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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 1983)
Hr» Franca» Schoen-.*.'a»spapar R oom U n iv e r s it y o f Oregon L ib r a r y cugene, Oregon 9 /433 Albina center threatened LU Ul Page4 Valentine love story Jesse Jackson on Reagan Page 2 Page 4 PCC builds basketball Page 12 PORTLAND OBSERMER USPS 959.680-855 C tu r February 9, 1983 Volume XIII, Number 18 25C Per Copy PlMaJung C o. I MJ Businessmen strike Truckers continue shutdown by Robert Lothian “ Run today, welfare to m o rro w ," and "In d ep e n d en ts U n it e ! " read the picket signs stacked in front o f the modest o ffic e o f the P a c ific Coast O w n e r-O p e ra to r’ s Associa tion, located across from the Jubitz T ru c k Stop on N o rth V an c o u ve r W ay. The 250-member organization o f P o rtla n d -V a n c o u v e r independent truckers is the local spearhead o f the two-week old national strike. " W e 'l l stay out tw o w eeks, six months, a year, whatever it takes,” said P C O O A president Robert Zieg ler, 66. " W e ’ re all broke n ow ,” he said. " I f w e 're going to lose our trucks, we might as well lose them; there’s no use prolonging it ." Z ie g ler predicted that reduced produce shipments from C alifo rn ia would cause a strike im pact in the P o rtla n d area Even though the T eam ster’s U nion has so far w ith d raw n o ffic ia l supprot fo r the strike, Ziegler said that many indivi dual Teamsters had expressed sym pathy. The nation’ s ItW.tMM) independent truckers, representing about one- fifth o f the industry, transport 90 percent o f all fresh produce in the U.S. When they shut down it means that fruit and vegetables soon begin disap pearin g fro m store shelves, and their prices go up. The strike started January 31st, (anniversary of a hard-fought strike o f independents in 1974), to protest the H ighw ay Im provem ent Act o f 1982 passed by the lame duck C o n gress on Decem ber 7 th . T a x in creases called for in the b ill, plus pressure from railroads and general depressed economic conditions are seen by the truckers as conspiring to make them a vanishing breed. A c co rd ing to Z ie g le r, independents were "going broke" before the bill was passed, and the tax increases represent a double w h a m m y . F or these reasons, the nation-wide Inde pendent Truckers Association has called the new law the " T r u c k Bankruptcy Act o f 1982." " R o n ,” a trucker in Ziegler’s of- fice, said his w ife was " rig h t now trying to get the kids on the school lunch p r o g r a m ." T h e y were " b r o k e , " he said, and lo o k in g toward welfare. T h r iT A 's president, M ike P ark h u rst, explain ed strik e issues to truckers and the public at a rally at the North Portland Expo Center on February 4th. According to Parkhurst, the new bill, which won’ t take full effect un til 1985, w ill cause independent truckers’ tax bills to rise to upwards o f $3,000 per year. The federal high way use tax w ill rise to $1600 per year, he said, and the fuel tax in crease o f S< per gallon called for in the b ill translates into a $1,000 per year increase for the average driver. Parkhurst said that a new 12 per cent federal sales tax on all new trac tors and tra ile rs , and on all parts and accessories added w ith in six months, would am ount to $17,000 or over $5,000 per year, spaced over fo u r years, based on a $ 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 price tag lo r a new tru c k -tra ile r c o m b in a tio n . A n added b u rd e n , said P arkhurst, is the new "ru b b e r tax” o f 50« per pound on each tire weighing over 90 pounds. T h e federal tax increases are a l ready paving the way fo r states to raise their truck taxes and user fees, and the b ill has created an a tm o sphere favorable to the renegotia tion of the "M a s te r Freight Agree m ent” covering Team sters, which could mean wage cuts fo r union drivers, he said. Parkhurst attacked the 55 m .p.h. speed lim it as con tribu ting to a 30 percent loss o f p ro d u c tiv ity fo r drivers— it means 12 extra hours on the road during a 3,000 mile trip, he said. He also disagreed w ith D ept. o f Transportation studies which show that heavy trucks were not paying th eir share o f highw ay dam age costs. The n ation ’ s interstates were designed to be able to handle m ili tary-sized loads, he said, which are much heaver than to d a y ’ s trucks. The "patch the roads" aspect o f the new b ill to uted by C ongress, he said, hides an attack on independent truckers. T ru cke rs contend that the real thrust of the bill is to drive the inde pendents out o f business and contri bute to a railroad monopoly on land transport. The b ill is " a ll oriented toward the railroads," says Ziegler. S o-called "p ig g y b a c k s ," e q u ip ment owned by the railroads which can go by both road and r a il— re m ain exempt fro m the tax burden Attention! Th» possibility that the Adult and Family Sarvlcas andChll- dran s Sarvlcas Division officaa In tha Albina Araa will ba closad and thalr staffs and functions transfarrad to otflcas <n othar araas. will ba discussad at tha ragular meeting of tha Northaast Coalition of Neighborhoods. The maating will ba held on February IS. 1963. at 7 p.m .. at tha King Neighborhood Facility. 4815 N.E. 7th Avanue. Tha maating Is open to tha public and illusa intäiäätad àiw urged to attend faced by independents. T his am ounts to a subsidy fo r the r a il roads, said Ziegler. " D id you ever hear o f an independent tru ck er getting a government subsidy?” he asks. Parkhurst reinforced Ziegler’s as sertions by re p o rtin g that w hile Congress was passing the Highw ay Im p ro ve m en t A c t, the In te rsta te Commerce Commission was repeal ing a 48-year-old law that prohibits railroads fro m buying up trucking companies. " T h e ir aim is to estab lish a m o n op o ly,” said Parkhurst, who told P o rtlan d truckers " y o u got railroaded." Even in the best o f times an inde pendent tru cker must scramble to make a liv in g . M a n y large w hole salers hire independents to haul fruit and vegetables, along with a smat (Please turn to page 10 column 4) I wo of a group of pickets who last Wednesday protestad Hyater Corp.'s threatened shutdown and requests for public aid. Hystar announced shutdown later In tha week, tPhoto: Richard J. Brown) NBL challenges Metro policy by James H ill The N a tio n a l Business League, O reg o n C h a p te r ( N B L O C ) has taken exception to an order issued by Rick G ustafson, District Execu tive Director for M etrop o litan Ser vice District ( " M e t r o " ) . "Excecu- tive O rder No. 15 ostensibly ended M e tr o ’ s M in o rity Business E n te r prise P r o g r a m ," according to C h arle s C rew s, N B L P resid en t. “ One o f our goals as set forth by the National By-Laws is to contribute to the econom ic developm ent o f the M in o r ity C o m m u n ity w ith in the framework and context o f a harmo nious re la tio n s h ip w ith the to ta l c o m m u n ity , in spite o f h is to ric a l co n stra in ts ," adds Crews. The ac tion o f Gustafson impacts negative ly on our community. Executive Order No. 15, effective December 7, 1982, replaces a m an datory M B E goal requirement in e f fect since the February 1981 revision w ith a " g o o d fa ith best e f f o r t " clause. The order amends M etro 's M inority Business Certification pro cess. M etro no longer certifies M B E and w ill recognize and M B E ce rti fied by a ju ris d ic tio n or agency m a in a tin in g a fe d e ra lly approved M B E program. The program is fu r ther reduced to a five-day period a f ter the bid opening in which the ap parent low responsible bidder sub mits w ritten "b es t or g o o d -fa ith ” m aterial in order to be o ffic ia lly awarded a contract. M e tro has a lre a d y vio la ted its M B E policy. Refusing to honor an N B L request for bid postponement, G ustafso n stales in a F eb ru ary I , 1983 letter addressed to James Ber ry , E xecu tive S ec re tary , N B L ; " H o w e v e r, I have delayed the bid process one week to allo w fo r the m inority newspaper and trade asso ciatio n newsletter 20 day publica tion requirement to be m e t." According to Crews, " A ll a con tractor has to do under the new o r der is to advertise in a newspaper, w rite to an M B E the night b efo re the bid opening, and apprise M etro on the firm 's action in order to be in com pliance with the " g o o d -fa ith ” effort. T he p ro ject, A laska T u n d ra E x h ib it, is estim ated to cost $1.5 m illio n . It is the biggest con- (Please turn to page 10 column 4) Leslie Uggams: Talent brings success by Lanita Duke G rassroo t New s, N . W . — This week fam ed m u lti talented Leslie Uggams graced P o rtlan d in a p ro motional tour o f her new role as co host o f N B C 's new hour-long d ay time series. Fantasy. Ms. Uggams is a living legend in A fro -A m e ric a n culture with a lifetime o f credits that includes The Leslie Uggams Show, Sing Along With M itch, Skyjacked, The A u to b io g ra p h y o f M iss Jane P itm a n , R o o ts, B ackstairs a t the White House, and Sizzle Chosen by the in v is ib le force called talent, Ms. Uggams' seed was planted in the Big Apple, New York C ity . " I sang fro m the tim e I was three years old. M y parents had a friend who was kinda in show busi ness. By ’ kinda’ I mean she used to play for dance classes and give sing ing lessons. She kept te llin g my mom that I could re ally sing. So, she would take me to audition when I was five years old. M y first profes sional role was with Ethel Waters in Beulah. It was a cameo appearance as her niece that began my profes sional career." This career kept M s. Uggams in the spotlight during her entire young lif e . H o w did this a ffe c t her? " W h e n I started out I used to play at the famous A p o llo Theatre from the time I was seven to sixteen. I was kinda like the black Shirley Temple. It was great because I had a lot o f support from the kids I was growing up w ith . Anyone in our neighbor hood w ho was m akin g it had the support o f the co m m u n ity. There was no jealousy. A t seventeen I be came a regular on Sing Along W ith M itch That was a lot of presure be cause I was the first black female on a n a tio n a l T V . s h o w .” M s. Uggams* parents made sure her childhood never suffered because of her talents and " E d u c a tio n was first.” The television show Beulah later came under attack from w ithin the black community as being a stereo type of black life. Ms. Uggams be lieves the stereotype w ould have been worse if not for the determina tio n o f its sta r, the great E th el Waters. " T h e producers had wanted me to wear my hair in pickaninny style. But my mother used to put my hair in curls. Ethel Waters told the pro ducers, ‘ You see how her m other has her h air n o w — th a t's the way she’s going to wear it. There will be no p ic k a n in n y s ty le .’ So, E th el W aters d id e v e ry th in g w ith in her powers to take away the stereotype o f w hat w hite A m e ric a saw black people as. As I lo o k back on the past I think we are products o f the times. A lot o f black actors and ac tresses got u n fa ir treatm en t fro m the co m m u n ity because they did what they had to do because o f the times. Nowadays, the thing that bothers me about telev isio n is th at w ith w hite actors and actresses you get several types o f people portrayed. The c ritic is m is w hy c a n 't we see m iddle-class b la ck re la tio n s h ip s . You never see the black lawyer por trayed. L e t’ s show something else besides the maids and butlers." She says the reason fo r this con c e n tra tio n o f one life s ty le is that black w riters do not get the same o p p o rtu n itie s as w h ite w rite rs . " Y o u are le ft w ith whites w ritin g about blacks. A great w riter writes about what he knows. N o one can walk around screaming all day. We are left with the white writer telling us w hat the black hum an being is like. This is what we are constantly fighting and it's a hard b attle." The black media forum players ol H o lly w o o d , C a lifo rn ia , is fighting that battle along with the probable b o y co tt o f c e rta in film s by the N A A C P . W h a t is Leslie U g g am s’ reaction to that? “ W hat took them so long. W hen we did Roots, which was the number one mini-series ever produced, it showed how capable black actors and actresses are. In stead o f opening doors for black ac tors and actresses parts became few er and fewer. I t ’s very seldom I even get a script and that is terrible. In stead o f progressing it's regressing I'm glad a fte r a ll this tim e that someone noticed." The political activism o f black ac tors and actresses seemed to have cooled o f f . Is it because they are afraid it would affect their chances for future roles? " N o , I don’t think so. During the '60s everything was happening. The '70s came along and we wondered where we were. The '80s came and nothing is happening. I d o n ’ t kn o w w hat it is. M a y b e we d o n 't have the leaders. W e do not have to be sensitive about what we say at all because there is no w ork anyw ay." W hat advice w ou ld L eslie fPlea.se turn to page 4 col. 4) i