, a bookkeeper at the previous firm, had taught them fiscal prudence.
And from his days as a supervisor, Mr. Chlebowski said he knew to stress safety and quality work.
"There are times we refuse a job if we know we can't handle it," he said.
Mrs. Chlebowski, who is a licensed electrical contractor, is president of the company. She got to know the business by following her husband to job sites for 11 years.
As co-owners the two make decisions equally.
Small Business Profile is a weekly feature on local companies. To be considered, send information about your company to Small Business Profiles, Business News, The Blade, P.O. Box 921, Toledo, Ohio 43697-0921.
Contact Jon Chavez at: jchavez@theblade.com or 419-724-6128.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
IBEW Local 53 (Kansas City) VOLUNTEERS trim back trees for patriotic display
Clearing the way for the flags to fly
Sunday, November 28, 2004
(Photo)
PAR Electric, which provided the tools and equipment, and IBEW Local 53, which provided the manpower, teamed up with Judy Knowles to trim the branches overhanging some of the utility poles along Austin Boulevard in Nevada on Friday. Work went quickly thanks to fair weather that day. The heavy growth of branches made it hard or impossible for Knowles, known as the Flag Lady, to get the United States and POW/MIA flags installed on the poles. Larry Steuben and Ronnie McGlade worked Friday to get the poles ready for Knowles and her crew to install the flags. "I couldn't do this without all of the people who help, Knowles said.
From the Nevada Daily Mail
Sunday, November 28, 2004
(Photo)
PAR Electric, which provided the tools and equipment, and IBEW Local 53, which provided the manpower, teamed up with Judy Knowles to trim the branches overhanging some of the utility poles along Austin Boulevard in Nevada on Friday. Work went quickly thanks to fair weather that day. The heavy growth of branches made it hard or impossible for Knowles, known as the Flag Lady, to get the United States and POW/MIA flags installed on the poles. Larry Steuben and Ronnie McGlade worked Friday to get the poles ready for Knowles and her crew to install the flags. "I couldn't do this without all of the people who help, Knowles said.
From the Nevada Daily Mail
Monday, November 29, 2004
IBEW Local 429 (Nashville) Recognized for Partnering with WorkForce Essentials and Nashville Community College
Nashville Electrical Joint Apprenticeship & Training Committee received a 2004 Partner of the Year Award during the annual Customer and Partner Awards Luncheon of WorkForce Essentials. Individuals and businesses that participate in sponsored programs of WorkForce Essentials are recognized for outstanding achievement. The NEJATC program was recognized for its apprenticeship training programs and partnerships with Humphreys County Board of Education, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Nashville Community College (Humphreys County Center) and WorkForce Essentials/North Tennessee Workforce Board.
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Local 449 (Pocatello, ID) collects for the less fortunate
IBEW Local 449/NECA Holiday Drop-off Trailers November 27, 2004 - December 18, 2004 The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local # 449 and the National Electrical Contractors Association is again helping less fortunate families in our area this holiday season. The IBEW/NECA is collecting your nearly new coats, gently used household items, blankets and new toys and canned goods at their gift trailer. Come enjoy a Free cup of hot chocolate or coffee on us and drop off your items. The IBEC/NECA trailers will be at the following locations: Sat. Nov. 27th - Rexburg Albertsons, 490 N 2nd E...Sat. Dec. 4th - Idaho Falls Albertsons, 590 E. 17th Street...Sat. Dec. 11th - Blackfoot Albertsons, 1295 Parkway Blvd...Sat. Dec. 18th - Pocatello Albertsons, 330 E. Benton. Hours for each location are 10am to 6pm. For more information, please call Laurie at 357-5320.
IBEW Local 481 (Indianapolis) Collects Holiday Cards for the troops
Thank The Troops By Sending A Letter
(Indianapolis -- November 28, 2004) If you want to thank the troops overseas, there's a new way to do it starting monday.
The same people who brought us the Circle of Lights Celebration downtown are putting together an effort to get thank you cards in the hands of to U.S. troops.
Nanci Fields of Quality Connection says their goal is to send 25,000 thank you cards to troops overseas. Every Monday they will encourage folks to come down to the circle right in front of Emmis and where there will be a drop box from 11am to 1. There will also be a drop box at the IBEW office, and people can come by anytime of the day and drop those off between now and December 13th. The IBEW office is at 1828 North Meridian.
Blank cards will be available in the lobby of the Emmis building on Mondays around the lunch hour. All cards will be collected by December 17th and then shipped overseas.
(Indianapolis -- November 28, 2004) If you want to thank the troops overseas, there's a new way to do it starting monday.
The same people who brought us the Circle of Lights Celebration downtown are putting together an effort to get thank you cards in the hands of to U.S. troops.
Nanci Fields of Quality Connection says their goal is to send 25,000 thank you cards to troops overseas. Every Monday they will encourage folks to come down to the circle right in front of Emmis and where there will be a drop box from 11am to 1. There will also be a drop box at the IBEW office, and people can come by anytime of the day and drop those off between now and December 13th. The IBEW office is at 1828 North Meridian.
Blank cards will be available in the lobby of the Emmis building on Mondays around the lunch hour. All cards will be collected by December 17th and then shipped overseas.
Friday, November 26, 2004
IBEW Local 305 (Fort Wayne, IN) members question strange deal with Gaylord Electric
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/editorial/10275994.htm
"Posted on Fri, Nov. 26, 2004
Letters
Need to investigate center's contractor
I am a newer member of the community from Florida, and I have a construction background. Regarding "Center short-circuited, union says; Grand Wayne work defended" (Nov. 14):
The article stated that documentation will not be supplied because it contains information on how Gaylor runs a job. This is an insult to my intelligence and should be to any person with common sense. This leads me to believe that Gaylor Group is hiding something from the taxpayers.
The issue in question is not Gaylor Group's job-running skills, but how our taxes are being spent doing so. Is the correct material being used? Is it being installed properly? And if Gaylor has a history of paying below-legal wages, you have to question the knowledge of the people they hire. Are they qualified, and do they have electrical licenses? Can they install a multi-million dollar electrical system safely?
Deviating from regulations will cost more tax dollars and jeopardize our public safety. Our city officials need to investigate these allegations and rectify them if need be.
J.V. FERRATUSCO
Fort Wayne "
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/editorial/10283056.htm
.
"Posted on Fri, Nov. 26, 2004
Letters
Need to investigate center's contractor
I am a newer member of the community from Florida, and I have a construction background. Regarding "Center short-circuited, union says; Grand Wayne work defended" (Nov. 14):
The article stated that documentation will not be supplied because it contains information on how Gaylor runs a job. This is an insult to my intelligence and should be to any person with common sense. This leads me to believe that Gaylor Group is hiding something from the taxpayers.
The issue in question is not Gaylor Group's job-running skills, but how our taxes are being spent doing so. Is the correct material being used? Is it being installed properly? And if Gaylor has a history of paying below-legal wages, you have to question the knowledge of the people they hire. Are they qualified, and do they have electrical licenses? Can they install a multi-million dollar electrical system safely?
Deviating from regulations will cost more tax dollars and jeopardize our public safety. Our city officials need to investigate these allegations and rectify them if need be.
J.V. FERRATUSCO
Fort Wayne "
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/editorial/10283056.htm
.
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
IBEW Local 481 (Indianapolis) creates 285 foot "tree" with lights
Circle of Lights coming to life
Indianapolis, Nov. 23 - Something's in the air. They're putting out the candy canes, cranking the bolts and tying the red ribbons.
And some of Santa's helpers are already on the scene, Monument Circle. The Soldiers and Sailors Monument is ready.
And with a flip of the switch the city will officially kickoff the holiday season with the Circle of Lights Celebration this Friday.
This 42-year holiday tradition is a labor of love and a lot of illumination.
Tom O'Donnell with the IBEW union says, "We put up 52 strands of lights, there's 4,784 lights total and it's 285 feet tall."
Nancy Fields gives a hint of some of the local acts to entertain the more than 100,000 people expected on the Circle. "We have seven fantastic talents and we did an audition this year for all the local talent. We have the choice bands, Jenny Spillman" and a national showman.
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Conductor Jack Everly says the show will include "The former singing New York policeman. Daniel Rodriquez will be the star of the First Indiana Bank Yuletide Celebration for 27 performances."
Local carolers are getting us in the holiday spirit.
It truly comes to life on Friday.
Everything is in place at the Circle of Lights.
The Circle of Lights starts at six p.m. at Monument Circle.
Daniel Rodriquez hosts the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's annual holiday extravaganza December 3 thorugh 23 at the Hilbert Circle Theatre.
Indianapolis, Nov. 23 - Something's in the air. They're putting out the candy canes, cranking the bolts and tying the red ribbons.
And some of Santa's helpers are already on the scene, Monument Circle. The Soldiers and Sailors Monument is ready.
And with a flip of the switch the city will officially kickoff the holiday season with the Circle of Lights Celebration this Friday.
This 42-year holiday tradition is a labor of love and a lot of illumination.
Tom O'Donnell with the IBEW union says, "We put up 52 strands of lights, there's 4,784 lights total and it's 285 feet tall."
Nancy Fields gives a hint of some of the local acts to entertain the more than 100,000 people expected on the Circle. "We have seven fantastic talents and we did an audition this year for all the local talent. We have the choice bands, Jenny Spillman" and a national showman.
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Conductor Jack Everly says the show will include "The former singing New York policeman. Daniel Rodriquez will be the star of the First Indiana Bank Yuletide Celebration for 27 performances."
Local carolers are getting us in the holiday spirit.
It truly comes to life on Friday.
Everything is in place at the Circle of Lights.
The Circle of Lights starts at six p.m. at Monument Circle.
Daniel Rodriquez hosts the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's annual holiday extravaganza December 3 thorugh 23 at the Hilbert Circle Theatre.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Potential Health Hazards threaten fishermen as well as electricians
Published: Nov 17, 2004
Modified: Nov 17, 2004 6:07 AM
Ward site deemed health hazard
Charlie Young grabs a stunned red horse fish from Crabtree Creek. Young collected fish Tuesday to test for PCB contamination as part of an EPA investigation of Ward Transformer Co.
Staff Photos by Chuck Liddy
By WADE RAWLINS, Staff Writer
An EPA investigation of the Ward Transformer site has led a federal agency to declare it a public health hazard and warn that contamination from the site could increase the risk of cancer.
People who eat tainted fish from water downstream from the plant, and plant employees exposed to its chemical-soaked soil, could have an increased risk of cancer and other health problems, said scientists with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, who reviewed the EPA's findings.
"We have notified Ward Transformer about the situation so they can notify their employees," Luis Flores, an EPA project manager who is overseeing the investigation, said Tuesday. Ward employs about 50 people, he said.
Robert E. Ward III, president of Ward Transformer Co., could not be reached for comment.
During a yearlong study, investigators found elevated levels of toxic chemicals on the 11-acre Ward site, which is in an industrial area near Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Some soil at the site contains polychlorinated biphenyls, an oily, toxic chemical known as PCBs, at levels more than 50 times the acceptable standards set for industry. EPA is installing monitors to determine whether the chemicals have contaminated groundwater.
Elevated levels of PCBs also turned up in fish in Lake Crabtree and in creeks that flow into the lake.
"The fish is the biggest issue," said Jill Dyken, an environmental health scientist with the federal health agency. "People are eating the fish in Lake Crabtree or have until recently."
State health officials have posted signs in English and Spanish advising people not to eat catfish and carp from Lake Crabtree and to limit consumption of other fish from the lake to once a month. They also have advised people not to eat any fish from Little Brier Creek downstream of Brier Creek Parkway, Brier Creek and Brier Creek Reservoir.
Environmental investigators Tuesday continued tracking the waterborne pollution farther downstream, collecting fish from Crabtree Creek, which drains Lake Crabtree and flows through Umstead State Park.
Aquatic ecologists Charlie Young and Bob Wagner, of Weston Solutions Inc., a contractor hired by EPA, waded through Crabtree Creek, waving a broom-handled electrical probe in the muddy water to stun fish and scoop them up in dip nets.
"Usually, if you see us fishing, you want to pack up your rod and go somewhere else," Young said.
If the tissue of the fish reveals contamination, state health officials could extend the warning on fish consumption farther downstream. The tissue testing typically takes several months.
Priority for cleanup
Ward Transformer Sales & Service, which reconditions electrical transformers, used processes from 1964 to 1979 that allowed toxic chemicals including PCBs to pollute the land and wash into adjacent streams. The company is linked to one of the state's most infamous pollution cases.
Because of the widespread contamination, the site is on EPA's national priority list for cleanup.
PCBs were added to oil in transformers and other electrical equipment to retard fires until their manufacture was stopped in the United States in 1977 and banned in 1979. They build up in the bodies of animals and can cause health hazards such as skin irritation, liver damage and cancer. Contaminated sediments can move up the food chain into fish and accumulate in the tissue of fish.
Flores said EPA may decide next year on the full extent of the cleanup. No cost estimates have been developed because the full extent of the contamination is not yet known.
Staff writer Wade Rawlins can be reached at 829-4528 or wrawlins@newsobserver.com.
© Copyright 2004, The News & Observer Publishing Company,
IBEW Members install new traffic systems in Ohio
(Note: Wagner Smith is a signatory contractor with Locals 82, 648, 212 and 71 in Southwest Ohio Mike Wood)
Dayton Trafc Signals Getting an Upgrade ; Fiber Optic Cables Replacing Copper Wire Network
DAYTON -- For the past few months pedestrians in the downtown central business district have been stepping around bright, orange Wagner Smith Co. trucks that have been popping up at every intersection.
The electrical contractor is installing fiber optic cable that will form the basis of the city's new system of traffic lights and crossing signals -- the first upgrade in more than 50 years.
"The old, copper wire system was well beyond its useful life," said Joe Brzozowski, traffic operations engineer for the city of Dayton. "It was installed in the mid-1950s, just before we went to oneway streets in the early '60s."
Wagner Smith will end up feeding about five or six miles of cable underground, working through 60 intersections in the downtown district. They are also putting up new poles, traffic and crosswalk signals.
The fiber optic cable, which converts an electric signal on one end to light pulses that can trans- mit digital information, has several advantages over the old copper wire.
It will allow each of the signals to communicate with a central computer that can, among other things, tell when a malfunction occurs and automatically notify a technician.
"The old system could not detect if a signal went to green in both directions," Brzozowski said.
"This one automatically puts it in a flashing red mode."
The system will also allow city engineers more easily time the lights through intersections, cutting down on smog-producing idling at red lights.
Fiber optic cable carries a little more up front costs than copper, but it is expected to reduce maintenance costs, according to Julia Wilkie of Wagner Smith.
The $1.6 million project is being paid for by a grant from the Federal Highway Administration for areas, like Dayton, that are in nonattainment of federal ozone standards.
"It is a state of the art system," Brzozowski said.
"It has some fail-safe built in that the '50s-era equipment did not."
The Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission is currently studying the feasibility of converting some downtown streets from one way back to two-way traffic.
"The new system will have ample capacity for two-way streets," Brzozowski said.
Wagner Smith is the largest installer of traffic signal systems in southwest Ohio and performs maintenance for more than 125 government entities.
Work in Dayton is expected to be completed by the end of May.
Contact Dale Dempsey at (937) 225-2270.
Story from REDNOVA NEWS:
http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=103720
Published: 2004/11/16 21:00:19 CST
© Rednova 2004
Dayton Trafc Signals Getting an Upgrade ; Fiber Optic Cables Replacing Copper Wire Network
DAYTON -- For the past few months pedestrians in the downtown central business district have been stepping around bright, orange Wagner Smith Co. trucks that have been popping up at every intersection.
The electrical contractor is installing fiber optic cable that will form the basis of the city's new system of traffic lights and crossing signals -- the first upgrade in more than 50 years.
"The old, copper wire system was well beyond its useful life," said Joe Brzozowski, traffic operations engineer for the city of Dayton. "It was installed in the mid-1950s, just before we went to oneway streets in the early '60s."
Wagner Smith will end up feeding about five or six miles of cable underground, working through 60 intersections in the downtown district. They are also putting up new poles, traffic and crosswalk signals.
The fiber optic cable, which converts an electric signal on one end to light pulses that can trans- mit digital information, has several advantages over the old copper wire.
It will allow each of the signals to communicate with a central computer that can, among other things, tell when a malfunction occurs and automatically notify a technician.
"The old system could not detect if a signal went to green in both directions," Brzozowski said.
"This one automatically puts it in a flashing red mode."
The system will also allow city engineers more easily time the lights through intersections, cutting down on smog-producing idling at red lights.
Fiber optic cable carries a little more up front costs than copper, but it is expected to reduce maintenance costs, according to Julia Wilkie of Wagner Smith.
The $1.6 million project is being paid for by a grant from the Federal Highway Administration for areas, like Dayton, that are in nonattainment of federal ozone standards.
"It is a state of the art system," Brzozowski said.
"It has some fail-safe built in that the '50s-era equipment did not."
The Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission is currently studying the feasibility of converting some downtown streets from one way back to two-way traffic.
"The new system will have ample capacity for two-way streets," Brzozowski said.
Wagner Smith is the largest installer of traffic signal systems in southwest Ohio and performs maintenance for more than 125 government entities.
Work in Dayton is expected to be completed by the end of May.
Contact Dale Dempsey at (937) 225-2270.
Story from REDNOVA NEWS:
http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=103720
Published: 2004/11/16 21:00:19 CST
© Rednova 2004
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
IBEW Local 197 Member/Bloomington Alderman refuses to cross Firefighter picket lines to attend meeting
Tuesday, November 9, 2004
Councilmen honor picket line
By M.K. Guetersloh
mkguetersloh@pantagraph.com
Advertisement
BLOOMINGTON -- The Bloomington firefighters' union has agreed to talk after offers from three alderman -- two of whom missed Monday's council meeting because they refused to cross an informational picket line.
Instead, aldermen Mike Matejka and Tom Whalen looked at City Hall from the lawn at the McLean County Chamber of Commerce building.
Whalen and Matejka both are members of Laborers Local 362.
Members of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 49 picketed the meeting as part of their on-going dispute with Fire Chief Keith Ranney and his promotion of two deputy chiefs.
"I have never crossed a picket line in my life," Whalen said. "It means too much to me."
Matejka added, "I was raised not to cross picket lines."
But Whalen said he was frustrated at the union for distributing a flyer claiming the union has not received any response from the council in trying to resolve the dispute.
Whalen said he and Alderman Mike Sprague talked with union representatives this spring after the council was sent a letter from the union outlining its discontent with Ranney.
Matejka also met separately will union leaders.
"The best I can do is try to facilitate a dialogue between the city and the firefighters."
Because of the picket, union President Dave Talley said, the union has agreed to offers by Whalen, Matejka and Sprague to sit down and talk.
"It looks like we will be able to get a meeting scheduled within the next week or two," Talley said. "Hopefully we can get back to interest-based bargaining and get started negotiating in a way that works to everyone's best interest."
The union picketed City Hall in early October, but Talley said Monday's picket accomplished more in the way of talking to city officials.
"We made a bigger point today perhaps because a couple of members were not able to go to the meeting," Talley said.
The union claims the promotion of one of the deputy chiefs initially to assistant chief violated the police and fire commission's rules of promotion. The police and fire commission has authority to make promotions up to assistant chief.
This summer, that assistant chief was promoted to deputy chief, a position outside of the commission's authority. The union had filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of 12 fire captains who would have been eligible for promotion to assistant chief.
Alderman Rich Veitengruber, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 197, did not attend the council meeting. It wasn't clear whether he was absent for personal reasons or because of the picket line.
Copyright © 2004, Pantagraph Publishing Co. All rights reserved.
Councilmen honor picket line
By M.K. Guetersloh
mkguetersloh@pantagraph.com
Advertisement
BLOOMINGTON -- The Bloomington firefighters' union has agreed to talk after offers from three alderman -- two of whom missed Monday's council meeting because they refused to cross an informational picket line.
Instead, aldermen Mike Matejka and Tom Whalen looked at City Hall from the lawn at the McLean County Chamber of Commerce building.
Whalen and Matejka both are members of Laborers Local 362.
Members of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 49 picketed the meeting as part of their on-going dispute with Fire Chief Keith Ranney and his promotion of two deputy chiefs.
"I have never crossed a picket line in my life," Whalen said. "It means too much to me."
Matejka added, "I was raised not to cross picket lines."
But Whalen said he was frustrated at the union for distributing a flyer claiming the union has not received any response from the council in trying to resolve the dispute.
Whalen said he and Alderman Mike Sprague talked with union representatives this spring after the council was sent a letter from the union outlining its discontent with Ranney.
Matejka also met separately will union leaders.
"The best I can do is try to facilitate a dialogue between the city and the firefighters."
Because of the picket, union President Dave Talley said, the union has agreed to offers by Whalen, Matejka and Sprague to sit down and talk.
"It looks like we will be able to get a meeting scheduled within the next week or two," Talley said. "Hopefully we can get back to interest-based bargaining and get started negotiating in a way that works to everyone's best interest."
The union picketed City Hall in early October, but Talley said Monday's picket accomplished more in the way of talking to city officials.
"We made a bigger point today perhaps because a couple of members were not able to go to the meeting," Talley said.
The union claims the promotion of one of the deputy chiefs initially to assistant chief violated the police and fire commission's rules of promotion. The police and fire commission has authority to make promotions up to assistant chief.
This summer, that assistant chief was promoted to deputy chief, a position outside of the commission's authority. The union had filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of 12 fire captains who would have been eligible for promotion to assistant chief.
Alderman Rich Veitengruber, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 197, did not attend the council meeting. It wasn't clear whether he was absent for personal reasons or because of the picket line.
Copyright © 2004, Pantagraph Publishing Co. All rights reserved.
IBEW Local 441 (Santa Ana, CA) Helps Members with Below-Market-Rate Housing Options
Orange County, Calif., Employers, Workers Battle Housing Costs
By Mary Ann Milbourn, The Orange County Register, Calif.
RISMEDIA, Nov. 8 – (KRT) – Mike Woolbright did the math, and it didn't add up:
Orange County's typical monthly mortgage payment, with taxes: $2,262. Median monthly rent: $1,317.
Monthly pay for the 12 full-time workers at his silk-screening company in Stanton: less than $2,000 each.
No matter how he worked the numbers, he knew it was a formula for disaster. He already had lost one worker because of the high cost of housing here, and he knew it was just a matter of time before others followed.
Then he hit on a solution: Buy property himself and rent it to his workers at below-market rates.
So far, it's working. He rents a house next to his Express Screen Press Corp. plant to one worker and is buying a nearby triplex that he hopes will take care of three other employees and their families.
But this is no act of charity. Woolbright sees it as a matter of business survival.
"Helping my employees helps me in the long term, because healthy, happy employees will want to work here," he says.
Recruiting and retaining workers is a problem more Orange County employers, large and small, are trying to come to grips with as housing prices have outpaced incomes.
Their solutions are as varied as the employers themselves: universities that build housing for faculty and staff, unions that partner with cities to create lower-cost housing, and companies that subsidize commuting costs from places where workers can still afford to buy homes.
High housing costs are a familiar problem in Orange County, which saw a similar price run-up in the late 1980s. But this time, overburdened freeways and shrinking availability of open land have clogged what used to be a pressure-release valve -- construction of new homes in undeveloped stretches of Orange County.
Business leaders are exploring ways to cope with the problem, but soaring housing prices are making it increasingly difficult to attract and keep workers.
The solutions aren't easy. Many of the traditional government responses to high-cost housing -- including rent control and housing projects -- are unpalatable to Orange County residents. Other initiatives, such as requiring a percentage of new units to be set aside for low- and moderate-income residents, often meet community resistance because of concerns about population density, traffic and lower-income neighbors.
The struggle with affordability also is spreading from traditional low-income households to middle- class workers such as teachers and police officers.
Stan Oftelie, chief executive of the Orange County Business Council, said he's recently heard of employers having difficulty attracting nurses and engineers in the $75,000-$125,000 pay range.
"We have a very good job market and have been the victims of our own success," he says. "But the high-quality workers we've attracted are not going to continue to come if people can't afford to live here."
While no one is predicting that the high cost of housing will be the death knell for Orange County's economy, experts say that, left unabated, rising costs will unalterably change the community.
As more people are unable to afford to live here, experts see a gradually receding middle class and the virtual disappearance of young families with children, leaving only the rich, the poor and the lucky -- those who bought before housing prices soared.
"Orange County will become a Baby Boom ghetto," says Joel Kotkin, a Los Angeles futurist who often writes about the changing dynamics of cities and suburbs.
The numbers are grim:
The median Orange County home cost $533,000 in September, up 24 percent in the past year, according to DataQuick. That's only off a little from the peak of $543,000 in August.
Chapman University economists say a single-family house now costs more than seven times the county's estimated $75,000 median family income, up from about five times the typical income in 1989, the last time housing prices peaked.
Last year, 54 percent of Orange County households were unable to easily afford the median monthly rent, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
Woolbright isn't the only employer who is fighting back.
Following in the footsteps of UC Irvine, which built 700 houses for faculty, Cal State Fullerton recently embarked on a plan to provide affordable housing for its faculty and staff.
Ephraim P. Smith, vice president of academic affairs, said it has become critical, especially in attracting staff and younger faculty. The average beginning faculty member makes $60,000 for a nine-month academic year.
"One person (who was offered a job) came out and seemed very satisfied," Smith recalls. Then the house-hunting began. "He came back out with his spouse and called us on Monday morning and said, 'We've changed our minds.'"
In 2002, the university opened its first 86 homes and townhouses in University Gables, a joint project with the city of Buena Park on county land. Townhomes and houses ranged from $150,000 to $252,000.
Availability of the CSUF housing proved the difference in Robert McLain's decision to move to Orange County.
The British new imperial history expert says Fullerton was the best fit for his career plans. "But the question was, can we afford it?" recalls McLain, 39, who has a wife and 5-year-old son.
McLain was able to buy a three-bedroom, 21/2-bath detached house in the university's complex for $220,000.
"The fact we could buy into University Gables is what allowed us to come here," he says.
Bill Dickerson, head of CSUF's housing authority, says the school hopes to build about 300 additional units -- apartments and homes -- on two other sites in Fullerton in the next two years.
While colleges have been on the forefront of providing housing for their workers, organized labor is now getting involved. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 441 in Orange hopes to become the model for joint ventures in building affordable housing for union members with a project it's planning in Santa Ana.
Doug Chappell, the local's business manager, says the need is critical.
"The guys who do the work in Orange County -- especially the apprentices -- don't make enough to buy here," Chappell says. The average electrical apprentice earns $12 an hour. Journeymen make $35 an hour but often have jobs for only seven to eight months of the year.
"Some are driving two hours each way -- four hours a day -- before they've ever done any work," Chappell says.
The union and the National Electrical Contractors Association is teaming with John Laing Homes and the Santa Ana redevelopment agency to build affordable homes on a site the IBEW owns on Lyon Street. The First American Credit Union and Fannie Mae are going to help union members with credit counseling and financing.
Chappell said similar joint projects are being pursued in Anaheim, Garden Grove, Stanton and Westminster.
Not every enterprise can build or buy employee housing, so some employers are trying to make it easier for their workers to commute from areas with lower- priced homes.
SHURflo LLC, a pump manufacturing company, uses a van- pool program as an employee recruitment and retention incentive.
When the company moved from Garden Grove to its new facilities in Cypress three years ago, company officials were concerned about how to get their workers, many of whom lived in low-cost housing within walking distance of the old plant, to the new facility. Van-pool service from the central county to Cypress filled the transportation gap.
Since then, however, the vans have become more important for workers who commute from outside the county. The company's Inland Empire van-pool program has grown to three 10-, 12- and 15-passenger vans. SHURflo leases the vans; the employees split the gas and FasTrak toll- road pass.
Besides helping to retain current employees, the program is a recruiting tool, says Janet Scott, SHURflo's vice president of human resources.
"I had one person from Lake Elsinore who came here because of the van program," she says.
While many employers are feeling the pinch that housing prices present for their work forces, not every business is hurting.
"We have a lot of people from all over the place who are willing to commute," says Marybeth Sosa, human-resources director at Greenlight Financial Services in Irvine.
She acknowledges, however, that a more competitive labor market could change that.
"When the (job) market is good and everyone wants people, then it could be a problem," she says.
Employers and experts in communities such as Silicon Valley, where the median home price tops $600,000, warn Orange County employers not to be complacent.
It doesn't take much, they say, before the middle-class workers who provide the backbone of the community begin to abandon a region that imposes high housing costs and long commutes.
"How long is it going to be before that teacher, who is commuting one hour each way, is going to say, 'I could just teach in Gilroy' or wherever they live?" says Shiloh Ballard, housing director for the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, which represents 175 employers. "We've ended up training the teachers (in Santa Clara County) and then they move to Fresno."
The Business Council is working on several fronts to improve the situation here. It is teaming up with First American Corp., the Santa Ana title company, to pinpoint areas where homes are under the county's half-million- dollar median price. The project is aimed at showing prospective employees that Orange County still has affordable housing for middle-class workers.
It has also joined with Merrill Lynch and Neighborhood Housing Services of Orange County to establish a revolving fund that will help pay engineering and planning costs for affordable housing.
Kotkin, the futurist, says mixed-use developments that combine retail at the street level with housing above could also be part of the answer for Orange County. Brea, Orange and Anaheim are among the cities already experimenting with the concept.
"There are a lot of options for Orange County that can make this situation work," he says.
SEEKING AFFORDABILITY: Orange County isn't the first place to have struggled with the high cost of housing. Here are some of the approaches communities and employers have taken:
Merrill Lynch recently provided a $1 million loan to be administered by the Orange County Affordable HomeOwnership Alliance and Neighborhood Housing Services of Orange County to help jump-start early engineering and other planning for low- and moderate- income projects. They hope other businesses also will contribute to make more funds available.
Anaheim, Brea, Fullerton, Orange and Tustin are among local communities planning mixed-use developments that have retail at street level with residential units above.
Some employers, such as the St. Regis Hotel in Dana Point, offer housing subsidies. The hotel teamed with the Mary Erickson Community Housing Foundation to provide monthly subsidies of $200 to $600 so workers can live in Orange County.
Local colleges, including UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton, have built faculty and staff housing.
Buena Park Councilman Art Brown advocates housing near Metrolink stations so families can give up the cost of having more than one car for transportation.
Los Angeles, New York City and Santa Monica impose rent control to keep housing costs down.
California requires communities to include affordable housing in their planning, although they often fall short of goals.
The federal government offers Section 8 rent subsidies to make apartments more affordable to low-income residents, although the demand far outstrips supply.
Housing projects, a popular affordable-housing solution during the middle of the last century, have fallen from favor after many deteriorated into crime-ridden slums.
RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Please send e-mail to editorial@rismedia.com.
By Mary Ann Milbourn, The Orange County Register, Calif.
RISMEDIA, Nov. 8 – (KRT) – Mike Woolbright did the math, and it didn't add up:
Orange County's typical monthly mortgage payment, with taxes: $2,262. Median monthly rent: $1,317.
Monthly pay for the 12 full-time workers at his silk-screening company in Stanton: less than $2,000 each.
No matter how he worked the numbers, he knew it was a formula for disaster. He already had lost one worker because of the high cost of housing here, and he knew it was just a matter of time before others followed.
Then he hit on a solution: Buy property himself and rent it to his workers at below-market rates.
So far, it's working. He rents a house next to his Express Screen Press Corp. plant to one worker and is buying a nearby triplex that he hopes will take care of three other employees and their families.
But this is no act of charity. Woolbright sees it as a matter of business survival.
"Helping my employees helps me in the long term, because healthy, happy employees will want to work here," he says.
Recruiting and retaining workers is a problem more Orange County employers, large and small, are trying to come to grips with as housing prices have outpaced incomes.
Their solutions are as varied as the employers themselves: universities that build housing for faculty and staff, unions that partner with cities to create lower-cost housing, and companies that subsidize commuting costs from places where workers can still afford to buy homes.
High housing costs are a familiar problem in Orange County, which saw a similar price run-up in the late 1980s. But this time, overburdened freeways and shrinking availability of open land have clogged what used to be a pressure-release valve -- construction of new homes in undeveloped stretches of Orange County.
Business leaders are exploring ways to cope with the problem, but soaring housing prices are making it increasingly difficult to attract and keep workers.
The solutions aren't easy. Many of the traditional government responses to high-cost housing -- including rent control and housing projects -- are unpalatable to Orange County residents. Other initiatives, such as requiring a percentage of new units to be set aside for low- and moderate-income residents, often meet community resistance because of concerns about population density, traffic and lower-income neighbors.
The struggle with affordability also is spreading from traditional low-income households to middle- class workers such as teachers and police officers.
Stan Oftelie, chief executive of the Orange County Business Council, said he's recently heard of employers having difficulty attracting nurses and engineers in the $75,000-$125,000 pay range.
"We have a very good job market and have been the victims of our own success," he says. "But the high-quality workers we've attracted are not going to continue to come if people can't afford to live here."
While no one is predicting that the high cost of housing will be the death knell for Orange County's economy, experts say that, left unabated, rising costs will unalterably change the community.
As more people are unable to afford to live here, experts see a gradually receding middle class and the virtual disappearance of young families with children, leaving only the rich, the poor and the lucky -- those who bought before housing prices soared.
"Orange County will become a Baby Boom ghetto," says Joel Kotkin, a Los Angeles futurist who often writes about the changing dynamics of cities and suburbs.
The numbers are grim:
The median Orange County home cost $533,000 in September, up 24 percent in the past year, according to DataQuick. That's only off a little from the peak of $543,000 in August.
Chapman University economists say a single-family house now costs more than seven times the county's estimated $75,000 median family income, up from about five times the typical income in 1989, the last time housing prices peaked.
Last year, 54 percent of Orange County households were unable to easily afford the median monthly rent, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
Woolbright isn't the only employer who is fighting back.
Following in the footsteps of UC Irvine, which built 700 houses for faculty, Cal State Fullerton recently embarked on a plan to provide affordable housing for its faculty and staff.
Ephraim P. Smith, vice president of academic affairs, said it has become critical, especially in attracting staff and younger faculty. The average beginning faculty member makes $60,000 for a nine-month academic year.
"One person (who was offered a job) came out and seemed very satisfied," Smith recalls. Then the house-hunting began. "He came back out with his spouse and called us on Monday morning and said, 'We've changed our minds.'"
In 2002, the university opened its first 86 homes and townhouses in University Gables, a joint project with the city of Buena Park on county land. Townhomes and houses ranged from $150,000 to $252,000.
Availability of the CSUF housing proved the difference in Robert McLain's decision to move to Orange County.
The British new imperial history expert says Fullerton was the best fit for his career plans. "But the question was, can we afford it?" recalls McLain, 39, who has a wife and 5-year-old son.
McLain was able to buy a three-bedroom, 21/2-bath detached house in the university's complex for $220,000.
"The fact we could buy into University Gables is what allowed us to come here," he says.
Bill Dickerson, head of CSUF's housing authority, says the school hopes to build about 300 additional units -- apartments and homes -- on two other sites in Fullerton in the next two years.
While colleges have been on the forefront of providing housing for their workers, organized labor is now getting involved. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 441 in Orange hopes to become the model for joint ventures in building affordable housing for union members with a project it's planning in Santa Ana.
Doug Chappell, the local's business manager, says the need is critical.
"The guys who do the work in Orange County -- especially the apprentices -- don't make enough to buy here," Chappell says. The average electrical apprentice earns $12 an hour. Journeymen make $35 an hour but often have jobs for only seven to eight months of the year.
"Some are driving two hours each way -- four hours a day -- before they've ever done any work," Chappell says.
The union and the National Electrical Contractors Association is teaming with John Laing Homes and the Santa Ana redevelopment agency to build affordable homes on a site the IBEW owns on Lyon Street. The First American Credit Union and Fannie Mae are going to help union members with credit counseling and financing.
Chappell said similar joint projects are being pursued in Anaheim, Garden Grove, Stanton and Westminster.
Not every enterprise can build or buy employee housing, so some employers are trying to make it easier for their workers to commute from areas with lower- priced homes.
SHURflo LLC, a pump manufacturing company, uses a van- pool program as an employee recruitment and retention incentive.
When the company moved from Garden Grove to its new facilities in Cypress three years ago, company officials were concerned about how to get their workers, many of whom lived in low-cost housing within walking distance of the old plant, to the new facility. Van-pool service from the central county to Cypress filled the transportation gap.
Since then, however, the vans have become more important for workers who commute from outside the county. The company's Inland Empire van-pool program has grown to three 10-, 12- and 15-passenger vans. SHURflo leases the vans; the employees split the gas and FasTrak toll- road pass.
Besides helping to retain current employees, the program is a recruiting tool, says Janet Scott, SHURflo's vice president of human resources.
"I had one person from Lake Elsinore who came here because of the van program," she says.
While many employers are feeling the pinch that housing prices present for their work forces, not every business is hurting.
"We have a lot of people from all over the place who are willing to commute," says Marybeth Sosa, human-resources director at Greenlight Financial Services in Irvine.
She acknowledges, however, that a more competitive labor market could change that.
"When the (job) market is good and everyone wants people, then it could be a problem," she says.
Employers and experts in communities such as Silicon Valley, where the median home price tops $600,000, warn Orange County employers not to be complacent.
It doesn't take much, they say, before the middle-class workers who provide the backbone of the community begin to abandon a region that imposes high housing costs and long commutes.
"How long is it going to be before that teacher, who is commuting one hour each way, is going to say, 'I could just teach in Gilroy' or wherever they live?" says Shiloh Ballard, housing director for the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, which represents 175 employers. "We've ended up training the teachers (in Santa Clara County) and then they move to Fresno."
The Business Council is working on several fronts to improve the situation here. It is teaming up with First American Corp., the Santa Ana title company, to pinpoint areas where homes are under the county's half-million- dollar median price. The project is aimed at showing prospective employees that Orange County still has affordable housing for middle-class workers.
It has also joined with Merrill Lynch and Neighborhood Housing Services of Orange County to establish a revolving fund that will help pay engineering and planning costs for affordable housing.
Kotkin, the futurist, says mixed-use developments that combine retail at the street level with housing above could also be part of the answer for Orange County. Brea, Orange and Anaheim are among the cities already experimenting with the concept.
"There are a lot of options for Orange County that can make this situation work," he says.
SEEKING AFFORDABILITY: Orange County isn't the first place to have struggled with the high cost of housing. Here are some of the approaches communities and employers have taken:
Merrill Lynch recently provided a $1 million loan to be administered by the Orange County Affordable HomeOwnership Alliance and Neighborhood Housing Services of Orange County to help jump-start early engineering and other planning for low- and moderate- income projects. They hope other businesses also will contribute to make more funds available.
Anaheim, Brea, Fullerton, Orange and Tustin are among local communities planning mixed-use developments that have retail at street level with residential units above.
Some employers, such as the St. Regis Hotel in Dana Point, offer housing subsidies. The hotel teamed with the Mary Erickson Community Housing Foundation to provide monthly subsidies of $200 to $600 so workers can live in Orange County.
Local colleges, including UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton, have built faculty and staff housing.
Buena Park Councilman Art Brown advocates housing near Metrolink stations so families can give up the cost of having more than one car for transportation.
Los Angeles, New York City and Santa Monica impose rent control to keep housing costs down.
California requires communities to include affordable housing in their planning, although they often fall short of goals.
The federal government offers Section 8 rent subsidies to make apartments more affordable to low-income residents, although the demand far outstrips supply.
Housing projects, a popular affordable-housing solution during the middle of the last century, have fallen from favor after many deteriorated into crime-ridden slums.
RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Please send e-mail to editorial@rismedia.com.
Monday, November 08, 2004
Oregon "Gay Marriage" Amendment May Hurt IBEW Members in Portland
Married gay couples rush to protect their benefits
By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI
Associated Press Writer
PORTLAND — Kelly Burke was happy to be at home after the election, watching her 3-year-old son convert a box into a spaceship. But she was dreading the arrival of a letter that could change their lives.
"The mailman came this morning and I panicked," said the stay-at-home mom on Nov. 3, one day after Oregon voters decisively approved a ban on gay marriage.
Like many housewives, Burke, 35, relies on her spouse's employer for her own health insurance. But because Burke is a lesbian, it was only this spring — after Multnomah County momentarily flung open the door to gay marriage — that she became a legal "spouse" by marrying her partner of 15 years, Dolores Doyle.
The change in legal status meant she became one of a number of married gay and lesbian spouses in Multnomah County who began receiving comprehensive medical insurance through their partners' employers.
While 11 states — including Oregon — passed constitutional amendments banning gay marriage on Election Day, Oregon is the only state among them with legally married gay couples.
Those amendments deal with the right to marry rather than the legal and employment benefits that come with marriage.
Supporters of gay marriage argue those benefits should be available to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation.
But opponents say the issues are separate, and while they reject gay marriage, many of them agree benefits should apply to homosexuals and heterosexuals alike.
Kelly Clark, attorney for the Defense of Marriage Coalition, said many supporters of Measure 36, the Oregon amendment to ban gay marriage, feel very strongly about fairness when it comes to benefits.
"It's what I've felt from the beginning and I have consistently said this to gay friends," Clark said. "So what kind of alternatives can we craft? And whatever alternative mechanisms we find have to be fair."
The institution of marriage itself, however, is seen as a different matter in the minds of the majority of Oregonians, Clark said, as shown by the decisive 57 percent approval of Measure 36 on Tuesday to amend the Oregon Constitution by limiting marriage to the union of one man and one woman.
However, for the 2,961 gay couples who did tie the knot from March 3 until a judge stopped the practice six weeks later, there is now a cloud of uncertainty about their legal status and the protections they stand to lose if their marriages are invalidated.
"When the mailman comes, my first thought is: ‘Oh, my God, here comes the letter. They're cutting me off,'" said Burke, who previously paid $200 a month out of pocket for her own, bare-bones insurance.
"With our marriage came a huge financial relief — as well as huge emotional relief. I could actually sleep at night and know I'll be taken care of. That uncertainty has now crept back in," said Burke.
Tim Nashif, political director of the Defense of Marriage Coalition, said Burke's family is the exception.
"You'd have to search a long way out of these 3,000 couples to find one case like this. And for every one example like this, I can find you 25 similar cases of heterosexual couples that are married with children and have the same problem. You see, it's not specific to them."
Nashif says that if health care is the issue, gay rights groups should lobby the Legislature to extend domestic partnership benefits, not change the institution of marriage.
In a landmark ruling in December 1998, the Oregon Court of Appeals required Oregon Health & Science University to extend insurance benefits to the same-sex partners of its employees after three lesbian couples sued OHSU.
The unanimous ruling was considered the first in the nation to interpret a state constitution to prohibit all discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, granting sexual orientation the same protected status as race, gender and religion in the workplace.
But there since has been little movement in the Legislature toward a clear policy on same-sex partner benefits.
After the Tuesday election, gay couples said they were more worried than before about such matters as passing on their inheritance to their loved ones, adoption rights and power of attorney statements. Some, including Burke, are shopping for insurance policies online.
Because the state refused to acknowledge their marriages pending the outcome of an Oregon Supreme Court lawsuit on the constitutionality of banning same-sex marriages, the couples were never eligible for more than 100 state benefits and 1,100 federal benefits available to heterosexual married couples in Oregon.
But some companies took it upon themselves to view the couples as legally married, extending some benefits — such as insurance coverage — not previously available.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, where Doyle, Burke's partner, works as an electrician, has insured three spouses of gay employees in the past six months, said Lee Centrone, the union's benefits administrator.
The union's leadership will meet next month to determine what will happen to these policies, she said, stressing that nothing has been decided. However, the policies were crafted using temporary language to allow for changes in the legal landscape of gay marriage, Centrone said.
It is also unclear what the passage of Measure 36 means for the current lawsuit in the Oregon Supreme Court, in which nine gay couples — including Burke and Doyle — claim that preventing them from marrying is unconstitutional.
The next hearing in the case was postponed until Dec. 15 to give both sides a chance to argue what effect the amendment will have. The American Civil Liberties Union has already said the language in the Oregon amendment — unlike the other 10 states that approved constitutional bans on gay marriage — is ambiguous and open to interpretation that could allow civil unions.
As a result, the outlook for gay couples is even more complicated legally than before the election.
"These couples stand to lose a lot," said Ken Choe, an attorney with the ACLU Gay and Lesbian Project, who will be representing the gay couples in their case before the state Supreme Court.
"Marriage brings with it hundreds of important protections for families in their times of greatest need, such as sickness and death," Choe said. "And to the extent that these couples are deemed no longer married, they are vulnerable again."
Among the couples who were married in Oregon, many have been together for decades. Some are elderly, a fact which makes pensions, and end-of-life arrangements a real issue.
Mary Beth Brindley, 65, of Portland and her partner Evelyn Hall, 66, have been together for 45 years — a relationship they kept secret for 37 years while living in the deep South.
"I don't know if there are any assisted living facilities around that will allow us to share a room if we are not legally married. That's a very real concern for us," Brindley said.
Copyright © 2004 Democrat-Herald
By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI
Associated Press Writer
PORTLAND — Kelly Burke was happy to be at home after the election, watching her 3-year-old son convert a box into a spaceship. But she was dreading the arrival of a letter that could change their lives.
"The mailman came this morning and I panicked," said the stay-at-home mom on Nov. 3, one day after Oregon voters decisively approved a ban on gay marriage.
Like many housewives, Burke, 35, relies on her spouse's employer for her own health insurance. But because Burke is a lesbian, it was only this spring — after Multnomah County momentarily flung open the door to gay marriage — that she became a legal "spouse" by marrying her partner of 15 years, Dolores Doyle.
The change in legal status meant she became one of a number of married gay and lesbian spouses in Multnomah County who began receiving comprehensive medical insurance through their partners' employers.
While 11 states — including Oregon — passed constitutional amendments banning gay marriage on Election Day, Oregon is the only state among them with legally married gay couples.
Those amendments deal with the right to marry rather than the legal and employment benefits that come with marriage.
Supporters of gay marriage argue those benefits should be available to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation.
But opponents say the issues are separate, and while they reject gay marriage, many of them agree benefits should apply to homosexuals and heterosexuals alike.
Kelly Clark, attorney for the Defense of Marriage Coalition, said many supporters of Measure 36, the Oregon amendment to ban gay marriage, feel very strongly about fairness when it comes to benefits.
"It's what I've felt from the beginning and I have consistently said this to gay friends," Clark said. "So what kind of alternatives can we craft? And whatever alternative mechanisms we find have to be fair."
The institution of marriage itself, however, is seen as a different matter in the minds of the majority of Oregonians, Clark said, as shown by the decisive 57 percent approval of Measure 36 on Tuesday to amend the Oregon Constitution by limiting marriage to the union of one man and one woman.
However, for the 2,961 gay couples who did tie the knot from March 3 until a judge stopped the practice six weeks later, there is now a cloud of uncertainty about their legal status and the protections they stand to lose if their marriages are invalidated.
"When the mailman comes, my first thought is: ‘Oh, my God, here comes the letter. They're cutting me off,'" said Burke, who previously paid $200 a month out of pocket for her own, bare-bones insurance.
"With our marriage came a huge financial relief — as well as huge emotional relief. I could actually sleep at night and know I'll be taken care of. That uncertainty has now crept back in," said Burke.
Tim Nashif, political director of the Defense of Marriage Coalition, said Burke's family is the exception.
"You'd have to search a long way out of these 3,000 couples to find one case like this. And for every one example like this, I can find you 25 similar cases of heterosexual couples that are married with children and have the same problem. You see, it's not specific to them."
Nashif says that if health care is the issue, gay rights groups should lobby the Legislature to extend domestic partnership benefits, not change the institution of marriage.
In a landmark ruling in December 1998, the Oregon Court of Appeals required Oregon Health & Science University to extend insurance benefits to the same-sex partners of its employees after three lesbian couples sued OHSU.
The unanimous ruling was considered the first in the nation to interpret a state constitution to prohibit all discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, granting sexual orientation the same protected status as race, gender and religion in the workplace.
But there since has been little movement in the Legislature toward a clear policy on same-sex partner benefits.
After the Tuesday election, gay couples said they were more worried than before about such matters as passing on their inheritance to their loved ones, adoption rights and power of attorney statements. Some, including Burke, are shopping for insurance policies online.
Because the state refused to acknowledge their marriages pending the outcome of an Oregon Supreme Court lawsuit on the constitutionality of banning same-sex marriages, the couples were never eligible for more than 100 state benefits and 1,100 federal benefits available to heterosexual married couples in Oregon.
But some companies took it upon themselves to view the couples as legally married, extending some benefits — such as insurance coverage — not previously available.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, where Doyle, Burke's partner, works as an electrician, has insured three spouses of gay employees in the past six months, said Lee Centrone, the union's benefits administrator.
The union's leadership will meet next month to determine what will happen to these policies, she said, stressing that nothing has been decided. However, the policies were crafted using temporary language to allow for changes in the legal landscape of gay marriage, Centrone said.
It is also unclear what the passage of Measure 36 means for the current lawsuit in the Oregon Supreme Court, in which nine gay couples — including Burke and Doyle — claim that preventing them from marrying is unconstitutional.
The next hearing in the case was postponed until Dec. 15 to give both sides a chance to argue what effect the amendment will have. The American Civil Liberties Union has already said the language in the Oregon amendment — unlike the other 10 states that approved constitutional bans on gay marriage — is ambiguous and open to interpretation that could allow civil unions.
As a result, the outlook for gay couples is even more complicated legally than before the election.
"These couples stand to lose a lot," said Ken Choe, an attorney with the ACLU Gay and Lesbian Project, who will be representing the gay couples in their case before the state Supreme Court.
"Marriage brings with it hundreds of important protections for families in their times of greatest need, such as sickness and death," Choe said. "And to the extent that these couples are deemed no longer married, they are vulnerable again."
Among the couples who were married in Oregon, many have been together for decades. Some are elderly, a fact which makes pensions, and end-of-life arrangements a real issue.
Mary Beth Brindley, 65, of Portland and her partner Evelyn Hall, 66, have been together for 45 years — a relationship they kept secret for 37 years while living in the deep South.
"I don't know if there are any assisted living facilities around that will allow us to share a room if we are not legally married. That's a very real concern for us," Brindley said.
Copyright © 2004 Democrat-Herald
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