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N ovember 2, 1994 • T he P ortland O bserver
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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
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W illia m VV. M ehrens
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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
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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)
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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:
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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
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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
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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
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