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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 9, 1973)
K rs F ran f* îe r .'oora i ry U n iv e rs i POR TLA ND V o lu m « 3, N o . 4 4 P o rtla n d , O re g o n AN IGUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER THE ONLY NEWSPAPER IN THE WHOLE WIPE Dump truck belonging to David Daw ion wait» (or P.U.C. license. Black dump trucker meets opposition David Dawaon haa applied to the Oregon State Public Utilities Commissioner for a dump truck license. Oregon law requires that in order to obtain a license an applicant must prove the need for the truck anil that other persons ran contest his application. At the present time there is only one Black licensed dump truck owner in Oregon. W illia m Jones, who was awarded his license this last spring. Four white truckers have protested the application, in eluding Arnold Johnson and Aaron Hunt. Daw son purchased his truck in June and applied immediately for a license, lie contacted several ron tractors and found that there is work available but that he needs a license. He also found that the white truck companies will not hire a Black dump truck driver. Dawson has been working for W illiam Jones but is anxious to begin work on his own. When Jones applied for his license he also met opposi turn from the white truckers who claimed there was not enough work. However, an other while truck owner had recently been awarded a license with no contest. Dawson has found that some contractors are willing to meet their affirm ative action requirements through hiring a Black dump truck, hut that Black companies are not available. This is one of the reasons he maintains that his truck is needed It was also verified at Jones' hearing that there is a need for additional trucks and that existing trucks cannot handle all of the work. A native of Portland, Daw son has o|>crated the House of Sound for the past 6 years. His decision to pur chase a dump truck was precipitated by this three year old son, Che, who asked for it. PCC receives grant for Vet Service* p Portland Community Col lege has been awarded $109. 000 to improve and increase services for veterans. M onies w ere aw ard ed through the Cranston Amend inenl. passed by Congress the spring of 1973, to col leges and universities who showed at least a 25% in crease in veterans over the previous year on a head count basis. PCC‘s veterans enrollment totaled 2,251 in 1972 73, an increase of 121% in one year. It is the intention of the Cranston Amendment to have one half the allotted funds designated for improvement of service for veterans and one half for the school's gen eral fund. However, Port land C o m m u n ity C ollege president Amo De Bernardis has directed that the college's entire award be expended for the improvement of ser vires for veterans. The PCC veteran's pro gram, to liegin immediately, Nate Proby, Chairman of the United Minorite Workers, discusses intentions to place minority workers in . II publically funded jobs. progran^ Al though the ap p ren tice s program was revised several years ago in an effort to include more minorities, the program is not functioning properly because the unions are still not accepting Blacks into their apprenticeship pro grams. An example is the E le c tric a l W o rk e rs U n io n , which had 243 apprentices on December 31. 1972, of which 16 were Black, one Oriental, one Indian, and one Chicano. placed. Others have been placed in apprenticeships and ■Wl er serving two or three ye ar* successful are lerm i nated or .q u it because of overt disrrimina'ion, so that few of those who do get into the apprenticeship program get journeyman status. Proby was told by Bill Schultz. Chairman of the State Apprenticeship Coun cil, that he dissatisfied with the program but has been unable to make changes. Although contractors and unions state they are look ing for qualified minority workers, a large number of Blacks have passed the ap prenticeship entry examina tions and have not been The total of apprentices reported by the State Ap prenticeship Council is 2,037. Sixty three are Black, 10 Oriental, 15 Indian. 19 Chi cano. and 2 other. Farmworkers fill jails Cesar Chavez, head of the Unitixf Earm W orkers Union, has called on s u p p o rte rs across the nation to "stand with us and be arrested". A p p ro x im a te ly 2500 farm workers and their supporters have been arrested in the The arrests result from an injunction that restricts pic keting of the struck fields to one picket for every 100 feet and restrictions on the use of bullhorns. Chavez says the restrictions violate constitu tional rights of free speech and assembly. Fresno of ficials have avoided a court test of the constitutionality of the injunction by charging pickets with refusal to dis perse. I Please turn to pg. 6, col. 21 Bike offer extended S a ve fo r w e a lth ., r id e f o r h e a lt h The Benj. Franklin has great buys on bikes for those who save now! FOLDING BICYCLES With $5,000 deposit - $25 With $2,500 deposit — $35 With $250 deposit — $45 10-SPEED BICYCLES With $5,000 deposit - $45 With $2,500 deposit - $60 With $250 deposit - $75 Franklin Hobart H Hazan. Praa • 22 Ottica» • Phona 248-1234 Homi Ottica Franklin Bldg , Portland. Oragon 97204 San Joaquin Valley during two weeks of mass demon strations. About 300 persons remain in jail, including a group of 59 priests and nuns held in the Fresno County Jail who have been on a hunger strike for eight days. Chavez blasted the arrests as "a dis graceful misuse of justice . . . truly a blot on America." John Beck, Plumbing Contractor, Eugene Jackson, Busi ness Manager of the Albina Contractors Association, and Tom Holcraft of Holcraft Homes discuss need for minority employment. Contractors agree Tom H olrraft of Holcraft Homes agreed Monday to sub contract work to minoirty contracts. Holcraft Homes builds a number of houses in the ,*'hina area. Holcraft was approached by John Beck re g a rd in g p lum bing work on a group of houses on N.E. Stafford Beck said he was unable to make contact with Holcraft so he showed up at the job with his crew, 4 I I demanding work. A fter dis cussing the m atter with the representative of the Albina Contractors Association, Hoi craft agreed to ask his plumb ing contractor to give a portion of the plumbing work to Beck. Holcraft also agreed to notify ACA of future build ing plans so minority con tractors can bid on the jobs. Approximately 50 ranches are being picketed, including those whose contracts with the U F W U ex p ired tw o weeks ago. The strike has spread from the grape and lettuce fields into melons. The Union began as a m ovem ent among farm w o rke rs to organize for better wages; fringe benefits such as social security and unemployment compensation; sanitary working conditions such as having toilet facilities and running water available to workers; and improved safety conditions such as safe pesticides. Many of the contracts signed three years ago, after years of pickets, strikes and boycotts, have expired and negotiations be tween the growers and the union are at a standstill. PEOPLE Homeowners complain -- poor work The Observer continues to receive complaints from com munity residents on federally funded rehabilitation done on their homes. Most of the complaints are regarding the quality of the work produced by the companies contracted to do the work and the seeming lack of concern on on the part of Portland De velopment Commission cm ployees who oversee the work. prenticeship T h u rs d ay, August 9, 197 3 10< p er copy WORLD THAT REALLY CARES ABOUT Minority Workers sue unions Nalhun Proby, chairman of the United M inority Workers, announced that his orgariiza tion will immediately file suits in federal court against four local unions, charging racial discrimination. Unions named in the suit are the Plumbers Union. Sheet Metal W orkers Ix»cal 16. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers I area I 46. and the International Brotherhood of O p e ra tin g Engineers. The U M W also intends to see that minority employees are hired in all federally funded co n stru ctio n jobs. They are currently meeting with Hoffman Construction Company to negotiate jobs on the federal building being constructed in downtown. Proby said the U M W does not want to shut down jobs, because e v e ry o n e needs work, but that they will close jobs 11 necessary to obtain minority employment. The four unions are charged with discriminating against minorities in union member ship and in the apprentice ship program. Proby ex plained that the Operating Engineers have about tiOfM) members and say they have 17 minority member*. Mr. Proby took five Blacks and five Indians to the Operating Engineer* to apply for mem bership, but they were re fused membership. Harold Pippins, President of the U nion, said th ey w ere not accepting app licatio n s for members and that mem hers have to be journeymen, hut they might establish an a p p r e n t ic e s h ip p ro g ram . Business manager Bus* Joy said there will be no ap prenticeship program and no changing of requirements. One of the ways the unions retain their all white mem bership is through the ap OBSERVER Mrs. Ernestine Greer com plained about the work done on her home in the Wood lawn area by Morris Con struction Company. Mrs. Greer's complaints include: the paint around the win dows on the front of the house is peeling off; the bathroom sink leaks; metal edging on the bark roof is bent; the downspouts on the garage are coming off and the splash box is missing. Mrs. Greer was referred ori ginally to Morris Construe tion Company by her re habilitation counselor. Bobbie Jackson. When she talked to Mr. Jackson after the work had been completed, he said he would do what he could. M r. Morris promised to re pair the work, which was done during the summer of 1972. but has not done so. Mrs. Bosie Davis' home was re p a ired by E a rl D r y e r through the Portland De velopment Commission. Mrs. Davis reports that when she contacted the elec trician about her fuse box he told her to call the general contractor. M r. D ryer, be cause if he came he would have to charge her $15 per hour. She called M r. Dryer, who told her that he would also have to charge $15 per hour. PDC guidelines state that the work is guaranteed for a year. Mrs. Davis gave up and did not call Mr. D ryer again. Mrs. Davis' complaints are that no sealant was put around the bathtub, allowing the w ater to run under the linoleum. The pipes leading to the toilet leak. The win dows were to have been made to open, but when the worker broke a window pane of glass in one, he did not try to loosen the others. Mrs. Davis did not see her PDC Behabilitation specialist, W arren Hansen, after the work was completed, and did not tell him about her dis satisfaction. Mrs Davis, an elderly lady, said she did not know where to find him when he did not contact her She decided to give up and accept what was done, but wonders why the contractors will not do a good job when they are paid with federal grants. A lady who prefers to remain anonymous at this time complains that she re ceived nothing for her $750 grant. She was to have had a new sink, a new front door and repairs to porch and step railings Her sink leaks and the area where the pipes come into the house was not covered, so one can look outside from in the kitchen. The front door does not fit. has no weather stripping, and the door knob keeps coming loose. The rails were not repaired. The lady has complained to her rehabilitation counselor but he told her she should sign the contractor's check because "we need to live, too". She has been waiting since January for the work to be completed, but now plans to pursue the matter w ith H U D . Warren Hansen, the Be habilitation Counselor, said the lady had refused weather stripping around the door, but he would look into the matter and have the work done if she so desires. Ben G ant purchased a home that he said had been rehabilitated by H U D . He bought the home for $10,950 through Plummer Beal Es tate with a loan from First National Bank. When he moved in he found there were 6 violations of city code which must be re p a ire d . There were also 5 violations of the Property Behabilita tion Standards for the King V ernon Sabin Neighborhood Development Program. Gant applied for a home repair grant from PDC to make the repairs required by the city. He was first told that he was ineligible because he had no income. He was advised to apply for his unemployment compen nation so he would have an income. He then contacted PDC again and was told by Vern Smith that PDC could (Please turn to pg. 6. col. 3) PPS increase voluntary busing P o rtlan d Public Schools administrative transfer pro gram. designed to alleviate over crowding and racial im balance in the school system, expects some 2.000 students in the program during the school vear beginning this fall. The voluntary transfer pro gram was initiated by the Board of Education in 1965 to help reduce racial isolation and o vercro w d in g in the neighborhood schools, parti cularly in the Model Cities area. One major part of the program is the suburban transfer plan which began in 1967. Under this program stu d en ts from schools in which racial imbalance exists can transfer to certain co operating suburban school districts. During the 1972*73'school year a total o fi(J 5 students participated in the suburban transfer program. School officials expect that number to climb to about 150 this year. Under the suburban trans fer program Portland stu d e n ts fro m e le m e n t a r y schools such as King, Wood lawn, Humboldt, Boise, V e r non, Sabin and Irvington were transferred to elemen tarv schools in Beaverton, David Douglas. Lake Oswego and Parkrose school districts. Jobs, training on agenda The Oregon .Administrative District I I Manpower Area Planning Council, chaired by Mayor Neil Goldschmidt, will hold its monthly meeting on Friday. August 10. at 9:3t> a.m. in the W ater Services Building Auditorium. 1600 S. W. Sixth Avenue. The agenda will include the AGC Hometown Plan, the Portland OIC program proposal, and NYC In School proposals. All interested persons are invited to attend. The M A PC is responsible for making funding and pro- gra nt ma t ic recom menu a t ions to the Department of Labor on manpower programs oper ating in the four county metropolitan area. Those districts entered into agreements with the Portland School district with Portland p ro vid in g t r a n s p o r t a t io n through state and federal funding. An expanded administra live transfer program will be in operation in the Portland schools in 1973-74. Teams of specialists w o rkin g under T itle IV of the Civil Rights Act during the summer and last spring have been assist ing students and parents in becoming involved in the program. Expectations are that nearly 500 new transfer students will be added to the program. Last year 53 Portland ele m e n ta ry schools received nearly 1,600 student trans fers. Actors James Phillips and Rod Smith portray a scene depicting another version of how the West was really won. I Photo by Rosemary Allen) Street Theatre entertains crowds For the first time in Ore gon an Acting Company of ten actors will not only per form free of charge before the public, but they will also bring the show to the public. This unique company is ap p ro p ria te ly e n title d " T h e Oregon Free Street Theatre". During August the Free Street Theatre will perform within a 100 mile radius of Portland. All performances are presented outdoors in cordoned off s tre e ts , play grounds, parks, campgrounds, shopping center parking lots, ball fields, etc. The theme. Man and Land, structures the outline of a ninety minute presentation packed with music, comedy, dance and drama. Much of the program is devoted to wards generating creative thought and dialogue between the cast and an adult audi ence. The Company is headed by L e w is and C la rk faculty members James Ostholthoff, assistant professor of Thea tre, and Allan K ittell, pro fessor of History. James O sth o lth o ff w orked in a street theatre workshop in Chicago as a coordinator. The Chicago Theatre, which was located in the Black area on the west side, was made jp of 30 youngsters. The Oregon Free Street Theatre project is sponsored by Lewis and Clark College and funded by grants from Joint Committee for the Hu manities in Oregon and the Rockfeller Foundation of New York. Most of the material used in the performances are writ ten by members of the cast. The "theme" song, which asks a question to the public, was written by cast member Jim Studer, while all dance choreography was originated by cast member Eric McGill. In each performance 2 or 3 actual O regon co u rtro o m trials are portrayed. One in volves Indians and their being alienated from the land; Jap anese and land alienation as a result of imprisonment in concentration camps; and city dweller's alienation from land as a result of urban renewal and the like. The performance by no means seeks to serve as a spokesman for minorities or civil rights. But, likewise, it portrays a clear concise pic ture of man and his relation ship to the land; sometimes positive and sometimes nega tive. So, for pleasurable, in formative and soul searching evening or afternoon enter tainment, check the schedule below for an Oregon Free Street Theatre performance in your neighborhood.
