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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)
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