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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 23, 1983)
Happy Thanksgiving Holiday Indian fishing Books under attack Holmes vs Frazier Page 8 Page 3 Below PORTLAND OBSERVER Volume XIV, Number 5 November 23, 1983 25C Per Copy Greyhound strike: Drivers resist pay cuts by Robert Lothian " T a k e Greyhound, and leave the driving to us," has traditionally meant that passengers on Am erica’s largest bus line could travel with confidence, knowing that experi enced drivers would deliver them safely to their destination. But not any more— not since the strike and replacement o f G rey hound’s experienced drivers and baggage handlers with strikebreak ers by a management intent on union busting, says Ed M attingly, vice-president of the Amalgamated Transit Workers, Local 1055. Greyhound was shut down for two weeks, but resumed limited ser vice with replacement employees as thousands of union picketers dem onstrated, threw eggs and attempted to keep busses from rolling in cities across the U.S. Vaneeaa Williams, Miss American, signs an autograph for Taji Shamaud din.7, at Fred Mayer Interstate store this week (Photo: Richard J. Brown) Woodburn Chicanos organize W O O D B U R N , O R — Concerned members and supporters o f W o o d burn's Mexican community met N o vember 15th to form a new organ ization. La Com unidad Unida para Justicia (T h e C o m m u n ity U n ited for Justice). La Com unidad Unida para Justi cia has been formed in response to the widespread concerns in W o o d burn's M exican com m unity about Woodburn Police Department prac tices. These concerns were most re cently and vocally demonstrated at S u n d a y ’ s co m m u n ity m eeting, called by the State Comm ission on Hispanic A ffa irs , attended by over 120 co m m u n ity residents. T he o r ganization w ill adopt a long-range plan o f action aimed at addressing c iv il rig hts v io la tio n s . It has in formed the U .S. Department of Jus tice, Com m unity Relations Service, that its representatives are prepared to meet w ith W o o d b u rn C ity o f f i cials to present its proposals. Selected as co-chairs for La C o m u n id ad were C ip ria n o F e rrc l, Jesus Lopez Jr., and M argarita G a r cia. M em bers o f La C o m u n id ad o b served the entire proceedings at the M a rio n C o u n ty Courthouse o f the inquest into the killing o f Jose Inez M unoz-M edina by a W oodburn po lice o ffic e r. The m anner in which the inquest was conducted raised more questions about M u n o z’ death than it answered. La Com unidad feels that certain aspects o f the inquest were handled in an insensitive manner: •M an uel De La Cruz and Alberto M en d ez, inquest witnesses, were brought into the cou rtro o m , in the j u r y ’ s presence, dressed in ja il clothes and handcuffs. • De La Cruz and Mendez were, in effect, excluded from the proceed ings— the only witnesses treated in th at fa s h io n . T hey w ere the only witnesses who could not observe the proceedings and hear the testimony o f other witnesses. •There was insufficient question ing of prospective jurors concerning possible racial prejudices. •T h e Assistant D is tric t A t t o r ney’s question to witness Mendez as to whether he "looked b ad " in a jail photo taken hours after the shoot ing had a p re ju d ic a l e ffe c t, espe c ia lly since no s im ila r p h o to was taken o f any o th e r p arty to the shooting. The following points, in the view o f La C o m u n id ad , raise questions left unanswered by the inquest. •T h e re was no fo llo w -u p ques tioning regarding Oregon State Pa trol expert testimony that Sgt. Bout- w ell's gun had less than standard pressure on the trig ger B o u tw e ll was never asked w hether his gun was cocked at the m om ent it d is charged. •T h e re was no testim on y as to possible fin g e rp rin ts or lack o f fingerprints on B outw ell’s gun and flashlights. • De La Cruz was never asked how many patrol cars he saw and when. •S ix o f the witnesses that were present at A b b ey’s Pizza told sim i lar versions as to the o ffic e r's ac tions upon arrival at the Woodburn M otel. The one individual, also pre sent at Abbey's, who had related a different version o f events, was not adequately questioned. La Com unidad Unida para Justi cia can be reached at 982-0243. Federal, State prosecutors target traditional Indian fisher people As families sit down together this week to remember the first Thanks giving Day on which, according to legend, the Indian people and the Pilgrims ate together in peace. Northwest Indians are facing the full force o f the U.S. government in its attempt to restrict their fishing rights. Traditional Indian fisher people, who live along the Colum bia and its tributaries and practice the tradi tional religion and life style, are be ing systematically persecuted by the federal government and the states o f Oregon and Washington Last year, over 75 people were a r rested and indicted by multiple ju r isdictions. In some cases entire fam ilies were arrested. Harsh and vio lent raids were made against fishing villages, with firearms and threats o f physical abuse. Homes were wrecked; personal property, cars. fishing gear, legal documents and other items were taken. David So Happy, sentenced to five years in prison and five years probation for fishing, said recently, " I am a traditional Indian. I have been exercising my rights to fish even though I had to go to ja il three or four times. I have been indicted, jailed, chained for fishing, but I still continue to live the way Elders taught me. " W e must have salmon for our way o f life, for ceremonies in the longhouse, for name giving, memo rials, fish food; we must have the salmon. That is the way I have been taught. . . . " I continue to resist. I ’ve chased wardens. They wouldn’t issue any citations but only take my fish, game, nets. I documented all this hoping to get help to regain what I ’ve lost. Sometimes ‘law enforce- ment’ comes at night in riot gear, to take my nets. They come in air planes and boats to take from my home and hold me there. They beat up my boy and took him to jail. They charged hime with assault and resisting arrest, and sentenced him to ten years in jail and ten years pro bation. " F o r fishing I was sentenced to five years in ja il and five years pro bation, and my nephew 20 years in jail and 20 years probation. In our defense case they would not allow use o f our treaty. W e were found guilty under the Lacey Act, that says you cannot sell fish across state lines. They bought the fish just so we could go to jail. " W e are religious people. The E l ders come and trade for what we use. I f we are asked to give first to longhouses, we give with no profit. (Please turn to page 2 column 4) g flK M M " T h e public, in our opinion, is being used by M r. Teets (G rey hound Chairman John W Teets| to prove to us that he can operate that service, and the unfortunate thing is, the service is offered by non-pro fessionals," said M attingly. Replacement drivers are being sent out on icy roads after a two- week crash course, he said, while their union counterparts had 8 to 16 weeks o f training and first went on the road in spring and summer, when road conditions are best. “ It actually takes five years to be come a professional, skillled d ri v e r," said M attingly, who has driv en heavy equipment for 40 years, 23 as a Greyhound driver. "A n d that’s why I say M r Teets has complete disregard for the p ublic." M attingly said an accident in Fresno, involving a bus driven by a strikebreaking trainee and a car which refused to yield, might have been avoided had a skilled profes sional been driving the bus. "T h e re ’ s been many accidents avoided simply because we know what to look for and how to react to it. As far as the public is concerned, not the company, but the profes sional, skilled drivers have given Greyhound the professional record that they lay claim to. We are re sponsible for that, not these strike breakers." M attingly said the union member ship held firm against manage ment's ultimatum that they go back to work or lose their jobs, with only six out o f nearly 600 crossing the picket line. The strike resulted from union re jection o f management's contract offer o f 23.5 percent wage and bene fit cuts. Greyhound says it needs the cuts to slay competitive with other bus companies and deregulated air lines. The union, said M attingly, is willing to offer some concessions, but he thinks management’s real aim is to break the union, not nego tiate a contract. " T h e company's ultimatum was take it or leave it, that's it ," said M attingly. "W e believe that they ac tually wanted us to go on strike as their first step in a union busting ef fort. The company could spend m il lions to break the union and regain it in a couple of months if they got what they w an t." " W e ’re in a fight for our very ex istence as a union. The end result of this fight w ill be the determining factor in the survival of the rest of the A T U membership that is cm ployed by other bus lines. I f G rey hound is successful in its efforts to break the u n io n ." he added, "then other national conglomerates will be encouraged to do the same thing " The union requests that the public refrain from patronizing G rey hound, said M attingly. In addition, he said, other unions, aware o f what the strike outcome could mean to them, have offered money and help manning the picket lines, and a na tionally advertised passenger boy cott endorsed by the A F L -C IO lead ership is in the offing " I t will come to that if the strike continues,” he said. M attingly is concerned about the safety o f passengers should strike related violence spill out onto the highways. “ This union does not condone vi olence, particularly violence which might involve injury to public, pay ing passengers. But it should be real ized that, even if we don't advocate or condone violence, the anger and frustration and sometimes the ac tions o f the membership cannot be controlled simply because three union officers cannot be with all 6<X) members at one time watching every move they m ake.” Musician undaunted by illness by l.anita Duke Grassroot News. N. W .— In the summer of 1975 M orell McCree was a young man living from a life plan that he designed. He has just re ceived his Second Class F .C .C . li cense and wav in Canada playing bass with a band called The Best of Friends. Fate dealt McCree a different hand when, on stage in Canada, he had his first attack of multiple scle rosis— the great cnppler of young adults. "T h e attack paralyzed me in stantly. I recovered and here it is eight years later I'm back at school.” McCree is a first year po litical science major at Portland Slate University. In between classes McCree said, " In the beginning people didn't un derstand what had happened to me. Now , they understand because they realize that it could happen to them. They have adjusted and so have I . " D r. John Hammerstad, McCree's physician, explained the debilitating process o f M .S. on the body; “ M .S. is a disease destroying the functions of the central nervous system. The nerve coverings are destroyed and dissolved. The nerves are left bare which is why they don't function properly. This produces symptoms like abnormalities in sensations and weaknesses in the arms and legs.” Dr. Hammersad called McCree's a t tack "severe." McCree recalled one of the exper iences he has faced since his handi cap “ Once before I got in a wheel chair this man saw me walking and thought I was drunk. He told me to leave but when he saw my wheel chair he started apologizing. I thought that was fu n n y." His movements may be restricted by the wheelchair but his mind is afire with ideas and solutions to (Please turn to page h column 3) In apita of illnaaa. Morall McCraa rataina hia Involvamant and In taraat. (Photo: Richard J. Brown)
