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Norman D. Malbin

Norman joined Local 48 in August 1998.  He retired in June 2014.  A memorial service will be on Saturday, December 9th at 2 PM.  The family requests no flowers.  If you would like to send a card, please send it to Local 48 attention The Malbin Family.

 

Obituary by Peter Shapiro

            Norman David Malbin, Portland labor lawyer who served for more than two decades as General Counsel for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 48, died of heart failure on October 1, at the age of 68.

            He was an influential and highly respected figure in the Oregon labor movement. Hundreds of union activists were trained at the annual Oregon Labor Law Conference, which he founded in 1996 and directed until his retirement three years ago.  He wrote a pamphlet while still in private practice, explaining wage and hour law in layperson’s language. It is still widely read by workers of all trades who deal with wage theft and other abuses of non-union contractors.

            He inherited a passion for social justice from his parents, both of whom paid a price for their convictions during the McCarthy era. His father, Dr. Morris Malbin, treated workers in Portland’s shipyards during World War II and was instrumental in setting up Kaiser’s pioneering group health insurance plan for union members during and after the war. Dr. Malbin also passed along a passion for sailing to his son, who always joked that he wanted to be a tugboat captain when he grew up.

            Norman studied psychology at the University of Denver, planning to be a child psychologist. Upon graduating, he took a series of jobs with non-profits dealing with youth unemployment and delinquency. But a stint as Director of Research for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries sparked an interest in labor law, and he began taking night classes at Lewis and Clark Law School. Upon passing the bar, he spent three years with two different firms before opening his own office. He served both unions and individual workers without union protection.

            At IBEW Local 48 Norman provided free legal services at the union hall, where union members could get advice on a wide variety of legal problems. Though he formally retired in 2014, he continued to do work for IBEW. Two of the last projects that Norman had been working on were a union research project on job discrimination against women electricians and a grant proposal for FASCETS, a pioneering non-profit founded by his sister Diane Malbin to educate people about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and other neurobehavioral conditions.

            Behind Norm’s take-charge personality and booming voice was a caring and sensitive man with a big heart and a wonderful sense of humor. He was skilled at conflict resolution and generous in spirit and deed, extending himself time and again to people needing help. He loved a good argument, not just for the thrill of competition but out of genuine curiosity and confidence that his adversaries had something to teach him. He took pride that his two sons were both union members and politically active.  He was most in his element sailing the Columbia and the San Juan Islands, coaching his two sons’ soccer teams during their respective middle school years, and gathering with family and friends on the Washougal River. If people were singing, he could be counted on to join in with his deep bass voice.

            Norman is survived by Wendy Temko, his wife of 38 years; sons Ben and Zak; daughter-in-law, Nicole; grandchildren Remy and Tessa; two sisters; and a large family of close relationships and deep friendships.  The family asks that memorial contributions be sent to one of three organizations that were important to him: the Northwest Workers Justice Project Northwest Workers Justice Project, The Pacific Northwest Labor History Association Pacific Northwest Labor History, and FASCETS FASCETS.    

A celebration of life will take place Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. at the IBEW Local 48 Hall, 15937 NE Airport Way, Portland.

 

To read the NW Labor Press in memoriam article, please click here:

https://nwlaborpress.org/2017/10/norm-malbin-1949-2017/?utm_content=buffer4d74b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Born: 

Sunday, July 17, 1949

Died: 

Sunday, October 1, 2017
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