Page 2 Portland Observer, December 10, 1981
EEOC Commissioner sees civil rights retreat
Equal Em ploym ent O p p o rtu n ity
C om m issioner D r. A rm a n d o M .
R odriquez described the p lig h t o f
his organization to a Portland Com
m u n ity College audience Wednes
day, explaining that the slow c o n fir
m a tio n process in W a sh in g to n ,
D C. means they are w orking w ith
out a q u o ru m . They are dow n to
two commissioners from the normal
five.
Q uickly focusing on the issue, he
said, "These are not good days fo r
those o f us who believe in and work
hard fo r equal employment o p p o r
tu n ity .”
D r. R odriguez em phasized the
progress that has been made in civil
rights, human rights and discrimina
tio n in the past tw o decades. H is
records show they are receiving
tnore charges in age discrim ination
and equal pay, leading to the belief
that employers s till deal w ith some
employees differently than others.
" A n d I have the feeling that the
current adm inistration is not send
ing out any strong signals suggesting
a change in attitude or a ctio n ," Dr.
Rodriguez said.
R odriguez was a p poin ted by
President Carter as a Commissioner
o f the EEOC on September 11, 1978
fo r a five year term ending July I,
1983.
Stressing the language o f the 1964
C ivil Rights Act, which says, " I t is
the policy o f the United States to in
sure equal employment o p p o rtu n i
ties for employees w ithout discrimii-
nation because o f race, color, re li
gion, sex o r national o r ig in ." D r.
Rodriguez indicated that "there is a
growing resentment and a vigorous
campaign mounting both w ithin the
current a d m in istra tio n and w ith in
the private sector against a ffirm a
tiv e a ctio n as a via b le concept to
carry out the legislative mandate o f
Title V II.”
Although the rules are being test
ed, D r. R odriguez in d ica te d the
CHRISTMAS TREE SALES
courts continue to uphold the law.
A t this p o in t, how ever, Senator
Hatch o f Utah has introduced a bill
calling fo r a constitution al amend
ment to lim it affirm ative action.
and down
Christmas tree stand included in all tree sales.
Corner of Alberta & Vancouver
Also an issue, is the reduction in
the w orkforce now occurring in the
public sector. M ore often than not
those w ith seniority on the jo b are
not necessarily those who have been
hired since a ffirm a tiv e action p o li
cies started, thus elim inating many
o f the women and m in o ritie s who
have found em ploym ent in the last
two decades.
Dr. Rodriguez posed a number o f
questions regarding enforcement by
the a d m in is tra tio n as w ell as
changes in policies. He suggested
"th a t all o f us in the business o f civil
rights and employment discrim ina
tio n need to seek out in fo rm a tio n
and develop strategy to make sure
that the ultimate answers or decision
support our philosophy and belief.”
Open 7 Days A Week 10 am-10 pm.
brought to you
evtry week
by
A M E R IC A N STATE B A N K
America s first commercial oil well wasn t in Texas,
as you'd expect, but in Titusville, Pa.
DR. ARM ANDO M. RODRIQUEZ
Labor relations expert relieves tensions
Tensions, problems and concerns
are everyday occurences for Andrea
Belcher. You have them . Doesn’ t
everybody? But w ith Belcher, ten
sions are wholesale fo r tensions are
her w orkday package. It m ight be
better said that the reduction o f ten
sion is her business.
Andrea Belcher is manager o f the
department o f employee and labor
relations at Good Samaritan hospi
tal w ith its 2800 employees. W ith
the diversity o f jobs represented in
an in s titu tio n o f th a t size and na
ture, Belcher must understand the
union contract language o f five sep
arate unions. U n io n members be
long to either: (1) the Service Em
ployees International U nion, Local
49; or (2) Oregon Society o f Radio-
logic Technology; or (3) Oregon L i
censed P ra c tic a l Nurses A ssocia
tion; or (4) International U nion o f
Operating Engineers Local 87; or (5)
School o f Nursing (which has an in
formal bargaining arrangement).
Then there is management. M an
agement has a stake in personnel ac
tions on an individua l basis as well
as in periodic labor contract nego
tiations. Belcher must have total re-
call on management needs and re
quirements. She needs to be fam iliar
w ith w orkers’ com pensation, both
federal and state, o ccu p a tio n a l
health and safety laws as w ell as
wage and salary policies and much
more.
‘ ‘ Som etim es o n ly a short ta lk
w ith an em ployee g iv in g h im , or
her, a d iffe re n t view or interpreta
tion o f a grievance is enough to re
solve the p ro b le m ,” says Andrea.
“ A b o u t 90 per cent o f em ployee
problem s can be dissolved w ith a
m inim um o f tim e and fric tio n , but
sometimes we must resort to an ad
justm ent board to reach a decision
i f the h o s p ita l, the union and the
employee are a ll in vo lve d . In that
case we call in two persons selected
by the h o sp ita l (fro m o u tsid e , o f
course), two persons selected by the
un io n , and one outside a rb ite r. A
m a jo rity o p in io n decides the o u t
come.”
A certain am ount o f discreet in
vestigation is needed now and then,
personal co u nsellin g is o fte n re
q u ire d , and a constant flo w o f
com m unication must be kept open
to keep w o rk in g re la tio n sh ip s at
th e ir best and employee feedback
satisfactory, Belcher noted.
A Portlander fo r most o f her 35
years Ms. Belcher was educated at
Im m aculate H eart elem entary
school and N o rth C a th o lic H igh
School. Psychology and Industrial
•
The U .S . Suprem e C ourt once ruled th a t the
income tax was unconstitutional.
•
R elations classw ork drew her to
P.C .C . and P ortland State U niver
sity. She lives now in Hazel D ell.
Form er em ploym ent includes nine
years at Kaiser Permancntc offices
in d o w n to w n P o rtla n d where she
form ed her taste fo r in te n s ifie d
work in personnel services.
How docs she handle her own ten
sions, w ork-produced or personal?
" I have a huge yard at my house,”
Belcher says. “ I cut the grass and I
do better w ith the weeds. O r, 1
cook. I make very good bread and 1
knead it well. I make pans and pans
o f rolls and put them in my freezer.
1 make relishes too, and jam s and
jellies. 1 canned 200 jars this sum
mer. And none o f it goes to waste.”
It seems hard to believe, but a man continued to
serve as U.S. Vice-President AFTER being indicted
for murder. He was Aaron Burr, V.P. under Thomas
Jefferson. Burr was indicted for killing Alexander
Hamilton in a duel, but remained Vice-President.
•
The w orld's first drive-in movie opened in 1933 in
Camden, N.J
American State
Bank
AN INDEPENDENT BANK
Head Office
2 7 37 N. E. Union
Portland, Oregon 9721 2
Federal cuts
threaten HAP
The H ousing A u th o rity o f P o rt
land has warned that the Reagan
A d m in istra tio n 's proposed appro
priations, to be considered by Con
gress by December 15th, spell disas
ter for public housing.
The interim budget resolution be
fore Congress u n fa irly burdens
public housing authorities with cuts
o f 38 per cent, w hile across-the-
board cuts in other areas are in the
four to five per cent range.
H A P operates 5100 units o f low -
income housing in w hich 13,000
people live. O ne-half o f the tenants
are elderly people living on fixed in
comes. More than 80 per cent o f the
fam ilies earn less than $5,000 per
year. H A P has a w a itin g lis t o f
3,500 and the U.S. Departm ent o f
H ousing and U rban D evelopm ent
estimates that an additional 61,000
households qualify fo r public hous
ing.
- H A P absorbed a 15 per cent cut
in operating funds in fiscal 1981. The
proposed budget would bring an ad
ditional 31 per cent cut.
C u rre n tly 53 per cent o f the
agency budget comes fro m federal
subsidies, the rem ainder from ten
ants’ rents. Because federal law re
stricts rent payments to 15 per cent
o f incom e, H A P cannot increase
rents to meet its costs. Rather, it w ill
have to curtail management, m ain
tenance and services.
There is serious question whether
costs can be saved w ith o u t endan
gering the safety and health o f ten
ants. D u rin g the past year u tility
costs increased by 20 per cent, while
H U D used and estim ate o f 11 per
cent in determ ining funding. Since
u tility costs w ill rise in 1982, there
w ill not be adequate funds to meet
the expense.
Maintenance on H A P ’ s$l25 m il
lion investment w ill also be in dan
ger.
Read the Observer every week.
Subscribe today!
Call 283 2486
»
t