The Carpenters Union region that covers Southern California, Las Vegas and Phoenix recently elected the first Hispanic to lead the powerful labor group. Pete Rodriguez, a longtime union official, is the new executive secretary-treasurer (EST) of the Southwest Regional Council of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, which represents 58,000 members across Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Southern California. Rodriguez says that being Hispanic and a Spanish speaker gives him extra credibility on the jobsite. “I can talk with Spanish-speaking workers in their native . . .