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Page 4 Portland Observer. Aprii 13. 1983
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Jesse Jackson for President?
by Manning Marable
"From The Grassroots"
Jobs: A t what price?
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Oregon has turned the corner o f inflation, or
at least that is what the mass media is telling us.
We ask, is this true? Ask the man or woman at
the unemployment office. Ask the man or wom
an who has given up looking for a job because
they can’ t find one.
How many people are now working part time
when they need a full time job to feed their kids,
pay their rents and pay the inflated gas and elec
tric bill? How many people are wearing heavy
sweaters as they sit down to dinner because they
have to deprive themselves and their families of
the com fort o f heat this chilly winter? How
many people read the newspapers and say,
"W ell, I guess things are getting better for some
one, but I guess I am not one of those lucky peo
ple.”
Statistics arc tricky things and none o f us
should be fooled by them. A lower unemploy
ment figure means that fewer people registered
with the unemployment office and that’ s all it
means.
One of the examples of the increased employ
ment rate given by the State Employment Divi
sion is in the forest products industry. What is
the price to be paid by this increase in employ
ment?
The International Woodworkers o f America
(IW A ) o f the A F L -C IO , which represents
100,000 workers in that industry so vital to
Oregon is presently in negotiations w ith the
major forest products industry and all indica
tions point to a strike situation when (hat con
tract runs out in June. The employers are asking
for major concessions by the workers, a trend
that has swep, the nation as the major corpora
tions use the economic crisis as an excuse to
weaken union contracts.
Red Russel, the local representative for the
IW A told the convention o f the International
Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union
which is meeting in Portland this week tha, the
employers are out to break the union.
“ It is no, jus, concessions," Russel said, "but
an all-out campaign by the capitalists o f this
country to destroy the unions.”
While many of us look on the organized trade
union movement as something lemovcd from
our own experience, it is the trade union move
ment that is the from line for the wages and ben
efits we receive. It is the only organized body in
this nation solely constituted to protect the rights
of all working people. Whether we work under a
union contract or are unorganized, or we are un
employed, it is the trade unioi movement that
sets the pattern of wages and benefits, fights for
unemployment rights, and leads the fight for so
cial change.
The fact that the governor of this state has re
fused to meet with the head o f the Oregon State
federation o f Labor (AFL-CIO ) demonstrates
the total disregard o f the present leader o f this
state for the rights o f all the working people.
Now our illustrious mayor has returned from
Japan with great promises of jobs and prosper
ity. We only have to look at the auto workers in
Fremont, California, who have been told rather
bluntly by General Motors and Toyota that if
jobs come, they will be jobs with low wages and
fewer protections or benefits than those enjoyed
by unionized workers there.
We must be aware that the benefits and wages
—as well as the unemployment system, welfare,
medicare and other social programs for the peo
ple o f this nation—were won from the struggles,
and often blood o f the working people o f this
nation. This was accomplished through the
unity o f working people, black, white and
brown.
Now we are being beaten over the head with
the promise o f jobs. Bu, jobs at a cos,. Tha, cos,
is giving up wha, our fellow workers have won
for us through their blood, sweat and tears.
We at the Portland Observer agree that we
must have jobs, but not at any cos,.
The ILW U called for a national jobs program
similar to that o f the 1930s—a program which
can put millions o f unemployed back to work,
rebuilding our transportation system, railroads,
inner cities, sewer systems. The convention
called for tight regulations on the basic necessi
ties o f life — food, energy, finance—and pro
posed tha, since the private sector has proven it
self unworthy o f providing the citizens o f this
country with such ,ha, they should be partially
or fully nationalized.
A radical notion? We don’t think so, consid
ering the present state o f the economy and the
evidence that the corporations have proven their
disregard for their own social responsibility to
the people of this nation.
We must seek radical changes. They can only
come about if we begin to organize ourselves.
We must educate ourselves and our communities
to the need for com bining our collective
strength. We must seek new leaders with new
approaches.
For those of us who are unemployed there is
no discussion on this need. For those o f us who
are still lucky enough to hold a job, we must as
sure that we keep our job. The employed and
unemployed must become united in this fight.
The people o f Chicago have voiced their de
sire for progressive change, by rejecting a racist
anti-labor campaign to elec, , ha, c ity ’s firs,
black mayor.
We in Portland can turn a rotten situation
around, too. We can demand and elect leaders
who will truly reflect the needs o f all the people
of this city.
It's the American way
K o lff M edical, the maker o f the a rtific ia l
heart tested by Barney
, says
the heart will be a money-maker. The hear, re
quired $15 million to develop and sine early 1982
has been the investment large, o f $6 to $7 m il
lion.
The investors arc those who have most to gain
—corporations in the medical field: Hospital
Corp, of America, Nashville; American Hospi
tal Supply Co., Evanston, III; and Humana.
Inc., a hospital corporation in Louisville.
The company expects sales in the billions in
the United States. The heart is expected to sell at
$15,000 and an estimated 36,000 to 66,000 per
sons could qualify for its use.
Rather than donate their discovery to the ser
vice of humanity, the maker of the Jarvik-7 will
make money. This could be called p ro fitin g
from someone else’s suffering.
Letters to the Editor
Police behavior out of line
Re: t he
rock throwing teens and
police.
It is extremely sad when adult po
licemen act in a juvenile manner.
The case in question is such a case.
I he young men needed a repri
mand and even needed to face their
conduct before their parents but to
throw them on the ground? They
arc not criminals but this type of ac
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tion, by the police that are supposed
to be helping reduce crime, often
embitters our youth and they get in
to violent acts.
We are supposed to be trying to
reduce sex crimes but the obscene
remark instead o f reducing sex
crimes would only whet the mind of
youth to " fin d out what it is all
about.”
I personally feel the officers
should be given time o ff without
pay to do a little self-examination
and I feel they should apologize for
their conduct.
The act of racial discrimination
should not be tolerated on our po
lice force!
Evelyn M . Collins, Director
(.¡race Collins Memorial Center
Portland Observer
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The crux of this ambitious strate
gy lies in the candidate’s ability to
divest himself from personal gain
and the opportunism so inherent in
American politics, and in ably rep
resenting a broad, multi-racial, mul
ticlass constituency on the liberal-
left. I am convinced that Dellums
could do this. Unfortunately, some
Black Caucus members and other
politicos have in recent days put for
ward another candidate who would
be the centerpiece o f the strategy
outlined above: the country preach
er himself, Jesse Jackson.
Jackson has been a familiar poli
tical figure within black America for
over fifteen years. His showboat
posturing, his embellished rhetoric,
his monumental egotism, are to an
extent akin to a mimickry o f the late
Adam Clayton Powell o f Harlem .
Unlike the restless refugee o f Bimi
ni, however, Jackson's chief consti
tuency is his own organization. Op
eration P U S H . He has never been
elected to public office. Jackson’s
defenders claim that he is the best
known black political figure in Am
erica. Name-recognition is o f course
a valuable factor, but insufficient in
itself to validate a person's political
credentials. Everyone still knows
who Jesse James was, but I sincerely
doubt that this nineteenth century
rogue was a suitable candidate for
high office!
Jackson has played a very am
biguous role in the Movement. In
1972 he delivered a keynote address
ast the Black Political Convention
held in G ary, In d ian a, yet subse
quently disavowed any independent
challenge to white Democrats in that
year's presidential race. During the
M iam i Rebellion o f 1980. he flew
dramatically into Liberty City in an
effort to cool o ff young militants.
At the Democratic N ational C on
vention held in New York C ity in
1980, he served as a front-man for
Carter, endeavoring to water down
Kennedy-inspired jobs initiatives.
Yet only weeks later, Jackson ap
plauded Reagan's speech before the
N ational U rban League, and
claimed (hat "the black vote is the
wild card in this election. The black
community has the responsibility
and obligation to listen to what both
parties and all candidates have to
say.”
The chief weakness of a potential
Jackson campaign, however, is in
the candidate's inability to awaken
the support o f progressives outside
of the black community. Jackson's
PUSH has no meaningful contacts
within th e c iv il rights leadership.
Black nationalists and most leftists
view Jackson with undisguised con
tempt as a political opportunist, a
chameleon whose colors change
with the issues. There is a real dan
ger that Jackson-the-candidate
would capitulate to M ondale (or
even Glenn) at the convention, after
a deal had been cut behind the
scenes, leaving blacks and progres
sives out in the proverbial cold.
The strategy to realign American
politics in 1984 must begin with a
candidate who can be trusted to rep
resent our interest. As far as I ’ m
concerned, Jesse Jackson disquali
fied himself a decade ago. Jackson
is not a black leader—he is a celeb
rity. And the seriousness of the po
litical crisis which is before us de
mands that any independent cam
paign start with a level of unques
tioned integrity.
Mayor's budget guts MHRC
(Continued from page ! column 6}
logue; we should have input."
Following the removal o f three
programs and cutting of staff, only
a director and clerk will remain.
The rationale that has been given,
LaG uardia said, is that M H R C
should be limited to advocacy and
research and not operate programs.
" T h is docs not make sense," he
said. Two of the sections that are to
be transferred — fa ir housing and
handicapped—are advocacy and re
search programs.”
"Cutting back to two people will
put us where we were 12 years ago,”
LaG u ard ia said. There is no way
that any research could be done and
there would be little time for advo
cacy .
"They say we should do research
and advocacy but that's impossible.
E lim in atio n o f sta ff would not
allow the volunteer Commissioners
to fu lfill their roles. The research
for the com m ittees— Education,
Employment, Housing, Justice— is
done by the staff."
Recent staff research includes the
study on minority youth unemploy
ment. an annual evaluation of a ffir
mative action and equal em ploy
ment in the C ity and C ounty, a
newly released study on lack of mul
ti-cu ltu ral training in colleges of
education in Oregon, monitoring
o f p retrial release, the study that
showed blacks receive pretrial incar
ceration in higher percentages than
whites, annual studies of the School
District's suspension and expulsion
data. S taff research for the justice
committee resulted in a translation
and interpretation program for de
fendants who speek little or no Eng
lish, and a handbook for use with
deaf defendants.
The programs that are recom
mended to be transferred — fair
housing, neighborhood mediation,
and handicapped advocacy, all
came from staff research that dem
onstrated a real need no one was
meeting.
A nother response to C om m is
sioner Strachan's rationale is that
advocacy programs located in the
bureaus they are to monitor do not
work well. The person can easily
come under pressure and be unable
to function when he (ells the bureau
head that all is not in order. An out
side agency— like the independent
M H R C —can often do a better job.
"M any of the investigations and re
commendations M H R C has made
would have been squelched if it had
been part o f the C ity ," LaGuardia
said.
Another issue that arises is parity.
The County and C ity did fund
M H R C equally, but the County de
creased its payments. Does that mean
the C ity should follow suit? " W e
have been bounced back and forth
like a ping pong b all.” LaGuardia
explained. We spend an undo
amount o f lime in twelve different
budget meetings. We have to go to
the City and the County to beg for
money to survive. One of the biggest
things we have to do is lobby for a
small amount o f money to try to
eliminate very big problems— race,
poverty, etc.”
W ith incidents o f racial harass
ment increasing: with a high rate of
employment, especially for minori
ties; with the federal government
failing to deal with lack of equal op
portunity— the responsibility falls
even greater on local government.
" I am dismayed at the dismantling
o f the Human Relations Commis
sion at this tim e,” LaGuardia said.
"Minorities and the poor are really
under siege.
"The City and the County have to
set some kind of image now. I don't
believe there should be any cuts in
M H R C ’ s budget now. But to cut
M H R C by nearly 70 percent when
other bureaus are getting millions
more is unfair and dangerous.”
Whether (his budget is just a first
step to eliminating M H R C — reduc
ing it to nothing and then closing it
next year because it is not making
visible accomplishments, is not
known. The true motives for the
change and who is responsible are
not yet known.
As the O b s e rv e r went to press
W e d n e s d a y , C o m m is s io n e r
Strachan was unavailable for
comment.
M H R C 's budget will be before a
public hearing at City H all, Tues
day, April 19th, at 1:30 p.m.
ILWU hits Reaganomics
(Continued from page I col. 6)
The 1‘itrlland Observer was established in 1970
MEMBER
Many Americans recognize that
next year’s presidential race will be
more than a referendum on Reagan-
ism. Properly understood, Reagan-
ism represents an attem pt by the
corporations to accelerate capital
accum ulation at the expense o f
workers, an effort to reduce perma
nently the levels o f social services
and public programs at the expense
of an unprecedented arms buildup.
In short, the basic tenor of our de
bate with the Right must be cast into
three slogans—jobs, peace and free
dom.
In this regard, members o f the
Congressional Black Caucus have
taken the lead in defining the press
ing concerns which affect blacks,
l.atino s, poor and working class
people. John Conyers o f Detroit is
developing perhaps the most pro
gressive full employment bill in U.S.
history. Barren M itchell o f B alti
more has taken the lead in denounc
ing Reagan's economic austerity
programs. And Washington D .C .'s
Walter Eauntroy was even arrested
last year in a public demonstration
against the dumping of toxic waste
in a ru ra l, black N orth C arolina
county.
The problem before us, therefore,
is making sure that these questions
o f jobs (a fu ll employment econ
om y). peace (reductions in both
conventional and nuclear weapons)
and freedom (affirmative action leg
islation, a restoration of human ser
vices. etc.) become part of the presi
dential debate. As I see matters,
there are only two ways to begin this
process. One strategy would involve
running a progressive black candi
date for the Democratic Party nomi
nation in a select group o f ten to
twelve states. The states should have
either sizeable blocs of black. Lati
no, and trade union voters, or a tra
dition of political liberalism (for ex
ample, New York, Massachusetts,
M ichigan. Illin ois, Pennsylvania,
California, Washington, D .C .). The
goal of this strategy would be not to
win the nomination, o f course, but
to force the frontrunner. Mondale,
to the left. Whomever emerges as
the Democratic Party’s alternative
to Reagan— whether M ondale,
uienn, or any ot the lesser lights—
he will not respond to the demands
o f the black freedom movement ex
cept in token gestures, unless he is
absolutely forced to do so.
This cannot be done unless a pro
gressive black candidate goes into
goes into the convention with 300 to
400 delegate voles, and when no sin
gle white candidate has a m ajority
of delegate votes. This also means,
o f course, the Mondale must be de
nied a first-ballot victory at the con
vention.
U nquestionably,
the
best
qualified candidate for this strategy
is Ronald V. Dellums. Since his elec
tion to Congress. Dellums has repre
sented the most principled and
progressive alternative available in
Am erican politics. His unique
strength is his ability to relate to a
diverse constituency: blacks, trade
unionists, feminists. Latinos, envi
ronmentalists, peace activists, etc. A
second choice, Georgia State Sena
tor Julian Bond, has his own unique
follow ing w ithin the civil rights
com m unity. Both are n atio n ally-
known and would have access to the
media (a critically im portant fac
tor). and could attract significant fi
nancial backing from unions,
religious, disarmament and black
groups.
»pending to funding for human
need».”
The M artin Luther King revolu
tion o f the IL W U call« for legisla
tion to make January 1$ a national
holiday. IL W U locals in both
Northern and Southern California
participated in demonstration« com
memorating the birthday of Martin
Luther King, Jr. It is further pro
posed that 1I W U locals negotiate
for observance o f M a rlin Luther
King Day as a paid holiday in their
i-
union contracts.
The IL W U has had a long and
m ilitant history, born out o f the
great strikes o f the 1930s. " W e
withstood the hot breath o f
M cC arthyism ," Herman said. But
the seriousness o f job losses from
plant closures, runaways and gener
al layoffs due to the depressed state
of the economy was reflected in the
IL W U O fficers Report which re
flected a drop o f over 5,000 union
members from a membership o f
52,100.
Daughtry speaks
Reverend H erbert D aughtry,
founder and chairman o f the N a
tional Black U nited Front, w ill
'Peak at Portland State University,
7 P m ., Friday, A p ril 22nd, in 75
Lincoln Hall. Rev. Daughtry's talk
is sponsored by P ortland S tale’s
Black Cultural A ffairs Board. Call
288-6700 or 229-4075 for more in
formation.
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