( ’ommiHed lo cultural diversity,
Volume X X V II, Number 10
March 5, 1997
(Lbr Ja rlia n i» (©bscrlier
ZiT n nt tn u n i t o
VJ<t I r n h a r
MAX Light rail access expanding
Greater Portland Flute
Society Northwest
Composers’ Concert
Saturday. March 15, at 8 PM at Lin­
coln Hall. (Room 75) Portland State U ni­
versity. Admission is only $5 GPFS Mem
ber/$8 Non-members.
Are you suffering from
shortness of breath?
If you worked and had eight to ten
years or more of exposure to Asbestos
before 1973 and reside in Alaska, Cali­
fornia. Oregon, W ashington and orTexas
you have approximately 90 days to report
in for your free screening
Dave W orthington. Asbestos Investi­
gator. 2205 N. Lombard. Room 103,
Portland, OR 97217, Monday - Friday 9-
4:30 pm.
Parents of Children With
Asthma and Allergies
•4
Parents of Children with Asthma and
Allergies Support Group will meet M on­
day evening, March 17, 7 p.m. at Lake
O sw ego B ap tist C h u rch . 4565 SW
Carman Drive, Room 254 (corner of
Carman Drive & Kruseway-- Route 217
becomes Kruseway ). Please call 579-8375
to RSVP.
“Speaking of Art”
lecture
Pacific Northwest College of A rt's
“Speaking of Art” lecture series now is
taking place on Tuesdays at noon. The
location for “Speaking o f A rt” remains
the Berg Swann Auditorium. 1219 S.W.
Park Ave.
The exciting lectures for March and
April are as follows:
• M a r c h 11 - Horatio Law, Portland
Printmaker and PNCA professor.
• M a r c h 18 - "M aya Lin: A Strong
Clear Vision,” film.
• M a r c h 25 & A p r il 2 - Spring Break.
• A p r i l 9 -Special "Art W ithout Class”
event.
• A p ril 16 - Tom Prochaska, Portland
Printmaker, painter and PNCA professor.
For more information about PNCA.
please all (503) 226-4391.
A Comedy of Errors
Mt. Hood Community College will
host A Comedy o f Errors, by William
S h a k e sp e a re at 8 :0 0 pm , M arch
6,7,8,13,14, & 15 in the Main Theatre. $6
general admission, $4 students/seniors.
Call the Box office at 667-7154. For
information call 667-7157 or 669-6969
PCC Celebrates Women’s
History Month in March
“G irls’ Town". Friday. March 7. 7
p.m.. CT Bldg., Little Theater. “Beyond
B orders” Tuesday, March 11.11 a.m. to
12:20 p.m., SS Bldg., Rm. 102
Free meditation
instructions
A uthorized representatives of Sant
Thakar Singh will be offering a free pro­
gram which includes instructions for the
inner Light and Sound meditation. This
process, which brings inner peace, can be
learned by young and old alike regardless
of faith, religion or lifestyle. Saturday.
March 8th I PM. Room 102 Building 3;
PCC Rock Creek Campus; 17705 NW
Springville Rd. Portland. For any ques­
tions call 541-459-5647
Tri-Met
Tri-Met job fairs to recruit part-time
bus operators, 9 a.m .-3:30 p.m. at Center
Street Garage, 4012 SE 17th Ave. in
Portland, and Merlo Garage, 16130 SW
Merlo Road in Beaverton. Wages start at
$9.07 and progress to $ 16.49 within three
years. For information on applying in
person at Tri-Met, or receiving a joh
application by mail, call 238-4835.
S U B M IS S IO N S : C o m m u n ity
C a le n d a r in fo rm a tio n w ill be given
p r io r ity i f d a te d tw o weeks
b efo re the event d ate.
Westside MAX crews are nearing the two-mile mark as they install rail in one o f the two three-mile long light rail tunnels (above, left) through Portland's West Hills Rai
installation in the tunnel is a five-step process that begins with placing concrete blocks to hold the rail. Working in the westbound tunnel since mid-January, nearly
10,000 feet o f rail has been bolted onto the concrete blocks. Crews expect to have rail the whole length of the tunnel by the end o f February The remaining
installation work in the westbound tunnel, including encasing the rail and ties in concrete, is scheduled to be completed by mid April. In the eastbound tunnel rail
installation will take place this summer. Max tracks are also spreading West to NW 231st (above right). Behind Intel's Hawthorne Farm facility on Elam Young Parkway
in Hillsboro, light rail crews work with crowbars to finesse westbound track into place. Nearly one and one half miles of eastbound MAX track is installed between SW
185th and NW 231st. Work is continuing on the westbound track.
Work Force Training anticipated
by
N e il H eilpern
urrently employed workers in
North Portland may have greater
access to skills training if the
legislature approves a proposed
provide funding and tax incentives to
businesses which join the program.
Dubbed “The Oregon Labor and Industry
Training Act,” the bill would create a pro­
gram that promotes em ployer-based skill
training and educat ion o f currently employed
workers from funds that come from a variety
o f sources.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Cynthia
Wooten (D-Eugene), is expected to be intro­
duced this week, according to Portland con­
sultant Chris Apgar, who assisted Wooten in
preparing the proposed legislation He said
it had not yet been determined whether the
bill would be introduced first in the House or
the Senate.
“This will open-a larger market for jobs in
Northeast Portland as well as the rest o f
Oregon,” said Apgar
He noted that at least one third o f the
approved contract funds would be used to
C
train workers in businesses with fewer than
50 employees.
“ If you work at a company with 25 em ­
ployees and the company doesn’t have the
bill
to to send workers to a specific training
money
that will help increase skill levels,” said
Apgar, “this fund would pay for the train­
ing.”
“ It would also pay the wages o f the re­
placement workers while the regular work­
ers are taking time off for the training.”
“This means having better skilled work and
a higher retention rate,” said Apgar. “ If
people know they can get training they might
stick around a work place a little longer.”
“As an example, turnaround is a problem
in the health care industry," he said, noting
that smaller assisted living health organiza­
tions could train their workers under this
plan.
He also listed Freightliner and the Or­
egon Food Bank as organizations in North­
east Portland which could be included in the
training, as part o f the Oregon Employer
Council
Apgar said that during recent talks with
Ron Young, employment relations manager
for Freightliner's truck division in northeast
Portland, “ He expressed support for the pro­
gram that includes training for the current
work force "
Other areas o f expected support, he said,
include long term care facilities, food pro­
cessors who seem to like the literacy training
aspects o f the program . and other groups I le
said temporary help agency Brooks & Asso­
ciates in North Portland had indicated sup­
port. in addition to their presence on the
Unemployment Insurance Advisorv Coun­
cil.
Apgar said he was enthusiastic about
discussions with organized labor leaders
noting that the AFI ,-CIO “has been support­
ive in the past ' He is planning further talks
with AFL-CIO President Irv Fletcher in the
near future
Some o f the funding would be available
for unions to create new training packages
and current training programs would not be
displaced by the new funding, he said
One important element, said Apgar, is a
literacy component which would be targeted
“ for areas such as North and Northeast Port­
land.”
"W e want to encourage employers to pro­
vide adult training education for their em ­
ployees,'' he said. “After the employers show
proof they provided the training, the follow­
ing year they would get a tax break - re­
duced state unemployment taxes.”
An important part o f the proposed legis­
lation is skill set development, said Apgar.
" this includes developing training pack­
ages for high tech industries, including spe­
cific skills such as statistics and accounting,
certified nurses aides and other practical
applications
Apgar said that small businesses do not
usually have the funds to provide training
for specitic workers. A company could re­
ceive a max imuin o f $5.000 to train a worker
“This bill would provide funding for a
consortium o f several small businesses in
Northeast Portland to provide training for a
specific skill for people from each o f the
businesses.” he said. “ I he businesses could
♦
Continued to page A3
Charity auction to benefit area kids
ortland, OR - On March 8, at­
tendees at the Boys & Girls
Club's Kids Auction will have a
“golden opportunity” to support
land-area youth.
Billed as “Your Golden Opportunity to
Help Kids,” the 13th annual black-tie gala
P
will beheld at The Portland Hilton Hotel and
will feature a silent auction beginning at
5:30 p.m., followed by dinner and oral auc­
Port-
tion.
The state’s single largest charity auction
netted $360,000 in 1996 and is expected to
draw record dollar figures once again.
Among the more than 1700 auction items
are a trip to view the taping o f a “Seinfeld”
episode, and original John Lennon painting
and a classic ’49 Chevy 1/2 ton pick-up
Also included in the auction block are a
variety o f vacations from the Wallowa Moun­
tains to Hawaii and France, plus premier
County Acts to Increase Diversity
ultnomah County Commission­
Exceptions would be made for contracts
ers have finalized changes in
where no contractors meeting the criteria
purchasing rules to increase
were available to do the needed work.
the diversity of contractors utilized by
The focus on small contracts was recom­
the County. The rule changes represent
mended by the Oregon Regional Consor­
a portion of the County's response to
tium Disparity Study. The study found that
the recent Regional Disparity Study
the diversity o f available contractors was
w hich
id e n tifie d
s u b s ta n tia l
greatest for smaller contracts.
underutilization of minority and women's
The Disparity Study was funded by Mult­
business enterprises.
nomah County, the City o f Portland, Metro
“ I am very pleased that we can move
and seven other local government agencies.
forward to provide opportunities for busi­
It examined public construction contracting
nesses that have not always been treated
practices for the period 1991-1994 and de­
fairly ,” said M ultnom ah C ounty C hair
termined that M WBEs were underutilized.
Beverly Stein. “These new rules should help
At the same time, Multnomah County con­
to increase the diversity o f contractors who
ducted a review o f contracting in areas other
get business from the County.”
than c o n s tru c tio n and fo u n d s im ila r
The rules changes focus on public im­
underutilization The County is in the initial
provement and architectural and engineer­
phase o f addressing the underutilization in
ing contracts with a dollar value under
the non-construction contracting areas.
$50,000. Those contracts will be awarded
“This is just one of many steps that we
under an “ informal" system. County staff
need to take to fight the effects o f historic
will be required to solicit quotes from state
discrim ination,” Stein said "We have made
certified firms, get one bid from a Minority
great strides in increasing the diversity o f
Business Enterprise (M BE). one from a
the County workforce, but we are still behind
W om en's Business Enterprise (W BE) and
in the areas o f contracting.”
one from a Emerging Small Business (ESB).
Reportson County w ork force di vers ity find
M
that the County has a larger representation of
racial minority workers than any other gov­
ernment in the State and that the composition
of the workforce mirrors the diversity of the
community. However, recent tallies o f con­
tractor diversity show very low numbers.
In addition to the change in purchasing
rules the County has recently undertaken
several steps on increase contracting oppor­
tunities It now distributes a list of all state
certified M/WBEs and ESBs to all County
employees who do purchasing. The County
operates a contracting hotline jointly with
Metro and provides information on con­
tracting opportunities via the internet and by
fax to potential contractors.
t he County is in the planning stages of
developing a sheltered market program for
contracts over $50,000 in conjunction with
the City o f Portland and creating the posi­
tion of Compliance Officer to monitor ef­
forts in increase contractor diversity t hose
programs will be considered by the Board of
County (om m issioners when they adopt the
budget for the coming fiscal year I he new
purchasing rules will take effect March 31.
1997
sports events such as USTA tennis at the
1997 U S . Open and the NHRA Drag Races
to Major League Baseball's 1997 All-Star
Game
For reservation, call the Boys & Girls
Clubs o f Portland Metropolitan Areaat(5O3)
232-0077.
Labor Party leader to
speak in Portland
Adolph Reed, a member o f the new
Labor Party's National Council, and Con­
tributing Editor to its national journal.
Labor Party Press, will speak in Portland
Sunday, March 9 and Monday, March
10. The Sunday speech, “ Rebuilding
W orking-Class M ovements” will be at.
Koinoma House, 633 SW M ontgonv
ery (by PSU), 7 pm
On Monday Mr Reed will speak on
“G ender in A fro-A m erican Political
Thought", at Reed College from their
press office, which will be at Vollum
Lecture Hall at 7 pm Mr Reed will be
available for questions after each speech,
as well as at home in Chicago at (773)
947-0327 Fax (773)947-0328
Mr. Reed is a professor o f political
science and American studies at North­
western University in Chicago, IL. He is
an African-American, an author of many
books and articles, including The Jesse
Jackson Phenomenon! 1986). and the forth­
coming W E B. Dubois and American
Political Fhought He writes a monthly
column for the Progressive magazine.