Northwest labor press., June 05, 2009, Page 8, Image 8

JUNE 5, 2009:NWLP
6/2/09
10:18 AM
Page 8
City’s most vulnerable will feel
impact of police program cuts
Non-sworn personnel are criticizing
a Portland Police Bureau proposal to
eliminate a unit that serves the city’s
elderly residents, as well as victims of
sexual assault and potential suicide vic-
tims.
At the heart of the employees’ dis-
satisfaction is the Police Bureau’s plan
to cut — as part of an overall “reorga-
nization” — the Portland Police Infor-
mation & Referral Unit. The five-mem-
ber unit has handled nearly 200,000
calls in the last two years.
James Hester, staff representative
for Local 189 of the American Federa-
tion of State, County and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME), the union rep-
resenting the workers, says the Infor-
mation & Referral Unit fulfills a unique
role entirely different in nature than the
city’s 911 emergency call center.
“This unit responds to our city’s
senior citizens who sometimes simply
get confused and need help,” said Hes-
ter. “They also frequently assist victims
of sexual assault and rape who are
afraid and seeking guidance, or people
on the verge of suicide, and even young
women being pushed into prostitution.
These are people in desperate situations
with nowhere else to turn.”
Continuing the unit would cost the
city approximately $230,000, a “nomi-
nal amount compared to the millions
committed to the Police Bureau budget
annually,” Hester said.
Hester noted that two of the posi-
tions are federally funded.
“But this isn’t just about $230,000,”
said Hester. “This program is about the
people of Portland and the value this
program brings to the City of Portland
and the Police Bureau.”
Hester said the proposal to cut the
Information & Referral Unit is indica-
tive of larger problems encompassed
within the entire reorganization plan,
problems Hester said are exacerbated
by the Bureau’s lack of communication
with its non-sworn employees. Those
employees, Hester emphasized, are the
front line workers handling the crises
on a day-to-day basis.
Representing nearly 1,200 mem-
bers, AFSCME Local 189 is the largest
public employee union in the City of
Portland and the leading partner of the
1,800 member District Council of
Trade Unions.
Motorcycle ‘poker run,’ raffle,
chili cook-off set for June 13
A new Harley-Davidson motorcycle
will be in the cards for one lucky raffle
participant at this year’s “Unions for
Kids” Motorcycle Poker Run Saturday,
June 13, at IBEW Local 48’s union hall
at 15937 NE Airport Way, Portland.
Registration for the event starts at 9
Oregon unionists
come up short in
public elections
For local unions hoping to get mem-
bers elected to non-partisan local of-
fices, Oregon’s May 19 special election
was a disappointment.
Scott Bailey, a member of the Amer-
ican Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees (AFSCME), lost
his race for Portland Public School
Board, Zone 5 .
Former AFSCME Local 189 vice
president Chuck Moffitt placed third in
a three-way race for Position 2 on the
Board of Multnomah Education Serv-
ice District.
Teachers union leader Deborah
Barnes lost her race for mayor of Mil-
waukie — by 26 votes.
Earl Scott, a member of Interna-
tional Longshore and Warehouse Union
Local 21, lost a race for Port of St. He-
lens Commission, Position 5.
And union Fire Fighter Malic Mor-
ris lost in his bid for a seat on the Polk
County Fire District #1 board.
PAGE 8
a.m. The drawing for the motorcycle
— a 2009 Dyna Low Rider FXDL val-
ued at $16,999 — will take place at 4
p.m.
A limited number of tickets will be
sold at a cost of $10 each. All proceeds
go to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital
in Portland.
Money is also raised the day of the
motorcycle ride through registration
fees, from sponsors, a silent auction,
50/50 raffle, and a chili cookoff.
Unions for Kids is a registered non-
profit and an all-volunteer organization,
with all proceeds going to the kids at
Doernbecher Hospital.
Tickets for the motorcycle raffle
can be purchased at the IBEW &
United Workers Federal Credit Union,
9955 SE Washington St., Portland, and
at the Carpenters Hall at 2215 N. Lom-
bard, Portland.
For more information, call Lee
Duncan at 503-260-5905 or visit their
Web site at www.unions forkids.org.
Apprentices from seven states show off
skills in brick, tile and marble crafts
George Matt Milne (above), and
Phil Russo (right) represented
Bricklayers and Allied Craft
Workers Local 1 of Oregon at
the Western States Brick, Tile
and Marble Regional
Apprenticeship Contest May 30.
The day-long event took place in
the parking lot of the Jantzen
Beach Red Lion Hotel in
Portland and included 45
apprentices representing 10
union locals from California,
Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico,
Colorado, Washington, and
Oregon. Winners were Alfredo
DeLaCruz of Colorado Local 7
in bricklaying; Pavel Ugarcovici
of California Local 18 in tile
setting; and Nikolajs Pastuhovs
of Washington Local 1 in marble
setting. Winners received cash
and prizes and an opportunity to
compete in the national finals
later this year in Bowie, Md.
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NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
JUNE 5, 2009