Portland Observer, October 22, 1961 Page 5
Freddy's responds to BUF
by R on H erndon
The Black United Front haa been
working to open more jobs for our
community. Portland businesses are
notorious for not hiring Black peo
ple. This is more galling when even
the firm s operating in the Black
com m unity have few if any Black
employees.
The L ab o r C o m m ittee o f the
Front began attacking this problem
«last A p ril, committing itself to get
ting jobs for Black people and mak
ing businesses more responsive to
the needs o f our community.
Fred Meyer was our first concern
because o f its large workforce, and
the com m u nity com plaints about
the W alnut Park store being d irty,
having high prices, rude service and
few Black employees. Last spring
our own survey found that prices
for food staples at W a ln u t Park
were higher than other Fred Meyer
stores. In august we contacted Fred
Meyer corporate offices; a series o f
meetings follow ed in which Front
representatives very candidly laid
out c om m u nity com plain ts. Fred
M eyer o ffic ia ls agreed to in v es ti
gate. When we met again they dis
cussed policies and changes that an
swered our complaints: Prices at all
Fred M eyer stores are supposed to
be the same (our next survey showed
that prices were now the same); ex
tra attention would be given to the
cleanliness o f the store; attention
would be given to ensure that meat
at Walnut Park would be o f as high
a quality as meat at other Fred M ey
er stores; employees were reminded
o f the importance o f courtesy; cus
tomers with Fred Meyer check-cash
ing cards would no longer be asked
for additional identification. These
positive changes were noticed and
commented upon by many members
o f the community.
Though changes at W alnut Park
were necessary, we stressed Io Fred
Meyer officials the most im portant
issue was hiring more Black people
throughout Fred Meyer’s total oper
a tio n . W e were assured the com
pany always wanted good em
ployees. O u r in itia l reaction was
suspicion— we have heard legions o f
w hite people say they want good
employees but manage to hire few if
any Black people. Fred M eyer ap
proached us with a plan: we decided
to try it and began to put the word
out that jobs might be opening up at
F redd y’ s. The Front Lab o r C o m
mittee screened the applications we
received, Fred M eyer interviewed
and we are pleased to announce a f
ter less than a month twenty people
have been hired. This is happening
while our com m unity is racked by
an economic depression. We under
stand Fred Meyer is pleased with the
new employees. This confirms what
we have always know n: there are
plenty o f Black people capable o f
p erfo rm ing well on a jo b — a ll we
need is the opportunity.
The hiring process will continue;
both parties will monitor it closely;
conversations with the company will
continue. This is an exam ple o f
what must be done by Black people
to help each other and control our
own destiny. The Front will be talk
ing with other businesses about hir
ing Black people. U p to this point
Fred Meyer has kept every commit
ment it has made. H opefully other
businesses will show the same kind
o f integrity and concern.
One last note: no one in the Front
gets paid one dime for any o f this—
we do it out o f love for our people,
in memory o f millions o f Fannie Lee
H am m ers and M a lc o lm Xs that
fought and died for us, we do it be
cause o f an unw avering c o m m it
ment to Black Liberation.
brought to you
every week
by
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uuHumy ..I vTaBHiiiyiun, u . u . may D6 nigner
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The funny bone is not a bone; it's a nerve, and the
jugular vein is not a vein; it's an artery.
One of the strangest elections in U .S . history was
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dent than Rutherford Hayes, but Hayes was elected
President.
American State
Bank AN INDEPENDENT BANK
From the Capitol
Head Office
2737 N. E. Union
Portland, Oregon 97212
by Rep. Ron Wyden
Q This week, the House voted to
end subsidies f o r peanut and sugar
industries. H o w do you fe e t about
these votes?
A . I ’ m pleased that at long last
we’re finally beginning to spread the
burden o f budget cuts around a bit.
The earlier cuts whacked away at
programs that helped low-incom e
mothers hold down a jo b and still
provide adequately for their c h il
dren. They dem olished program s
which helped handicapped persons
become self-sufficient, productive
members o f our society. They re
duced or elim in ated funding for
programs that allowed elderly per
sons to remain in their own homes
rather than being forced into nurs-
injg homes where the tab for their
care is higher.
Now Congress has finally turned
its attention to some o f the ‘ ‘sacred
cows” programs that had been left
virtually untouched. I hope this is a
good sign for the future.
Q. You announced this week that
in early N ovem ber, Congress w ill
ho ld hearings to lo o k in to im p le
mentation o f the North west Region
al Power A d . What difference will
this m ake f o r the average con
sumer?
A. Potentially, it could make a lot
o f difference. This law, which was
passed by the last Congress, will de
termine how much consumers have
to pay on their u tility bills. It will
determine what will be available in
the way o f w eath erizatio n p ro
grams. It w ill determ ine what is
done to encourage conservation and
the developm ent o f renewable en
ergy sources.
In essence, it w ill determ ine
whether Oregonians will have access
to safe and a ffo rd ab le energy— or
whether u tility bills w ill skyrocket
and conservation e ffo rts go unre
warded.
Q. This week you also said inter
ior Secretary James Watt should be
held in contempt o f Congress f o r re
fusing to release certain documents
to one o f the subcommittees. Why?
A. Because what M r. W att did in
essence prevented Congress from
doing its job and restricted our right
to know.
The controversy is over access to
documents which deal w ith re
ciprocal agreements between our
country and Canada with regard to
mineral leases. The issue is o f great
importance to Oregonians since we
purchase more than 50 per cent o f
our natural gas from Canada.
But beyond that, there is the ques
tion o f Congress* right to know .
The subcommittee had subpoenaed
M r. W a tt to provide us w ith the
documents in question. But when he
appeared at the hearing, he claimed
executive p rivilege on b eh a lf o f
President Reagan and refused to re
lease those documents.
If you want
to stay
on top,
you have
to stay
in touch.
Ram has the signal that keeps you in constant touch.
Providing direct dial, tone alert, tone voice, and
mobile telephone service.
An Open Letter
*7 4 e
by Police Chief Ron Still
“S e c f i t t “P e o f i i c f
713 S.W. 12th Aue.. Portland. OR 97205
In my Iasi open letter, I stated I
would discuss changes made within
the Bureau to date.
M y intention is to demonstrate to
the citizens o f Portland that we are
progressing in restoring the c o n fi
dence o f the citizens o f Portland by
providing an excellent level o f Po
lice service.
The last article outlined changes
in the Internal Investigations U n it.
This time I will briefly outline some
o f the efforts made in training O ffi
cers o f the Portland Volice Bureau.
Training begins when a person is
hired and continues u n til re tire
ment. As you can imagine, training
at the start o f an O fficer’s career is
extensive. O ffice rs are on p ro b a
tio n ary status for 18 months and
during that time they receive about
640 hours o f classroom instruction.
School begins soon a fte r being
hired. They are sen, to the basic
academy in M onm outh, conducted
by the State. After the basic course,
the recruits return to work (he street
with a training O fficer. Prior to the
end o f their probation, the recruits
return to (he classroom . The a d
vanced academy is conducted by the
Training Division o f the Portland
Police Bureau. The classroom in
struction deals with the many facets
o f law enforcement. An important
part o f this training is Human Rela
tions. This topic is addressed in the
basic and advanced academics and
totals over 60 hours o f instruction.
Human Relations covers a wide area
o f which cultural awareness is cer
tainly a key issue.
We attempt to meet the needs o f
O fficers in providing this training
and we are constantly improving. I
realize that training is a critical area,
and it will not be ignored.
We do not end our training when
an O ffic e r finishes p ro b atio n . I
mentioned earlier that officers at
tend train in g sessions throughout
their career. W e try to make these
sessions topical and beneficial to the
O fficers. For example, during the
past 12 months, 215 commanders,
supervisors, and patrolmen have at
tended schools or seminars where
Human Relations has been the top
ic. During the month o f October, 20
Uni, Commanders and Sergeants at
tended a 2 -d ay, Black C u ltu ra l
226-1507
Awareness Seminar, put on by D r
Charles King in Portland.
F u tu re training o f both recruit
and experienced officers w ill cer
tain ly include H um an R elation:
training. This is an important issui
that we will continue to deal with
Keep in m ind this is a very briei
sketch o f the ongoing training thai
officers receive and do no, wan, citi
zens to assume tr»at training is a low
p rio rity . T rain in g is now and will
continue to be an integral par, o f the
Portland Police Bureau.
In the past, I have requested that
if you have questions or comments
about the Police Bureau, that you
write to me and 1 would try to ad
dress as many as I could, So far, no
one has taken advantage o f this. In
order to be e ffe c tiv e , I need and
want input fro m the citizens o f
Portland.
In an attempt to obtain citizen in
put, M r. Broussard has agreed to re
ceive and forward to me any letters
regarding the Police Bureau. This is
your opportunity to present questions
or address problem areas. I cncour-
agc you to take advantage o f it.
From the Boardroom
exodus
1639 N .E. A lb e r t.
PORTLAND. OREGÙN 9 7 2 ,1
2 3 4 -7 9 9 7
From the Front Door
From the Front D oor, I wish to comment on the 1981 summit: “ Economic Survival o f
Black People,” held at the Thunderbird Jantzen Beach M otor Inn in Portland, Oregon. The
chairperson for the summit was Ms. Carolyn Leonard, and o f course M r. Calvin O .L . Henry
is the President o f the Oregon Assembly for Black Affairs, which was founded April 9, 1977.
T h e O .A .B .A . sponsored the Summit.
1 think the summit was a success even though 1 would have liked to have seen more Black
people present.
The summit’s workshop topics were:
A ) A crash course in financial survival.
B) Survival o f Black businesses during the 1980s.
C) How to star, your own business.
D) Government's impact on economic development.
by Gladys McCoy, County Commissioner
E) The politics o f business-networks and mentors.
Arc you a Homestead Property
Owner?
Do you believe your property tax
assessment is too high?
In late October, 1981, you will be
receiving a Notice o f Value Change
on your homestead property from
the Multnomah County Assessor. I f
you believe your assessment is too
high, you have a right to file an
appeal to the M ultn o m ah C ounty
Board o f Equalization for a reduc
tion. T o file an appeal is simply to
have an individual from the Board
o f Equalization review your prop
erty. Your tim e to file an appeal
w ith the Board o f E q u a liza tio n
starts from the day you receive your
N otice u n til F eb ru a ry 15, 1982. I
urge you not to wait u n til the last
minute to use the services provided
by the Board o f E q u a liza tio n re
garding any questions you may have
about your property taxes.
I f you can show that your assess
ment is higher than a probable
selling price by citing com parable
sales prices in your area, incorrect
info rm atio n about the property or
special problem s o f the property
that the appraiser m ight not be
aware o f, you have the basis for an
appeal.
C ounty Boards o f Equalizatio n
have been a par, o f Oregon’s prop
erty tax a d m in is tra tio n for many
years, but few people take advan
tage o f this opportunity to change
their assessment. Historically, only
a small portion o f property taxpay
ers appeal to change their
assessment through the office o f the
Board o f E q u a liza tio n . H ow ever,
over 50 per cent o f the appeals result
in lower assessments.
The purpose o f the Board o f
Equalization is to consider taxpay
ers’ complaints and to make a thor
ough review o f the C ounty Asses
sor’s work. The Multnomah County
Board o f Equalization consists o f a
regular Board and an A ltern ative
Board. There is a total o f six mem
bers serving. Three members serve
on each Board. The Board o f Coun
ty Com m issioners appoints the
Board C h a irm a n ; the Tax Super
vising and Conservation Com m is
sion appoints the second member;
and, the th ird m em ber, who is a
n o n -o ffic e holding citizen o f the
C o u n ty , is app o in ted by the firs,
two members.
If you wish to file an appeal, or, if
you have any questions regarding
your p ro p erly taxes, contact the
M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty Board o f
E q u a liza tio n , Room 814, C ounty
Courthouse. 1021 S .W .F o u rth , in
person, or call 248-5241. The office
will be open from 9:00 a m. to 5:00
p m . M onday through Friday, to
assist you in any way possible.
Please do not wait until the last
minute.
F) Experiences o f Black entrepreneurs.
ALSO
G) Economics: “ Getting wha, you wan, from the economy.”
H ) President Reagan’s economic plan.
I) What the Oregon economy means to Black people.
The Honorable M aynard Jackson, M ayor o f A tlanta, Georgia, delivered the keynote ad
dress.
I think you might agree with me that the agenda for the summit was very relevant to prob
lems facing small businesses in general, and most specifically S M A L L B L A C K B U S I
NESSES.
I wish to publicly thank M r. Calvin O .L . Henry, President o f Oregon Assembly for Black
A ,fairs; and Ms. I arolyn Leonard, Chairperson for the sum m it’s structure and each and
every participant, for providing us the opportunity to come face to face with the realities o f
survival during the 1980s.
The bottom line is it will take political and economic power to remain successful, or to be
come successful in business during the 1980s.