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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 5, 1981)
El Salvador: America's next war? Gates leaves City/County Commission on Aging Osley J. “ J im ” Gates has resigned the position he has held for sixteen years - Executive Director of the C ity /C o u n ty Com m ission on Aging. Stating he is resigning prim arily because he has decided that it is time for a change. Gates indicated to the Observer his dissatisfaction over the progress o f programs for the elderly in this area For the first eleven years he was w ith the program , under County supervision, the C ity /C o u n ty C ouncil on Aging planned and operated programs, under the City, that function was removed and the agency became an ombudsman, ad vocating with the various agencies for seniors. Gates charges that although the City and the County spend millions on aging programs, very little ser vice reaches the people. “ Not a single new program has been plan ned or instituted in the last five years,” he said. The City and Coun ty duplicate services, each with large staffs, but coordination is lacking. “ I d o n ’ t see the com m itm ent necessary to really serve the e ld e rly,” he explained. “ The em phasis is in building systems and in s titu tio n a liz in g those systems. Rather than serving the elderly, they tend to serve their own bureaucracy.” Gates believes the C ity /C o u n ty Council on Aging should be above politics - that its work should be in dependent and not influenced by p o litic a l preferences. A ll aging programs should be consolidated in to one agency - rather than having the City deal with social issues and the County with health. Gates has not found the interest or commitment he would expect in either the City Council or the Coun ty coipmission. Gladys McCoy is the liaison for the County. Gates says, “ We seem to see the problems through d iffe re n t ends o f the telescope." Mike Lindberg is liaison w ith the C ity. Gates, who has worked w ith him fo r only a few months, found him to be “ genuinily interested.” Slow to blame in dividuals, he sees the problem in the system. His role w ith the agency has become very discouraging because “ we have to solve the same problems over and over. We have come fu ll cycle and are right where we were years ago.” Although he is often criticized for his constant complaint that the suc cessful model cities Senior Citizens Service Center, once planned and operated by the elderly, was gutted when it fe ll under C ity co n tro l. Gates recalls that center as a model used across the country. The center pionered the concept o f providing part-time employment for seniors to help other seniors. Many o f that center’ s programs - including the telephone assurance and handim an elements - were (Please turn to Page 3 Col 4) PORTLAND OBSERVER Volume XI Number 20 March B, 1M1 2BC per copy Hill opposes anti-union legislation In Portland fo r a conference on “ Right to W o rk ” laws and sub- minimuin wage, A. Phillip Randolph Institute president Norman H ill said a national budget coalition has been formed to attem pt to assure that national budget cuts do not devastate low and income people. The organizers said, “ We believe that something is basically wrong when the programs assisting hard- pressed moderate-income working Americans and those living at or un der the Federal poverty level, but who presumably are not ‘truly deser ving’ , are decimated or destroyed to finance individual tax cuts benefit- ting primarily the top twenty per cent of taxpayers. Amercan’s minorities, women and seniors would be among those drastically hurt. “ We believe something is basically wrong when Federal budget reduc tions simply shift the tax burden for essential services, such as health and human services, sewer and road con struction, education and economic development, to state and local governments. No real fiscal im provement for the nation or the tax payer is achieved. ” laws that make union ‘ closed shops’ illegal. “ Everyone, supporters as well as opponents, seems to agree that right-to-work laws are designed w ith one in te n tio n in m ind — the weakening, if not the total destruc tio n , o f the labor movement in collective bargaining.” H ill denied that Americans are tu rn in g away from the labor movement, “ Most Americans firmly believe that the labor movement is a necessary counterbalance to the political and economic power o f the business community. W hat’ s more, Americans know that trade unions, not business groups, are the only in stitutions devoted to advancing and protecting the vita l interests o f working people. In light o f this, one can understand why the proponents o f right to work inevitably obscure the real issues; for in confusion and concealment, they fin d their only strength.” Opponents o f the closed shop - shops with union contracts where all pay dues -- say the closed shop brings compulsion, that millions o f workers must jo in unions against their w ill. H ill explained that no one is com In his talk at the conference, he pelled to jo in or to remain in a addressed ‘ right to w o rk’ laws — union. U nion shops, where a m ajority o f the workers have voted to establish a union, require only that each employee pay dues after 30 days or more on the job. If there is compulsion in the labor relations system, he explained, it is the compulsion that the union rep resent all workers, members or non members. One o f the common myths is that union workers lose more than they gain through the strike process. For the economy as a whole, the percen tage o f total working time lost direct ly to strikes during the past twenty years has never been greater than one-half o f one per cent. H ill also opposed the sub m inim um wage fo r teen-agers, saying it w ould create a class o f workers who earn less than others; that when the teen-ager comes o f age he w ill lose his jo b to another teen-ager who can work for less; that in a tim e o f high unem ploym ent, teei.-agers w ill take jobs from adult workers. “ It does not help the fa m ily to have the teen-ager take the job from his father.” H ill blamed the high unem ploym ent rates among m in o rity youth on racism, rather than on the minimum wage. African Bishop receives Nobel nomination Spring brings out the blossoms, and the plcnlcers in downtown Portland. (Photo by: Richard J. Brown) South A frican Bishop Desmond M pilo Tutu has been nominated by the Am erican Friends Services Com m ittee fo r the Nobel Peace Prize o f 1981. The Quaker organization as co recipients o f the 1974 Nobel Peace Prize, is entitled to make a nomination each year. Bishop T utu presently is the General Secretary o f the South A fric a n C ouncil o f Churches (SACC). “ He speaks out courageously against the system o f apartheid, so abhorrent to the world community. He shows his great compassion for those both Black and white who are caught in a repressive system,” said Asia Bennett, Executive Secretary o f the American Friends Service Committee. She added that “ while Bishop Tutu is only one among many leaders in the movement for trans form ation, we feel that in naming him at this time, the Nobel Com mittee would greatly strengthen the position o f Tutu and the work o f the South African Council o f Churches and gives hope to other leaders.” Born in 1931 in the Western Transvaal, Desmond T utu was o rig in a lly trained as a teacher. When his career was blocked by the Bantu Education A ct, he began training for the ministry in Johan nesburg and continued at London U niversity where he attained a Master’ s Degree in Theology. After parish w ork in England, South Africa and Lesotho, Desmond Tutu became assistant dire cto r o f the Theological Fund o f the W orld Council o f Churches. He was ap pointed Dean o f Johannesburg and then Bishop o f Lesotho. Since 1978 he has been the leader o f the SACC. Speaking about the South African Council o f Churches, Bishop Tutu said, “ As a council, we see ourselves existing to w ork fo r justice and peace and reconciliation in that or der. There’ s no use tryin g to cry, ‘ Peace, peace!’ where there is no peace.” In his own efforts to realize peace and justice in South A frica, Bishop T utu looks fo r an end to govern ment violence, e.g., police brutality and a “ cruel pass system which divides families.” A t the same time he condemns opposition violence in the struggle for liberation, urging “ Let us condemn all violence.” Asia Bennett closed her letter to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee by saying “ We hope that the Com mittee w ill honor Bishop Desmond M p ilo Tutu as a symbol o f all the courageous and dedicated people of all races who are striving for a basic tra n sfo rm a tio n in South A frica n society towards peace and justice.” Judge Mercedes Deiz answers her c ritic s _____________ _ By Nyewusi Askari (In part one, Judge Mercedes Deiz talked candidly about her migration from New York to Port land; her early years as a law stu dent; tria l lawyer; d is tric t court Judge; w ife and m other. In this fin a l installm ent, she answers her critics who charged that, although she is a good judge, she is also prejudiced.) D eiz: ...I d on’ t understand the story the Oregonian wrote about me. The overwhelming m ajority of lawyers don’ t understand the story because they have called me, written me, and told me in the courtroom, that they don’ t understand why the Oregonian claimed, through one o f their reporters, that this Judge (Deiz) receives A ffid a v its o f Pre judice more than other Judges. Firs, o f all, the story isn’ t true. Second o f all, the meaning o f an A f fid a v it o f Prejudice has nothing of a layman’ s meaning. It doesn’ t mean that I am prejudice against people. That’s stupid! But, the headline said that, which leaves a te rrib le im pression on anybody who read it. I do a lot o f w ork in domestic relations, which is fa m ily law, people getting a divorce, people fig h tin g over getting custody o f th e ir children. I, as well as three other Judges do a great deal o f tha, work in Multnomah County, so, it has been the custom o f lawyers, since the time in M em orial, in cluding myself when I was a lawyer, to try to find out which Judge you are going to ge, to hear a given case. The lawyer is given the rig h t, by statue, to file an A ffid a v it o f Prejudice merely saying tha, that Judge is prejudice against my client, even though the Judge doesn’t know the client, doesn’ t know the lawyer, doesn’t know anything. The reason is, the lawyers are “ judge shopping” , which is wha, any good lawyer should try to do, but we Judges try to prevent them from “ Judge shoppin g.” Let me back up. I f I heard a case, before the people go, a divorce, in le t’ s say September, where the father and m other came in to co u rt, fig h tin g over the custody o f the children, temporarily, and I’ ve listened to the testim ony and decided that the children's best interest w ill be me, by their remaining with the mother, then clearly when it comes time for the divorce itself six months later, the father might say, “ I don’, wan, Judge Deiz. She already doesn't like me. Get me another Judge.” So, he doesn't really mean that I don't like him as a person, but that he thinks my mind is already made up because I did it last September. The over whelming majority of lawyers know this, so they’ ll come right back to whatever Judge handled the case initially, to decide on the property, decide who gets the house, whether the children should or should not be w ith mom or dad. I t ’ s ju st a question o f the attorney always using his judgm ent as to who he likes. I f a Judge is known fo r being really hard on sex crimes, the attor ney w ill do his best to try to avoid having the case tried by that Judge, who most lik e ly , i f the person is guilty o f the sex crime, w ill give a maximum sentence. So th a t’ s just good common sense. But why the Oregonian chose to w rite an article about me being prejudice, when it’s simply not true, I don’ t know and I have no inten tions o f going after them because it would be fruitless. They didn’ t name a single lawyer to support their accusation o f prejudice against me. It was all, “ they say, she say, they say, he sa y...” There was no name o f anybody and I have no idea i f anybody said any o f those things. I f it were true, in any kind o f way, then I'd assume that I'd be sitting in this department with no work to do, which is the exact opposite. I ’ m always w orking u n til 6 o ’ clock, always fille d up w ith all kinds o f cases. The article was insulting...it hurt because I know I am a good Judge. I __ am not showing o ff. There are things I am not all that great in. When the people asked me to come and teach at Harvard Law School, I said, “ Oh God, I d o n ’ t have that brillance o f the people I assume went to H a rv a rd .” M y husband said, along with every Judge in here when they heard I ’ d been called said, “ D on’ t be silly. Y ou’ ve got lots o f experience. You are going to teach them wha, to do in the court ro o m .” And i t ’ s true, I go, ex perience... I 1 years o f it. The article said I was a humane Judge, a good Judge, she knows the law, bu, she is prejudice, sometimes against men, sometimes against women. Why didn't they say dogs, cats and canaries. Reallyl There’s only two kinds of people. The article was unfair, uncalled for and unjustified. i »
