-------------------------------------- ——---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- APRIL 2Q. 2007 JUStjOUt |
5
letters
CAP Hiring Called Out
To the E ditor :
Recently, several people 1 know with impressive
résumés have applied at Cascade AIDS Project and
not been hired. Fortunately, I was able to gather
some information from some insiders at CAP
regarding this situation.
One of the applicants, a gay man in his 30s,
applied for an events coordinator position. He
acquired his skills working at a busy Los Angeles
nonprofit and for various studios in Hollywood.
Along with having two degrees, he has more than
enough experience to promote events for CAP. He
was not hired. An insider at CAP asked her super
visor to explain why this person was not hired and
was told “he doesn’t fit into our matrix."
Candidate No. 2 was applying for a basic
accountant position. He has 30 years of experience
behind him doing payroll, running an office at a
law firm, GL balancing, etc. He also was not hired.
Reason? When he called to inquire, he was told he
was not a good fit within the organization (which
is difficult to understand, considering they never
interviewed him).
A third friend, this one a female in her 30s, was
applying for an assistant administrative position.
Again, she has enough experience to be an office
manager. As with the other two people who applied
with CAP, she was not hired. When she called after
a week to inquire on the status of her application,
she was asked to call back in a week. “We have not
made a decision,” she was told. There were two
people up for this job: her and another (younger)
gentleman who was ultimately hired.
All three of these applicants waited at least a
week or more before calling to find out they did
not get the job. Only then was a formal letter of
rejection mailed to these applicants. It’s wrong for
CAP to make people wait for a decision when one
has already been made due to their systematic hir
ing practices. 1 don’t exactly understand the
details of CAP’s hiring matrix; all I know is that it
is denying jobs to people who more than meet the
qualifications. Several of the people I know inter
nally have considered leaving CAP, not wanting
to work for a company with prejudicial hiring
practices.
Senate Rill 2, the Oregon Equality Act, was
created to add protections against discrimination
based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It’s
shameful that we might actually need something
like this to protect us from one of our own.
CAP’s own mission statement says some people
lose their housing and medical care because of
AIDS. People also lose their housing and benefits
when they are refused jobs due to some precon
ceived notion of who is going to fit in because of
looks/race/sex/age/identity. I question CAP’s abili
ty to serve the public while refusing employment to
the same people it claims it advocates for.
M ike K rzeszak
Portland
Gordon in Denial
To the E ditor :
If Republican U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith is
a “friend” of gays and lesbians, then why does he
4
y
Oregon Tradeswomen, Irx
—-2007
work so hard and successfully to deny us basic civil
protections in the Oregon Constitution?
(“Honestly, Gordon," April 6] Why did the cam
paign literature for “Yes on 36" prominently feature
powerful statements of support from Gordon
Smith? Why does Gordon Smith think his person
al religious prejudice tnimps the American promise
of equality of opportunity for all?
There’s a generational shift occurring here,
and both Gordon and Terry Bean are behind the
curve. Terry, like Gordon, is another “traditional
ist,” and perhaps on some level thinks marriage
might be a stretch. Traditionalists, gay and
straight, look in amazement at all the gay and
lesbian families with children these days who are
not only thriving and active in schools and
neighborhiHxIs but also done settling for second-
class American legal status because of someone’s
religious beliefs.
Terry is also fine with Gordon because Terry is
rich. Mary Cheney is rich, too. Rich people can buy
their rights. They’re not too worried about backing
a Republican senator who votes to selectively
exclude their fellow gays and lesbians from consti
tutionally guaranteed marriage rights, as long as he
cuts their taxes. (Who cares that you won’t receive
your partner’s Social Security benefits when you’ve
got that much money in the bank?) And Gordon
Smith certainly likes rich people—especially rich
people who give him political cover in the pages of
Just Out.
Touchy, Touchy
To the E ditor :
Even though I'm a heterosexual, I am not
a homophobe. In fact, I’ve been reading Just Out for
years, and 1 subscribe to e-mail newsletters from
The Advocate and Out magazines. I guess you could
call me gay-curious. Rut I have a question I hope
somebody can answer for me: Why are homo
sexuals so easily offended?
An asshole member of the Rush administration
recently said homosexuality is immoral, and the
gay community went ballistic. They were so
offended by that jerk’s stupid remarks, they
demanded an apology. What 1 want to know is,
why do you let those kinds of people upset you so
much? All you’re doing is letting them win. They
want you to be hurt and upset by their .intolerant
bullshit. Why do you let them bother you so
much? I don’t give a shit what people say about
me. They can call me names and put me down all
they want. I don’t care. It doesn’t hurt me a bit.
Why? Because I have high self-esteem and I’m not
insecure.
1 think all the so-called minority.groups are way
too sensitive. Perhaps you should figure out a way
to bcxist your self-esteem and confidence so homo-
phobic idiots and their stupid remarks won’t hurt
you so much. Honestly, when you demand an apol
ogy from these dumbasses, you make yourself look
pathetic and you embarrass yourself. Don’t let the
homophobic bigots win.
I
i
i
I
i
B ill G riesar
S hirley D. J ackson
Portland
Portland
Free Admission
WOMEN
in Trades
Career Fair
Financial Group, LLC
I
Retirement • Life Insurance • College Planning • Long-Term Care • Sustainable Investing
l’Arno
Floreid Walker
project
Financial Planning Strategist
floreid ©wfgadvisors.com
May 5W
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Safe, effective chemical
503-335-8200 x21
dependency treatment for
the GLBTQ community.
www.tradeswomen.net
NECA/IBEW Electrical Training Center
16021 NE Airport Way, Portland
Greg Look*
II
I!
Financial Specialist
grvg©wfgadvisors.com
5O3-445-939O
www.wfgadvisors.com
3529 NE Broadway Suite* 100 • Portland, OR 97232
3550 Liberty Rd. S Suite 230 • Salem.OR 97302
Floraid Walker* is an Investment Representative ottering Securities and Investment Advisory Services through AIG Financial Advisors. Inc.,
a registered broker-dealer and SEC registered investment adviser Member NASD/SIPC
Greg Look* is a Registered Representative offering Securities through AIG Financial Advisors. Inc . a registered broker-dealer Member NASD/SIPC
For more than thirty years the
Triangle Project has provided a safe,
private and respectful place for the
GLBTQ community to find recovery.
We know that you can’t get clean if
*
I’mAVAILABLE,
whenjotj are!
)l
jl
♦ I
you can’t be yourself People living
with HIV are welcome.
503-230-9654
info@triangleprojectoregon.org
www.triangleprojectoregon.org
... a program of Cascadia
Careful and energetic handling of
all your home financing needs
aMy MORTGAGE
cMii Advocates
6700 SW 105th Aw*., Suite 200 Beaverton. ( )R 97005
Toll Free («77) «2641900 Fax (503) 297-OH24
E-Mail: c< >lk*t*nwChntgadvrx'atn.cc an www.nitgadvt »cates.« >tn
Colleen Weed
Office 503«297«9900
Cell !
I
I
t
j