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Mrs Frances Sehoen-Newspaper Room
University of Oregon Library
l u gene, Oregon 97403
PORTL
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ERVER
“ The Eyes and Ears of the Community’
Portland, Oregon
VolumeXVIII, Number31
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June 15,1988
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Public Utilities And Affirmative Action
NEWS IN BRIEF
Storefont Theatre Holds
Open Auditions For
“Zooman And The Sign”
Director Rick Jones will hold
open auditions for the North­
west Premiere of ‘Zooman and
the Sign’, written by Pulitzer
Prize winner Charles Fuller,
author of ‘A Soldier's Play’.
Auditions will be held at Store­
front Theatre, 6 S.W. Third and
Burnside, on Tuesday, June 28.
Needed are 3 Black men in
late teens or early 20’s; 3 Black
men aged 30-50; and 3 Black
women aged 30-50. Audtions
are by appointment. Call Gary
O'Brien or Mark Grimes at
224-9598 for an appointment.
Auditions will be in small
arouDS and will consist of read­
ings From the Script. Copies of
the script are available for
checkout at the Storefront of­
fice (615 N.W. Couch) for a $5
refundable deposit.
Pre-Olympic Trials Benefit
Reception For Robin Marks
Friends and well-wishers of
Robin L Marks are invited to a
Pre-Olympic Trials Benefit Re­
ception, Thursday, June 23rd,
at the Northwest Natural Gas
Company, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. The
affair is being hosted by ‘The
Les Femmes’, a youth service
group that presents Debu­
tantes and Cavaliers following
training, community service
and educational programs, to
the Black community. Robin
was a 1980 Debutante.
By Stephen E. McPherson,
Special Correspondent
has e xp e rie n ce d num erous
changes in technology and dereg­
ulation in recent years. These
REVIEW: Last week the initial article of this changes have been reflected in
series documented the observation that the
the types of costs of service to
public sector had made a significant gain in
changing traditional employment and pro­ the consuming public.
motional opportunities for minorities. Since
The position of affirmative ac­
then, Commissioner Bogle indicated that the
tion
officers derived from federal
statistics attributed to Faye Burch applied
regulations
as a conduit for equal
only to those city employees within his re­
sponsibility. Additionally he clarified the fact employment opportunities. It usu­
that the Fire Bureau combines minority and
ally is a function of human re­
women’s statistic together as a single re­
porting unit. Of the latter discrepancy statis­ sources departments and serves
ticians might question that reporting
to interpret, promulgate and de­
method. On the other hand women might ob­
velop programs a long federal
ject on a completely different premise. The
Portland Observer will correct the misim­ guidelines. They collect statisti :s
pressions established in a future article limit­ and make periodic reports to the
ed to the entire municipal employee popula­
labor department. This informa­
tion.
tion is in the public domain and is
ublic utilities represent a subject to a site audit so as to
gray area with reference to a verify compliance.
specialized entity within the pri­ Last week Robert Phillips from
vate sector of the labor market. the Multnomah County office ex­
Each is publicly owned and trad­ posed the problem of confusion
ed on the floors of several stock surfacing over the last eight years
exchanges. Unlike other indus­ with regard to current affirmative
tries outside the public sector, action programs. Such a condi­
utilities are rigidly controlled by tion is abundantly pervasive in the
the State Public Utilities Commis­ private sector. This writer experi­
sion (PUC). PUC is comprised of enced mass reticence among
three commissioners who are ap­ EEO people whom he approached
pointed by the governor. Until the in the private sector even when
most recent change, Oregon was there were remarkable accom­
the only state with only one PUC. plishments to report to the public.
The PUC’s act as a surrogate for In the current presentation most
the public with regard to investor of the information came from
owned electric, natural gas, tele­ public and community relations
phones and motor carriers. It is people.
The following groups of per­
the role of the commission to en­
sure that consumers are provided sons were interviewed.
The Northwest Natural Gas
with adequate service at reason­
able rates while at the same time Company occupies an impressive
permitting the utility to earn a glass tower overlooking the Wil­
reasonable return on its invest­ lamette River at 220 Northwest
ment. Each unit within this group Second Ave. in Portland. I met
P
with Stanley L. Meyer, Staff Sup­
ervisor in the personnel depart­
ment. He was somewhat surpris­
ed that I would be interested in
printing such data in that his com­
pany always had enjoyed a posi­
tive attitude toward employing
minorities in the work force. It
was only during the last seven
years, however, that women
sought positions in non-tradi-
tional occupations such as con­
struction. We reviewed the cor­
poration's policy statement on af­
firmative action. It left no doubt
that top management had made a
strong commitment to extending
equal employment and promo­
tional opportunities to all employ­
ees. The distribution of their work
force at the Portland, Albany,
Eugene and Salem facilities is as
follows: Currently 2.4% of the of­
ficials and managers in Portland
are minorities. There are some in
the other sites. No minorities are
professionals in Portland or Sa­
lem. Statistics were not given
form Albany and Eugene. Minority
technicians were 3.7% in Port­
land, none in Salem and Eugene
and not tabulated in Albany.
Salespersons were represented
by a surprising 10.8% in Portland
and none at any of the other sites. '
Office and clerical personnel
comprised an impressive 13.7%
njinority force in Portland and
4.3% in Salem but none in
Eugene or in Albany. Crafts­
people were a healthy 6.7% mi­
nority in Portland and 5.8% in
Salem but none in Albany and
Eugene. Minority operators such
as meter readers and others com­
prised 5.7% in Portland and none
at the other three sites. Finally
minority laborers accounted for
15.4% in Portland with surprising­
ly no representation at the other
sites. It would appear that the
Portland office has made good
progress while the other sites lag
conspicously behind. This latter
observation does not convey the
complete picture. In this regard,
this writer does not intend to be
an apologist for the shortfalls of
any of the industries studied. It is
important, however, to highlight
certain quirks in the statistical
analysis. Outside the Portland
area the pool of available quali­
fied applicants is compromised
seriously to the exigencies of
population dynamics. The per­
ceived lack of compliance does
not infer the absence of an effec­
tive recruiting effort. Northwest
Natural Gas has a very stable
labor force with their employees
averaging about a 15 year tenure.
New hires and promotions are ag­
gravated further by the fact that
management has accomplished a
reduction in the work force
through attrition. Employment
Antonio Anderson —
Role Model For Black Youth
hen Antonio Anderson re­
ceived his degree in Phar­
macy from the University
Washington, Sunday, hard work,
determination and goal orienta­
tion all had a special meaning to
him. His achievement was gained
only after a struggle that would
have changed a lesser person's
mind in disgust. Antonio learned
a few lessons early in life that
were key to his success. He is the
offspring of Martin Anderson, a
retired airman and sailor. He
didn’t develop into the usual m ili­
tary brat, but heeded the direc­
tions of his father and mother.
This gave him a healthy sense of
purpose, discipline and punctuali­
ty. His mother, Mrs. Bea Ander­
son is a teacher at the Harriet
Tubman Middle school. She not
only emphasized the need for ob­
taining a thorough education but
also underscored the importance
of sticking with a problem until its
resolution. His older brother, Mar­
tin, Jr. was always his hero. He in­
itiated every effort that Antonio
initated. Antonio credits his bro­
ther for having influenced his de­
c is io n to a tte n d B e nson
Technical High School. While
there Antonio lettered in track,
soccer and swimming. He did his
undergraduate work in Biology
with a heavy emphasis on chem­
istry at Portland State University.
It was there that he developed a
fascination for science in an
organic chemistry laboratory.
A ntonio firs t entered the
School of Pharmacy on the Cor­
vallis campus of the University of
Oregon. His experience there was
disastrous. Being the only Black
student, he was treated like a
guinea pig in a fish bowl. Many of
the other students were the sons
W
Robin has been accepted by
the Athletic Congress of the
U.S.A. to compete in the 1988
U.S. Olympic Track and Field
Trials in Indianapolis, Indiana,
July 17th-23rd, for selection of
athletes to represent the
United States in the 1988 Sum­
mer Olympics in Seoul, Korea.
A Portland native, Robin was
the 1980 Queen of the Portland
Rose Festival — the first black
ever selected. She was Track
and Field Champion at Lincoln
High School, winning City and
State (200 m LJ) and the same
year named OSAA Most Valu­
able Female Athlete.
Ornette Colemen & Prime Time
Sunday, June 26th, 8:30 P.M.
Pine Street Theatre
Call 235-0027 For Ticket Info.
of
and daughters of alumnae and
had gained previous experience
in their parents' drug stores. An­
tonio attempted to make up his
deficit by working in a Portland
pharmacy on weekends. His
grades and physical stamina
suffered.
Mr. Anderson then made a de­
cisive change in his overall strate­
gic plans. He abandoned Corval­
lis and applied for admission to
the School of Pharmacy at the
University of Washington in Seat­
tle. His application was rejected
His academic performance at
Corvallis was one problem, but
the type of program offered at the
University of Oregon was a
greater problem. The University of
Washington patterned the first
two years of study on the style of
its medical school. Each student
was required to dissect human
cadavers in gross anatomy.
Antonio was not discouraged.
He took courses to eliminate his
academic deficiencies and ap­
plied for admission again. He was
rejected again. Antonio then de­
veloped a clever indirect ap­
proach to satisfy his career objec­
tive. He took courses required for
$
pharmacy students and passed
them with good grades. He once
more applied for admission to the
School of Pharmacy. In the in­
te rim , he fo r tu ito u s ly e n ­
countered the dean of the school
who inquired about his progress.
During the course of that mo­
mentous conversation Dr. Milo
Gibaldi reviewed Antonio’s tran­
script and found his grades to be
acceptable. But when Dr. Gibaldi
reviewed the admission commit­
tee's recommendation, he an­
nounced that once more Mr. An­
derson had been rejected. The
two men engaged in a lengthy
discussion about Antonio's inten­
tions and with the result of the
meeting of the minds, Antonio
was admitted to the School of
Pharmacy on the personal recom­
mendation of Dr. Gibaldi.
This is not the first time in his
life that Antonio Anderson has
been abandoned into the wilder­
ness to make his own way. He
first had that experience while
earning one of the 40 merit bad­
ges required to become an Eagle
Scout. Antonio recalled how he
was driven up to Mount Hood,
dumped into the bush with noth­
ing but the clothes he wore and
told to survive. Antonio survived
that experience and has survived
many other encounters ever since
then.
He has given his story to the
Portland Observer’ to demon­
strate to the younger Black gener­
ation who might aspire for a
seemingly insurmountable goal
that anything is possible if one
makes the commitment and de­
termination to succeed. It also
helps if you have a supportive
family or surrogates like the three
other Anderson’s.
has been flat over the last several
years. With the increase in new
housing starts it will be in­
teresting to observe if the outly­
ing areas will demonstrate in­
creased employment and promo­
tional opportunities in the future.
Promotions published in the
“ Blue Flame," their inhouse pub­
lication indicated that George
Richardson, a Black employee
of 23 years, was assuming the
position of Director of local and
state government relations. He
previously was Director of Corpor­
ate B u d g e t and S tra te g ic
Planning.
Lois Grace, a Black woman
who has been with the company
since 1973, was promoted from
confidential secretary in Health
and Safety to Disability Adminis­
tr a to r
w ith
in c re a s in g
responsibility.
The next interview was with Pa­
cific Power and Light (PP&L) in
their offices at 920 S.W. Sixth
Avenue. It was at their EEO office
where I encountered evasion and
refusal in even obtaining their an­
nual report, a public document. It
Continued on Page 3
Oregon Bank Announces
Scholarship Recipents
regon Bank has selected cluded Unity Council Club, Key
Lesley E. Kyle and Ericka Club, Student Council, varsity
cheerleading and serving
R. Warren as the recipients of track,
the
on
the
Rose Festival Court. She
Oregon Bank Minority Scholar­
has
also
been involved as an in­
ships for 1988. Kyle and Warren
structor's
assistant at the Alberta
will receive renewable annual
Science for Kids Center and is a
member of the Portland Youth
Leaders of Today vocal ensemble.
As part of the scholarship pro­
gram, Kyle and Warren will be em­
ployed at Oregon Bank in the Job
Experience Program during their
summer vacations. The goal of
the program is to provide the two
scholarship recipients with a gen­
eral knowledge of Oregon Bank s
structure and functions to help
them identify an area of interest
for future employment. Kyle and
Warren have began their summer
employment at Oregon Bank as of
June
13,1988.
scholarships in the equivalent
amount of a full year’s tutition at a
public four-year college or univer­
sity in the state of Oregon. The
purpose of the scholarship is to
encourage graduating seniors
from minority groups who have an
interest and the potential for a ca­
reer in financial services.
Kyle is a Lincoln High School
graduate. She plans to attend ei­
ther the University of Oregon or
Portland State University in the
Fall as an accounting/business
administration major. Kyle was an
exchange student to Costa Rica
Oregon Bank has assets of $1.2
and has been active in Junior
billion
and 56 branches through­
Achievement, soccer, track, year­
out
Oregon.
The Portland-based
book production, and the com­
bank
is
a
subsidiary
of Security
munity service club, LIN.
Pacific
Corporation,
based
in Los
Ericka Warren ,a graduate from
Angeles,
and
is
administered
by
Benson Polytechnic, will attend
Rainier
Bancorporation
head­
the University of Oregon in the
quartered in Seattle.
l Fall. Her school activities have in-
O
FEATURES....................................................................Pa8e 1
EDITORIAL/OPINIO N............................................... Page 2
RELATED STORIES............................................Page 3 & 6
ENTERTAINMENT...................................................... Page 4
RELIGION.....................................................................Page 5
CLASSIFIEDS..................................................... PageS-10
Classified / Display.........................................................................(503) 288-1756
News Desk..........................................................................................
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