![]() ![]() ![]() industrial/Captain Gruber Enterprises (Portland)ģ,640 sq. commercial (Portland)/John and Milyn Marthens (Portland)ĥ,200 sq. warehouse (Springfield)/Howan (Eugene)ġ0,000 sq. Lloyd Center (Portland)/Glimcher Realty Trust (OH)ġ4 acres commercial (Harrisburg)/Monaco Coach (Coburg)Ģ0,000 sq. Vernon)/Delbert OsborneĪllied Works Architecture (Portland)/Brad Cloepfil The Swanson Group (Glendale)/Steve Swanson $100,000 (efficiency and marketing grant) High Desert Aggregate and Paving (Redmond)/Michael Moore RJ Armstrong & Associates Construction (Albany)/Robert Armstrong $600,000 (watermarking technology contract) Naturally Advanced Technologies (Portland)/Ken Barker $1.9M (fish passage improvements contract) National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationĬentral Utah Water Conservancy District (UT) Iberdrola Renewables (Portland)/Ralph Curreyĭaimler Trucks North America (Portland)/Chris Patterson ” It’s a blessing to be able to give our workforce a little peace of mind.” MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONSĮnergy Market Report/Economic Insight (Portland) “This is a project we need to have to keep our employees stably employed,” Doiron says. The NOAA contract is not likely to result in any additional hiring for Vigor, but it will keep the numbers pretty steady over the next year. Depending on when that work comes in, Vigor employs anywhere from 300 to 500 people. Doiron says the global economic situation has weighed heavily on commercial customers, and some, like oil companies, have taken their business to China.īy simple proximity, Vigor may also see more business from NOAA when the agency moves its Pacific operations center to Newport in 2011.ĭoiron estimates that Vigor’s typical repair projects range in size from $100,000 to $20 million, with 75% of them - about 30 or so projects - topping the $1 million mark. “This gives us some flexibility … and gives our workforce and management teams a better idea of what’s coming up”Īwarded in September, the contract includes $7 million in stimulus funds and calls for structural repairs, system replacements and modifications to NOAA’s 231-foot seafloor mapping vessel Rainier.įor Vigor, which is bidding on two other NOAA jobs this fall, the contract marks a continued focus on governmental work. “In ship repair, long-term projects are unique,” says Rene Doiron, vice president for ship repair at Vigor’s parent company, Vigor Industrial. So it’s no surprise that landing a year-long, $13.1 million contract from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is proving to be a big deal for the Portland company. It’s a fairly standard timeline, but one that also makes it pretty difficult for workers in such a wavy industry to ever enjoy a real sense of job security. Results were not available by press time.Īfter that vote, Vigor and the unions will return to the bargaining table.AN AVERAGE SHIP repair job for Vigor Marine runs from four to six weeks. Oldham said the Metal Trades Council wants to gauge current sentiment among workers, so the union planned another strike vote for March 15. In December, members voted by 95% to approve a strike pre-authorization. They’ve also been preparing for the possibility of a strike, hosting a sign-making event at the Painters union hall in January. Unions at the shipyard have been staging actions to build solidarity among workers, including a series of “punch-out walkout” actions where workers clock out en masse and gather at the end of their shifts. “I think their general thought was that with the price that they’re paying for gas and groceries, coupled with the inflation rate, they felt like it was not enough,” said Painters union rep Scott Oldham, president of the Portland Metal Trades Council.įor an average journeyman at the shipyard making about $35 an hour, the raises in the tentative agreement worked out to a little over 3%, at a time when inflation is running above 7.5%. But members-including workers represented by the Boilermakers, IBEW, Painters, Laborers, Sheet Metal, Pipefitters, Machinists, Teamsters and Operating Engineers-voted to reject it. The Metal Trades Department brought that offer to a vote on March 4. In its most recent offer, Vigor proposed a $2,000 ratification bonus and $1.10, $1.25 and $1.40 per hour raises, while maintaining existing benefits. The company’s offer has increased since it initially offered a $1,250 signing bonus and hourly raises of $0.35, $0.60, and $0.75 in a three-year contract. The AFL-CIO Metal Trades Department represents about 900 workers at Vigor and the two sides have been negotiating since the previous contract expired Nov. Metal trades unions are holding a second strike authorization vote after shipyard workers in Portland and Seattle voted to reject a tentative agreement with Vigor Marine. ![]()
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