The Oregon LERA Annual Awards
— The Maggies —
In memory of
Magdalena Jacobsen,
the founder of our Chapter
In 2004, the Oregon chapter of the Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA) initiated annual awards to recognize those Oregon labor-management relations practitioners whose accomplishments and approach to labor relations are widely admired by labor, management, and neutrals. The individuals honored have demonstrated commitment to the collective bargaining process, extensive experience in collective bargaining, integrity, and involvement in the labor relations community.
There are two award categories for labor and for management. One honors persons in line positions (e.g., stewards and supervisors) whose role is administering labor agreements, the other honors person such as union officers, business agents, managers, and human resources personnel whose role is to develop and negotiate labor agreements. Attorneys who represent the parties are included in the second award level. There are two other award categories: one is for Neutrals, Agency Staff and Academics; the Emeritus category is for persons no longer working full-time in collective bargaining.
2023 Maggie Awards Nominations
Maggie Awards Nomination Cover Letter (read before nominating!)
2022 Award Winners
Kathy Peck, Counsel, Peck, Rubanodd & Hatfield
Labor Practitioner Award
Lory Kraut, Counsel, City of Portland
Management Practitioner Award
2021 Award Winners
Ariana Jacob, Educator, Portland State University
Labor Practitioner Award
Bob Bussel, Educator, University of Oregon
Lifetime Achievement Award
2020 Award Winners
Stephen Gunvalson, Educator, Rigler Elementary School
Humanitarian Award
Stephen White, Educator, Rigler Elementary School
Humanitarian Award
Jessie Osuna-Mondragon, Educator, Rigler Elementary School
Humanitarian Award
Robert Camarillo, Executive Secretary, Oregon State Building & Construction Trades Council
Humanitarian Award
2019 Award Winners
Tom Chamberlain, President, Oregon AFL-CIO
Lifetime Achievement Award
Shirley Block, President and Business Representative, ATU Local 757
Labor Practitioner Award
Nancy Hungerford, Attorney, Hungerford Law Firm
Management Practitioner Award
2018 Award Winners
Sheryl Miller, NW Technology and Compliance Labor Coordinator, Kaiser Permanente, SEIU Steward
Labor Practitioner Award
Sandra Smith-Gangle, Retired Arbitrator
Neutral Emeritas Award
2016 Award Winners |
| Margaret Olney Bennett, Hartman, Morris and Kaplan Labor Practitioner Award |
| Bradley Clark & Jan R. Holmes Industry Arbitrators ILWU/PMA Columbia River/Oregon Area Neutral Award |
| Kathryn Logan Chair, Oregon ERB Emeritus Award |
| Cyndi Furseth Lifetime Achievement Award |
Our 2015 honorees and their respective nominators were:
- Cherry Harris, Coordinator (Retired), International Union of Operating Engineers Local 701. Nominated by Barbara Diamond, attorney and Talia Stroessel, attorney at Bennett Hartman Morris Kaplan, LLP.
- Tracy Barton, RPh, NW Local Representative of Guild for Professional Pharmacists, Pharmacist at Kaiser Permanente. Nominated by Kaiser Permanente Senior Labor Relations Consultants Ivy Markesino and Jonathan Donehower.
- Rob Nosse, Labor Relations Representative, Oregon Nurses Association. Nominated by Todd Lyon attorney at Fisher and Phillips Attorneys, and Alan Yoder and Whitney Wong at ONA.
- Barbara Diamond, Labor attorney. Nominated by Talia Stroessel, attorney at Bennett Hartman, Morris & Kaplan, LLP Attorneys; Nathan Sykes, Deputy Metro Attorney, Metro Regional Government; Paul Gamson, retired Chair of the Oregon Employment Relations Board; and Erica Askin, Business Manager, Laborers, Local 483.
- Tim Caplice, Vice President Human Resources, Consolidated Metco. Nominated by Joe Kear, Business Representative/Organizer, International Association of Machinists, District W24 and Ron Ferguson, Human Resources Manager, Consolidated Metco, Inc.
- Wayne Landsverk, Partner, Miller, Nash, Graham & Dunn, LLP, Attorneys. Nominated by Todd Lyon, Partner, Fisher and Phillips Attorneys, and Michael Tedesco, Tedesco Law Group and University of Oregon Law School.
- Darrell Clark, Commissioner of Mediation, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Nominated by Jim Bailey, Arbitrator, Paul Stuckenschneider, Arbitrator, and Julie Kettler, Commissioner, FMCS.
Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients:
- Bill Rector, Kaiser Permanente
- Burton White, Mediator/Arbitrator
- Connie Weimer, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (Retired)
Previous Oregon LERA Chapter Awards Recipients
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| Labor Practitioner | Paul McKenna, SEIU 503 | Kathy Schmidt, OFNHP, Kaiser Permanente | Gene Mechanic. Esq.; John Etten, UFCW 555 | Karla Spence, SEIU 503 |
| Steward Level | Mary Verpoorten, UFCW 555 | Julie Markiewicz, SEIU, Local 49, Kaiser Permanente | ||
| Management Practitioner | Richard F. Liebman | Jim Pruitt, Kaiser-Permanente; Kaiser Partnership | Cathy Schuh, DAS, State of Oregon | Joe Richards |
| Management Facility Level | Mary Rowe, City of Milwaukie | |||
| Neutrals, Agency Staff, Academics | Nancy Brown, Arbitrator | Cathleen Callahan, NLRB | Wendy Greenwald, State Conciliator | |
| Emeritus | Duane “Buck” Buckmaster, Arbitrator | Kenneth Upton, Multnomah County | Edward Clay, UFCW 555; Donna Cameron | |
| Monica Smith, Attorny | Gregory A. Hartman, Robert Shiprack, Oregon State Building Trades Council | Gregory A. Hartman, Robert Shiprack, Oregon State Building Trades Council | Nelda Wilson, IUOE, Local 701 | |
| Steward Level | Tommy Rudd ILWU |
Larry Bartasavich, AFSCME, Local 88; Lisa Beasley, SEIU, Local 49 |
Frank Rouse, Daimler Truck Plant | |
| Management Practitioner | Nelson Atkin, Barran Liebman, LLP | John and Joan Shipley, Dennis Uniform Mfg. Co. | Brian Morrison | Jim P. Cox, Portland General Electric |
| Facility Level | Leslie Toll, St. Charles Medical Center, Bend | Debbie Avakian, Providence Medical Center | Gena Bailey, Kaiser-Permanente | |
| Marcus Widenor LERC, University of Oregon |
Marcus Widenor, LERC, University of Oregon | Robert “Bob” Nightingale, Oregon State Conciliator | Howell Lankford, Arbitrator | |
| Emeritus | Sally Newton, Kaiser-Permanente | Paul Stuckenschneider, FMCS | Eva Corbin, State of Oregon | |
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | ||
| Labor Practitioner | Michael Tedesco, Attorney | Diane Lovell, AFSCME Council 75, Local Union 328 | Sarah Thompson, Oregon Nurse Assoication | |
| Labor Steward | Dannica Kaer, Kaiser-Permanente | Dwain Panian, Daimler Truck Plant | David Wilson, Mountain View High School | |
| Management Practictioner, Facility Level | Kathleen Fuller-Poe, Multnomah County | Janeen Reding, St. Anthony’s Hospital Pendleton | Patrice Boose, Kaiser Permanente; Bill Mullenburg, Portland General Electric | |
| Neutrals, Agency Staff, Academics | William Greer, Arbitrator | William Greer, Arbitrator | Helen Moss, LERC University of Oregon | |
| Emeritus Award | Verne Newcomb, Attorney |