[March 3, 1942 – Feb. 23, 2021]
Bill Belanger, a retired apprenticeship coordinator and 54-year member of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 1, passed away at his North Portland houseboat Feb. 23. He was 78.
Bill Belanger
Belanger joined Local 1 in 1966 after being hired as an apprentice bricklayer on a project in Seaside, Oregon. He earned journeyman status in three and a half years.
He was active in the union and held many elected offices, including sergeant-at-arms, recording secretary, president, and business agent. He served as apprenticeship coordinator for several years in the early ’80s.
In 1985 he was elected executive secretary-treasurer of the Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council. Because the job did not pay a full-time salary at the time, he also worked part-time as a bricklayer. He left the council after one year to work full-time at his trade. In 1994 he was hired back as Local 1’s apprenticeship coordinator. He retired from that post in 2001. He remained active in the union until his death, regularly stopping by the union hall to visit.