Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 1994)
P age A4 N ovember 2, 1994 • T he P ortland O bserver — •’S'.'. — Construction Trade Unions Should Stop the Greed Political Opinion Vote No On Measure 12 Law Protects Fair Wage For Minorities, All Workers by I I am com pelled to w rite to express my outrage concerning your article on the "D avis B a con” act. The disclaim er at the end o f this article stating the N ational C enter for Public P ol icy R esearch is a non-partisan organization is akin to the Klu Klux Kian stating they are a white pride organization. I would su g g est that the P o rtland O b serv er check the accuracy and facts before p rin t ing an article subm itted to them by any organization, especially one from a notorious anti-union group such as this is. If you check your history, this law was passed in 1931, two years after the stock m arket crash at the depths of the d e pression. As the federal g o v ern ment was trying to stim ulate the econom y and put people back to work by in v estin g in public works an interesting dev elo p ment was occurring. A num ber o f unscrupulous contractors were recruiting any w orker they could at the low est wage they had to pay thereby w in n in g m an y g o v e rn m e n t projects. In the debate over the pas sage o f “Davis B acon” it was pointed out that a contractor that was doing work on a project in New York was paying so little in wages for its w orkers that the local w orkforce refused to work. This contractor in turn recru it ed a labor w orkforce from the South, predom inately from the African Am erican com m unity to p erfo rm the p ro je c t in New York. The point the Congressman made was that these workers were required to risk their lives every day for a wage that kept them living on the job site in wood and cardboard shacks. This struck this Congress man as a repeat of American Histo ry when thousands of slaves lived in similar conditions at many planta tions in the South and some justified slavery with the refrain, “at least they have a job.” The cry that I cannot hire as many m inorities as I w ould like because, “ I have to pay that in •• V , A A * • ' .... • j W illia m VV. M ehrens ‘ > --T . • r <•: • < * flated union w age,” and they ju st d o n ’t have the skills neces sary w ithout training to pay that inflated wage. This is racism , no m atter who says it. Any contractor may pay a training wage as long as it is a bonifide program with progres sion that gets the w orker the necessary skills to becom e a journeyperson. Both the federal and state prevailing wage laws are very sim ple. C onstruction projects with governm ent funds will not be used to underm ine the eco nomic standards of the com m u nity where that projects takes place. A contractors ability to com pete is based on their ab ili ty to perform , not on how little they pay their em ployee. The law requires the gov ernm ent to establish a value for a task perform ed. Then it re quires all contractors offering j to perform that task to pay not ' less than that rate to anyone ' perform ing that task, male, fe male, H ispanic, A frican A m eri can, related to the boss or not. Those that support the repeal say public contracting should be just like the private sector. The pri vate sector is not required to accept the lowest bid whether the contrac tor is qualified or not. During the week of Oct. 10 we conducted our own survey. We cal led for a quote for a plumber. We called a well-known union shop in Oregon City and an equally well- know n, non-union shop in Milwaukie. We have been told over 80 percent o f the new w orkers en tering the w orkforce in the next decade will be wom en and mi norities. This law says if they perform the task they receive the wage. Why would you want to change that? Vote No on Ballot Measure 12 to ensure ALL workers on a con struction project get paid according to the task performed, not some other innocuous "merit” system. (William W. Mehrens is the Executive Secretary for the Colum bia Pacific Building and Construc tion Trades Council of the AFL- CIO.) by J ames L. P osey It’s more than a sick irony that local construction trade unions are crying, “Stop the Greed,” to the public in their attempts to stop ballot Measure #12. The measure is intended to repeal the Little Davis-Bacon Act. If any Black member of the community had any doubt about Measure 12 and the need to support it, they should read or re-read the October 5 Portland Observer article titled, “A Dou ble-Edge Sword - Davis-Bacon Finds Minority Opposition.” While the article was mainly factual. I’m more emotional about how these greedy white folks in the unions have categorically and sys tematically denied Black people eco nomic opportunities in the way of high paying jobs in the construction industry. And they have the nerve to ask others to stop the greed. The truth is local construction unions, with few exceptions, continue a blatant but sophisticated program of keeping Blacks from gaining any significant by J ames L. P osey • / . i * • ;• • . . ; >•■» » A' • . *. . t *» ‘ • ; •• * * . ■ -, } ( - '» <• A , • - • •A-.’.Lr .¿¿J/' 7 ’• > f 'VW? Janies Posey is a small busi ness owner with a background in social work and community activ ism. political environment, what choice do Black people have? And while the Clinton administration deserves lots of criticism, we thank God his ad ministration has slowed the stacking of the Supreme Court with tight- minded conservatives, has support ed the collapse of apartheid in South Africa, and has appointed more Black judges than any president in history. It should be crystal clear that every African-American has a lot to lose if Blacks don’t vote in sufficient numbers to waylay these negative assaults to people of color. On the local political scene, at the invitation of the Black Leader ship Conference a few weeks ago, several members of the Black com munity met with John Kitzhaber, Democratic candidate for Governor. Probably not unlike his previous ap pearances, he was cordial and lis tened well to all the concerns. But you could tell that some of the negroes who provided Barbara Roberts with misguided counsel had been court ing him pretty heavily. In fact, you could hardly stand the panting in the room; you know the ones I’m talking about. Those who always seem to be asking for somethingthey say will help the Black community . But as it turns out, these opportunists are the only ones re ceiving any real benefit. But we all hope that Kitzhaber, if elected, will be astute enough to see through these scam artists and do exactly the oppo site of Barbara Robert’s legacy of patronizing Blackcommunity issues. The two politicians in attendance at the Kitzhaber meeting were Avel Gordly and Ed Washington. They both seemed intent on keeping the candidate on track and responsive to community issues. Both Avel and Ed are on the ballot in November. It is clear that they are the most effective politicians serving the Black com munity. Avel is unopposed, but every one needs to get out the vote for Ed. It may be that many Blacks don’t know it, but this election is a scary time for Northeast community inter est. If we don't all get out and vote, you can be sure that there won’t be much of chance of changing the many negative conditions facing our com munity. REMEMBER TO VOTE V O T IN G T A K E S P L A C E O N N O V E M B E R 8 T H "Portland's parks a n d recreation facilities play a fundamental role in making Portland a safer city. Gang violence, drop out rates, and van dalism decline when our youth have positive recreation opportunities. A YE S vote on 2 6 - 1 0 is a great investment in our youth, our quali ty of life and our public safety. " Charles Moose Pdrks! People! Portland! Vote YES! on #26-10 (This information furnished by Julie A. Williamson, Citizens for Light Rail Expansion) i? -., V v • * f *, > e Bui the real paradox surround ing the measure is the general sup port the Oregonian and many Blacks give to Mary Wendy Roberts who has helped to maintain this racist system for so many years. While Mary will advocate on behalf of mi grant workers and gay rights, even Steve Wonder can see that she will ultimately do nothing to jeopardize the support of her union cronies. Yes, its a masterful strategy to label their opposition greedy when the unions have gotten obscenely fat at the expense of and to the exclusion of African-Americans and other mi norities. This Halloween voting sea son every responsible person work ing for equal opportunity, Black or white, ought to end this monster bash by voting yes for Measure 12 on November 8. M ake our parks safe. ! An Open Letter to The Voters Of Clackamas. Multnomah And Washington Counties: t ****** e V 4 * 4' * • » . White House and take control of Congress by any means necessary. What js very sad and disastrous for the country is that those scoundrels are using the oldest trick in the book, divide and conquer. It’s clear that they want the middle-class and poor whites to believe that Blacks and other minorities are taking their jobs through affirmative action. They are trying to paint every program that uplifts citizens that are traditionally left out as wasteful and anti-white. “If its good for Blacks and other minorities, than it must threaten the existence of law biding whites,” is their motto. They have truly built a cam paign based on fear and divisiveness. More tragically and in not-so-subtle ways, they are relentlessly trying to reinforce the theory that Blacks are responsible for every major problem facing America, including crime, drugs, welfare, AIDS, you name it. With Republicans, Blacks seem to have two choices: slim and none. I for one have never wanted to put all my eggs in the Clinton/Dem- ocratic basket. But in the current Take my word for it, ain’t no way Blacks folks can afford to be complacent about their vote on November 8. If Blacks think they have it bad now, just let those ultra conservatives in both parties re gain control, and you ain't seen nothing yet. It’s not that any one should be overjoyed with the pa tronizingly political antics of these white liberals. At least they are not trying to w hack you off in the light of day. And if Blacks haven't gotten the message yet, it ain't exactly politi cally correct these days to be lined up with issues and concerns that em power people of color and the poor. Republicans, starting with Kansas Senator Bob Dole, have been espe cially unscrupulous and nasty in their attacks on civil rights issues, even the symbolic ones. Newt Gingrich, Ollie North and the rest of the boys, as reflected in the Republican “Con tract with American,” seem poised to reintroduce slavery. Make no mistake about it, the Republicans are out to regain the Tri-Met M easure NO. 26-13 ?Z:< 1 <* ; ' \ Vi <. has resulted in a nearly a 100 percent quota system for whites males. The issue is also confusing be cause the supporters of Measure 12, including the Oregonian newspaper, have rattled off many economic rea sons why the general public should vote for the measure. But they seem reluctant to give the full history of how the Act came into existence by outlining its original racist intent. You can only wonder if they are afraid to polarize the issue in a racial context. Regardless, they need to tell the whole truth so that everyone will know* the dubious nature of this very bad law and all the reasons why it needs to be repealed. Even Black advocacy groups seem curiously ap athetic about discussing how this law has so greatly harmed economic pros pects for Blacks. Black leaders do their constituents a disservice by not being fully informed and aggressive ly encouraging every African Amer ican to vote ‘Yes’ to end this slave- era law. Politics ’94 Critical for Blacks I « • f *• As M ayors o f G resham , Hillsboro and Portland, we are often faced with situations that demand much of our voters. Rarely do we have a chance to talk to voters about a proposal as positive as expanding our MAX light rail system to serve the corridor between Clackamas County and Vancouver, Washing ton. Measure 26-13 is designed to provide the local funding to build a 25 mile light rail line. It will connect MAX and westside light rail with a south-north line from Clackamas County to Vancouver, Washington. Our $475 million will be matched five to one by dollars contributed by Clark County, the States of Oregon and Washington and the federal gov ernment. Please join us in supporting this important step to help keep growth a positive force for our communities. • G ussie M cR obert, M ayor of Gresham • Vera Katz, Mayor of Portland • Gordon Faber, Mayor of Hillsboro entry in the skilled crafts. Of course, this sad predicament is not a new revelation. However, this situation becomes painfully acute when you realize that this election will provide an opportunity to change a significant pattern of racism and discrimination. Yet Blacks seem con fused about how to vote. Part of the confusion comes from the fact that, because of a history of being builders and labors, Blacks should naturally relate more to, and automatically support, blue collar labor issues. But one simply has to look around and realize that the present system has been an effective agent in keeping us out. This is true in spite of union efforts to turn the few Blacks that have gained some measure of success into their recruit- ers/spokes-persons. The Little Davis- Bacon law has retained its originally intent, which was designed to ensure a nearly all-white, male club in the construction trade unions by limiting training and access to opportunities for Blacks and other minorities. This * r. P * ’■* W A •' - *•»
