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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 16, 1973)
per : :a Un! Task Force reviews Portland’s Hometown Plan Mayor Neil Goldschmidt appointed a task force to review the Hometown Plan, which is Portland's affirrua live action plan for the building trades. Members named to the Manpower Area Planning Council »uh com miltee are Chairman Leland Johnson, E xecutive Vice President of First National Bank of Oregon; Charles Moss, a Black utility worker with the City of Portland and associated with the Municipal Employees Union; and Lyle Eller, Regional Director of AFL-CIO, IIK D I. Marlene Boyless and Richard Broun stein were named by the Metropolitan Human Rela turns Commission. Working with the Task Force w ill be Tom Dorby, an MAPC staff mcuilier and Rita Clinton, an employee of the Human Re lations Commission. Carl Semington heads the MAPC staff and Phil McLauren, ad minislrative assistant to the mayor, serves as liaison In- tween the Task Force and the mayor's office. The Hometown Plan was written in 1970 following a directive from the federal government to approximately 70 cities to devise plans similar to the “ Philadelphia PORTLAND Volume 3, No. 45 Portland, Oregon IM I O N I Y NEWSPAPER IN AN fO U A l OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER fHE WHOLE WIDE Voter Education Project seeks citizen involvement The Urban League of Port land ha» launched a Voter Registration and Education Project, one of eight in the nation sponsored by the National Urban League. The goals of the project, directed by Terry Rawlins, is to in crease minority voter parti cipation in the Albina area by generating interest in and disseminating facts about is sue» that directly affect the citizen». The project will use volun leer» and graduate students from the local universities to monitor meetings of city and county government and agen cies that make policies af fecting the Albina area. In formation on these agencies, their fiolicies and procedures, plans and decisions will bo passed throughout the com munity so that the people will know what is hap,toning and can he a part of the derision making Rawlins believes the people of Albina to I m - capable of making their voices heard and of influencing decisions if a method ran be found to get information to them at the proper time Too often nothing is known about pend mg plans until their impact is felt ami then it is too late to intercede. The project is non partisan and will reveal both sides of any question. There w ill bo no attempt on the part of the project to lobby any issue, since the philosophy behind the project is that an in formed public will make wise decisions. Another important part of the project is Voter Educa lion. Rawlins emphasizes, especially to the young, that they cannot participate and cannot serve on juries if they are not registered to vole. TERRA RAWLINS A Community Forum Sys te rn will bring proponents and opponents of legislation to Albina to discuss the is sues in often meetings. The Portland project is funded by a $16,000 grant from the National Urban League for a six month period ending December 1st. At that time the project is expected to be self sufficient or have additional funding. Rawlins was raised in Port land, where he graduated from Grant High School. He graduated from the Univer sity of Oregon in 1970 with a Plan" to include minorities in the construction trades. Rep resentatives of management, labor and minority groups wrote the plan, which was in effect an agreement between the contractors and the labor unions. The Hometown Plan has never received funding and has never been enforced. Two attempts in 1972 to receive federal funding failed. bachelors degree in Sociology. He has taken graduate work at the University, working toward a Masters in Political Science. Rawlins served as Man power Services Programmer for the laine County Com munity Action Program be fore returning to Portland. In that poaition he designed career ladders for high school and community colleges and planned apprenticeship train ing for minorities. He pre viously was employed as a counselor by Operation Step Up in Portland. WORLD The Associated General Con tractors, which represents the contracting firms, admits the plan is not working arid blames the tail- ol funds for administration. Alexander Hicks, director of the Equal Opportunity Division of the E nvironm ental Protection Agency's Seattli office who has supervisory power over the Portland Hometown Plan, said the plan had been tor pe toed by the U.S. Depart ment of Labor, which had refused to fund it. flicks also found the program to be ineffective. Goldschmidt directed the Task Force to: 1) Conduct, with staff assis lance, a thorough review of the Hometown Plan and to assess its effectiveness in achieving it's stated goals and objectives during its first year and a half of operation. 21 To report its findings in written form within three months to the MAPC and to the mayor. Jt To make recommenda tions or corrective measures to fa- implemented in the present plan and as a course of action for the Building and Construction Industries and for the MAPC. Mayor Goldschmidt ad vised the Task Force that it can appoint additional mem tiers and that it should give consideration to bringing in management and the labor unions. Public hearings will la- held in the Albina community so that residents will have an opportunity to express their concerns. The Task Force will also serve as an MAPC A ffirm a tiv e Action sub council. It will review all manpower proposals to de termine that they address the priorities outlined in the Comprehensive Annual Man power Plan. The first priority of service will be to individuals below poverty level with racial or ethnic priorities as follows: Ameri c an Indians and Blacks; Span ish; other minorities; non minorities.” A ffirm a tiv e Action pro grams will he reviewed and manpower training geared to providing minority workers for vancancies that exist. ORSRRVRR THAT REALLY CARES ABOUT PEOPLE Ih u r s d a v , A u g u s t H i. 1973 10c p e r ro p y PDC seeks better image P o rtla n d D e v e lo p m e n t Commission Director John K e n w a r d , R e h a b ilita tio n Supervisor Ray Wilson anil Charles Taft, Director of Operations, met with the Ob server Monday to discuss the many complaints that are being made by Albina residents about home rehabili tation work done with PDC grants. Homeowners report poor work and complain about insensitive treatment by PDC employees. For the past four weeks the Observer has published complaints of homeowners and the resulting investigations by the Ob server and the Albina Con tractors Association. Mr. Kenward admitted de fiencies in communication be tween his staff and home owners and agreed to have his staff make more efforts to explain PDC procedures and the homeowner's rights to their recipients. Many homeowners are not aware that they can either select a contractor of their choice or ran have one ob tained by PDC through a bid process. The contract for repairs is made between the homeowner and the contrac tor. Policy of PDC has been to tell homeowners who are not satisfied with the work to write a letter lo the contrac tor with a copy to PDC. now homeowners to get them to sign the contractor's checks even if they are not satisifed with the work. This pressure, he states, is the result of at PDC Rehabilitation Counse tempting to finish a large lors will assist homeowners number of jobs in a short w rite th e ir letters when time. necessary. Homeowners are informed •that the contractor can file with the court for a lien on the Persons who are dissatis property if they are not paid. fled with work done by PDC They are not told their legal are asked to call Ray Wilson recourse or referred to Legal a, 2HH 5075. If you receive no •Aid for legal assistance. If the adequate response within two contractor should file for a weeks, please contact the lien, the decision would be Observer. In the meantime, made by the court and the the Observer ind the Albina homeowner would have the Contractors Association will opportunity to present his continue to receive and in case. The threat of a lien has vestigate complaints. had the effect of forcing some 4 homeowners to sign the checks, since they are afraid of losing their homes. The Rehabilitation Coun Article 38 of the HUD selors will be directed to be guidelines says: alert to unsatisfactory work, “The Commission shall be advise their clients of their the owner's representative rights, be available to their d u rin g the c o n s tru c tio n clients, and to follow up after period. The Commission will the work is done to see that it make periodic visits to the is satisfactory. site to familiarize himself Work that is completed is generally with the progress guaranteed for a period of and quality of the work and to one year. determine in general if the Mr. Wilson admitted that I Please turn to pg. 5, col. 7) pressure is often applied to Contractors, PDC agree: Minorities get priority Representatives of the ward agreed to make these $1.000. The ACA would use Albina Contractors Assoria figures available and if they the program to provide work tion, the Portland Develop show that minorities are not for minority contractors and ment Commission, Model getting a majority of the jobs workers; would provide train Cities, the Mayor's Office they should. PDC will in ing and consultation for mi and Commissioner Schwab's vestigate a new method of nority contractors; would in office met Wednesday to re allocating jobs. The current sure quality work; and would solve problems of minority system used is to ask for provide a better relationship employment and work qual three bids, which often elimi with the homeowners than ity in PDC housing programs nates small contractors from (Please turn to pg. 4, col. 6) in the Model Cities area. the competition. The bid ACA requested the meeting system will be reviewed and to raise these issues and to consideration given to ne apply to become the opera gotiating contracts. ting agency for the Model A new system for checking Cities Home Repair Program complaints is being devised now held by PDC. by Ray Wilson, and Albina Minority contractors claim Contractors Association Busi 'Reprinted from the Seattle they are not receiving a fair ness Manager Eugene Jack Facts I share of the Rehabilitation son will be asked to partici projects, which involve grants pate in this planning. All On a hot spring afternoon of $3,500 to reh ab ilita te case. complaints involving contrac in the little rural town of PDC's records for The award is part of a homes. tors who are members of Gibsland, Louisiana, during consent decree, entered last the past three years show ACA w ill I m - referred to the 1941, the Black High School month, resolving a 1971 Jus the greatest amount of work ACA office. was filled with parents and lice Department suit against going to white contractors. ACA requested that the friends of the small grad Local 3 of the Operating PDC’s Rehabilitation Super contract for the Model Cities uating high school class. The Engineers and a number of visor said up to date records Home Improvement Program valedictorian was nervously contractor associations. that would show the current be shifted from PDC to IxM-al 3 is the largest build trend are not available. ACA. This program pro finishing his speech extoling the virtues of Black men. ing trade l<x-al in the United PDC Director John Ken vides home repairs of up to You could clearly hear the States, w ith some 10,000 words of "and he along with members who operate heavy other men retake the oath construction machinery in that this nation shall not northern ( aliforma, Nevada. perish from the earth." The Utah and Hawaii. The complaint of four Black they were dropped because crowd applauded. The School Compensatory payments they did not pay a fee. The Superintendent hooted and will be made to Blacks and men against Local *40, Super men said they had never as the Valedictorian stumbled other minority members who Cargoes and Checkers of the International Longshoremen's lx-en |bld there was to I m - a off stage a little old lady were excluded from opera fee. Beno Johnson, Black, threw a bouquet of flowers ting engineers' jobs and from and Warehousemen's Union, ILWU. and the Pacific Moun and John McDermatt, white, in front of him. Not know ing apprenticeship training. appealed. McDermatt was whether to pick up the Under the consent decree. tain Association is being reinstated; Johnson was not. flowers and afraid to stoop 50 minority members will be heard in federal courts this The class action suit, filed over lest he collapse, the allowed to enroll immediately week. Booker Gibson, Andrew by Attorney Frederick Smith, eighteen year old boy sat in the four year apprentice Smith. Napoleon Jelks and asks that the union be en down to the tune of the ap ship program and w ill re Willie Tanner are charging joined from practicing dis plause and dreamed of the reive up to $2,000 upon com Local 840 with racial dis crimination and asks for com future, while his mother shed pletion of their training. tears of delight. pensatory damages. Earlier this year, the II.S. crimination in employment. The four men applied for The suit charges that Loral This was the boy's day. District Court in San Fran 840 had never employed He had been selected Class cisco ruled in favor of the work in the fall of 1967. Blacks in any capacity prior V a le d ic to ria n . Best A ll Justice Department in the Gibson, who applied first, case and ordered Local 3 to was denied an application on to October 6, 1967. At that Around Boy and the Student tw o occasions, then was time they hired 6 "B" card Most Likely to Succeed. He establish an affirmative ar tion program to increase given one after he called the workers. Class B workers had every right to be a bit m in o rity opp ortu nities to Civil Rights Division of the are not union members and woozy in the little rural area Bureau of Labor He and the have second priority at ob where nothing exciting ever work as operating engineers. Below the happened except the shoot The order set a five year others were given a few jobs taming jobs. goal for Blacks to attain 7 until February 20. 1968. when Class H are casual workers. ing of Clyde Barrow and they were removed from the There were no Black Class Bonnie Parker. percent of job and training list. In August of 1968. they, A workers, who are union Friday morning, August o pp ortu nities and other another Black and a white members, until July of 1973. 3rd, 1973, this same boy, minorities to attain an addi were sent letters stating (Please turn to pg. 6. col. 41 now a man of 51, stood tional I I.ft percent. z I Fisa bled father serves time for non-support. $120 or 15 days in jail Does it help to go to jail? Are more Blacks sentenced for non support than w hites? What do the more than 10 percent unemployment rate and rising costs do to the father who must support his family? These are the ques tions asked by Charles Brad well, Jr., who was sentenced to 15 days at Rocky Butte for being unable to pay his child support while disabled and unemployed. Brad-veil claims he paid his support faithfully, usually in advance, until poor health forced him to resign from his job at the Post Office in November of 1972. Bradwell had an operation on his knee in 1969 and was advised to seek light work. He also has a chronic back ailment and has been advised that he might eventually require a spinal fusion. In 1969 he at tended school through the State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, but had to drop out because he had insufficient income to sup- port his family. He then worked for the DEO Com munity Action programs, but quit and went back to heavy labor in order to earn suf ficie n t income. W ith a limited education he had begun work at the age of 11 and left school at an early age there were few ave nues open to him. He drove truck for the Post Office until he became too disabled to do the work, at which time he resigned. In the meantime. Bradwell had divorced his wife in June of 1971 and was regularly paying support for his three children, ages 18, 16, and 14. I nable to make regular pay ments after October of 1972, he made some partial pay ments and the full February payment from his retirement check. Bradwell is now remarried, to a white woman, and is attending Mount Hood Com munity College, taking pho tography. Bradwell has had a series of support hearings. The first, on February 12, 1973, after he had notified the court that he was physically disabled and unemployed, in dicated that he was not in contempt and asked for a review in May. A t the June 11 hearing, the matter was continued for 30 days by Judge Jean Lewis, and Brad well was ordered to supply medical information and his training plan. Family Coun selor Jack Swiberg. to whom the case was referred by Judge Lewis, recommended reduced payments. On July 26th, he was sentenced to 15 days in Rocky Butte Jail by Judge Mercedes Diez for contempt of court for refusing to pay child support. Bradwell states that he was not allowed to present the materiaF requested by Judge Lewis and was not allowed to present his case. He had planned to continue school but to work part time in photography to pay child support. His wife, Jill, is employed and is able to i Please turn to pg. 6. col. 6) Black seeks Seattle M ayor’s post Unions pay for discrimination The U.S. Department of Justice has obtained a record back pay award in an em ployment discrimination suit against a building trade union, Attorney General El hot L. Richardson announced last week. Mr. Richardson said t he record award $390.000 will I m - paid to an estimated 450 minority victims of dis crimination in the San Fran cisco operating engineers B ike o ffer e xten d ed S a v e fo r w e a lth ... r id e f o r h e a lt h The Ben|. 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 .T illlk lill Hebert H H a /e n Pres • 22 Ottices • Phone 248 ,2.14 H om e O ffic e F ra n k lin B ldg P o rtla n d , O re g o n 97204 Court hears ILWU suit before the television cameras and said “ I have reluctantly- decided to become a candi date for the Office of Mayor of the City of Seattle. As Mayor I would bring to the Office over fifteen years of outstanding public service, both in the Legislature and in the City Council. The record w ill verify . . . that I have a deep concern for all of our people of our City . . . Every time a Senior Citizen takes a 10c ride on the bus . .. Each time a handi capped person takes a re duced fare taxicab ride . . . when you hail a taxi that is crusing along, you are re ceiving the benefits of my forward thinking and testi mony to my service." The cameras stopped whir ring. The recorders shut off. Newsmen scampered back to their offices to meet a dead line and the boy from the little country town of Gibs land. Louisiana. Councilman Sam Smith, was officially in the election race for Mavor of the City of Seattle and in the thick of things again. Sam Smith had fought his way from an unknown mem ber of the Legislature to be recognized as the "Legislator of the Year” , and had stood out as a member of the Seattle City Council. Now his actions caused a long shadow to be cast over the Seat le Political scene . .. The following is Smith's statement on his candidacy: During the past few weeks (Please turn to pg. 5, col. 4)
