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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 20, 1997)
P age A 2 A ug . 20, 1997 • T he P o r tlan d O bserver Editorial articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f (Elje JJnrtlatth ©bseruer Attention Readers! take a minute to send us your comments. W e’re always trying to give you a better paper and we can’t do it without your help. Tell us what you like and what needs improvement... any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. We take criticism well! Get your powerful pens out N O W and address your letters to: Editor, Reader Response, f ,O, Box 3137. Portland, O R 97208, (T ljc ^ .ìn r t la n ò 0 f)h s e r u c r "Love's Labour Lost" (At United Parcel?) (USPS 959-680) Established in 1970 Charles Washington Publisher & Editor Mark Washington Distsribution M anager Gary Ann Taylor Business M anager Larry J Jackson. Sr Director o f Operation Y vonne Lerch A ccount Executive Mike Leighton Copy Editor Contributing Writers: Prolessor McKinley Burt. Lee Perltnan, Neil Heilpern 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, Oregon 97211 503-288-0033 • Fax 503-288-Ü» 15 Email: Pdxohserv@aol.com D eadline f o r a ll su bm itted m aterials: Articles:Friday, 5:00 pm Ads: Monday, 12:00pm POSTMASTER: Send Address Changes To: Portland Observer, P.O. Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208. Periodicals postage paid at Portland, Oregon Subscriptions: $30.00 per sear The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions Manu scripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 1996 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART W ITH- OUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. The Portland O bserv er-O reg o n 's Oldest Multicultural Publica tion—is a member o f the National Newspaper Association—Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York. NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver. 1 Shakespeare where, early on, it is demonstrated that like their ‘labors’, “the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.” King Ferdinand of Navarre attempts to Farewell To A B y J ohn L. B urris S ubscribe to (Lbe ^ a r tl a n h (Dbseruer The Portland Observer can be sent directly to your home for only $30.00 per year. Please fill out, enclose check or money order, and mail to: S ubscriptions T he P ortland O bserver ; PO B ox 3137 P ortland , O regon 97208 Name: Address: City, State: Zip-Code: T hank Y ou F or R eading T he P or i land O bserver ê-ctter ‘Co Cite (SCditor Send your letters to the Editor to: Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208 When I first heard of the passing of famed reporter and syndicated columnist, Dennis Schatzman, I was in a state of shock and disbelief. For me, he had many more articles to write, speeches to give and televi sion appearances to make. I saw so much more life to be intensively lived by this gifted and brilliant man, who through his writ ings had deeply affected me. I had first met Dennis as a televi sion commentator during the O.J. Simpson trial when he and I would be on the same program. W hether it was Rivera Live. AM Philadelphia or CNN, I was always impressed by his (Obsertter Anti-smoking groups take action for teens A nti-sm oking groups said T ues day they w ould inform retailers about new rules against selling c ig a re tte s to m in o rs and then w ould report violations to health authorities. From Feb. 28 it will be illegal to sell cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to anyone under 18 and businesses will have to check the photo I D. o f anyone under 27. O ther new Food and D rug A d m inistration rules designed to curb teen smok- ing w ill be phased in through August 1998. Action on Smoking and Health (A SH ), jo in ed by health and edu cation groups, said it w ould dis tribute inform ation on the new rules to businesses and then would report violations to a toll-free FDA telephone line. FDA officials have said they will not fine m erchants based on those reports but com plaints may trigger an official check on the business. Violators face $250 fines. States already have such laws but they are not enforced consis tently. About 3,000 teenagers start sm oking every day. “ Merchants have long thumbed their noses at state laws prohibiting the sale o f cigarettes to kids,” ASH director John Banzhaf said. “Chil dren buy more than 250 million packs a year and ‘sting’ operations prove that even the youngest kids have no trouble buying cigarettes.” Letters To The Editor: was denied my right under the All five senses (hearing, vision, ;irsl Amendment of the Consti taste, smell and touch) are either tution in Portland, Oregon, on O cto partly or completely useless. Forex- ber 31,1996, because I was not per ample. sometimes I cannot tell where mitted to speak in detail about my sounds are coming from. I have total disability at my hearing. I was in night blindness. My sense of taste is volved in a court dispute with my sporadic; sometimes an apple taste landlord concerning lack of a w ork like an orange. Nerve damage has ing stove in my home for three blocked my sense of smell. I have a months My Landlord Evicted Me constant tingling sensation, like when B ecause I Held Back the R ent To one ’ s foot goes to sleep, from head to Buy a N ew Stove So I C ould Eat. A toe that never stops. My food must be stove is essential at all times because prepared under strict supervision ofm y severe disability. I asked judge because my disability causes me to Overgaard to let me explain my dis choke and throw up often. ability in so many words. Judge A .stove is crucial at all times in my Overgaard refused to allow my law home. My landlord denied me a work yer, witnesses and care provider to ing stove for three months Thejudge talk about my disability in any detail. denied my witnesses to attest to this I t i convert his little court into a univer sity. Last week, we presented here a brief but well-documented recitation of some 130 years of American labor history which clearly indicated that the long-term planning of both labor and management has “gone astray.” And this week in Mid-August, 1997, we have on center stage a major national confrontation between the United Parcel Company and the Teamsters Union. So far, no one has been able to bring any level of under standing to this 'c o u rt’ - and the foes in this controversy remain impla cable even at this writing, Friday evening 8/15/97. Depending on your choice of me dia, commentator, political or eco nomic persuasion, you may select issues of concern or you may disre gard the entire emotional affair — on the premise that you are not directly affected in any substantial manner. Is that plausible? The media cites a 5% “downturn in the nation’s economy as a result of this strike, to date. Believe me, if you are on the eco nomic “fringe or border line” so of ten referred to, then, indeed, you are "directly affected.” You don ’ t necessarily have to be a striking employee of United Parcel to feel an excruciating financial pain I fact. My disability lawyer would not handle my case. Now I am left home less with no sanitary means of pre paring food. 1 have an extremely weak immune system. I certainly appreciate you taking the time to read my letter. Jeanette Spencer Any response can be directed to: Robert W Boyer King Neighborhood Facility Coordinator Portland Public Schools 4815 NE 7th Portland. OR 97211 (503) 916-5835 - although the job with this workforce may have taken you off a wel fare roi I to which you cannot return. Across the nation the very same set of eco nomic facts obtain for the hundreds of thousands of workers for both small and large firms who depend upon a smooth flow of their products to customers - and not just mail order firms. The same circumstances hold true in respect to many of the parts and materials these firms must re ceive in order to manufacture such products. Additional emotional pain will be added to the economic hardship for those who thought they saw a little financial breathing room possible with the new Income Tax Credits approved by the 1997 Oregon Legis lature and signed into law by Gov. John Kitzhaber. Working mothers for United Parcel or strike-affected firms must quickly rethink the: bud get adjustments and number-crunch ing. If this strike becomes a long term standoff, will we hear more voices from Washington boasting of "Shrinking W elfare R olls?” and school clothing, for children of the poor? On the other side of coin we have the working men and women of the nation finally coming into confronta tion with management (selected) over rave ability to speak the truth no matter how uncomfortable it made the white commentators, and some blacks feel. To me. Dennis was the proverbial bard who was there to tell it like it was regardless of how it affect oth ers. His commitment to explaining to whites and blacks that race was an all encompassing phenomena in this country and that it does not go away because you try to ignore it. As oth ers tried to suggest that the O.J. Simpson case was not about race, Dennis Schatzman was there to re mind us all that we should not ignore the issue of race, and that this case was not only about race, but was bigger that O.J. himself. And although to some he appeared several of the most controversial and divisive issues o f modern in dustry and workforces; namely, “P art-tim e W ork and Pension Plans." Each side claims the 'high ground’ and refuses to budge, and each has legal and anecdotal mate rial to support its position -espe cially as relates to pensions. The union claim s that the com pany wishes to seize control of the U.P. Pension fund so that it may m anipulate the investm ent of these moneys for corporate en richment (see, “Pensions In C ri sis: Why System Is Failing...” , Ferguson and Blackw ell, A rcade Publishing, 1995). A com pany spokesperson has pointed to “the T eam ster’s long history of pension fund m ism an agement, including financing of much o f th e 'L a s V egas S trip ’ and leveraged-buy outs having noth ing to do with benefits for w ork ing men and w om en.” The T eam sters refer to a federal clean up . and fairelectio n s’ that have taken place since the old d a y s’. In any case, the pundits have it that “the pension issue is sim ply a bargaining chip. We w onder w hat is on the mind of A lexis H erm an, the comely black Secretary o f L a bor? lack Journalist to be outrageous in his manner, but beyond surface appearances, there was a method to the madness be cause he had the ability to focus the issues and make people see the truth whether they liked it or not. D ennis Schatzm an w as a m od ern day Paul R evere w ho w arned us that racism was like an in sid i ous p arasite w hich was sucking the lifeb lo o d from the A frican A m erican com m unity. He tried to show us that we should bew are of the racism that is part o f the crim inal ju stic e system in this country w hich is sapping us of our young men and has resulted in a d isp roportionate black prison pop u latio n and great d isparity betw een blacks and w hites in se n tences and time actually spent in jail. Likewise, he understood that the disparity in health care, education, housing and employment was also detrimental to the survival o f the African American community. So for me, D ennis S chatzm an proved the adage that “ the pen is m ightier than the sw o rd ” and the legacy that he leaves to all o f us is best sum m ed up in the w ords o f F rederick D ouglas w hen he said tow ard the end o f his life, as he c o u n se le d y o ung m en and women as to th e ir future role in society, that they should “a g i tate, ag itate, agitate." A Week Of Victories be about structural inequality, power, or the 26th year in a row, and privilege-in other words, not just the Rainbow/Push family race, but racism. held its national convention, The panel also decided that we do and this year, the first held after the need an apology, reparations, and Rainbow/Push Coalition merger, was remedy; and that we must be active one of the best ever! W e’re on the and involved right now in defining move... what “apology” and “repair” and From the opening day Board Lun “remedy” really mean. The Rain cheon to the closing Ministers Lun bow/Push Coalition must help lead cheon and the next Leadership G en this conversation. eration networking event, this con *Thursday morning, the large ference was alive. The crowds were crowd at the Labor Breakfast came large, registrations were at record alive with AFL-CIO President John levels, panelists were outstanding, Sweeney's speech, and erupted when and the delegates were involved and Jesse presented labor aw ards to attentive. (Nancy, Axel, Velma & United Farm Workers head Arturo Company-you can be proud!) The highlights were many: Rodriguez. and Melody Johnson of the mushroom workers in Florida. *The opening press conference, Rev. Jackson also noted that the in front of a capacity crowd, focused on our5-pointback-to-school pledge Rainbow/Push Board approved a “Slow Down the Fast Track” resolu for students & parents. Rev. Jackson tion at the board meeting. noted that 50,(XX) parents were in *Rev. Willie Barrow put together volved in Chicago now, after 3 years an overflow crowd of I ,(XX) people of effort by Rainbow/Push, working to hear Alexis Herman, our new Sec with Chicago Public Schools CEO retary of Labor, at the W omen’s Paul Valias. We set a goal of 40.(XX) Luncheon. The award given to Ms. parents & students in each of 50 urban districts, for a total of 2 mil lion Dorothy Height provided a particu larly touching moment. pledges. * A comprehensive series of more *The Clay Evans Gospel C on cert brought together a beautiful than a dozen panels and workshops mass choir of more than 300 sing put together by Dr. Valerie Johnson, ers. laid out an education agenda for the *Friday morning, Doris Daven coming century. *The “Race, Reason. Remedy” port helped bring together Jack Smith, CEO of General Motors, with key Town Hall meeting opening night, featured experts and scholars such as executives from Ford, Chrysler, Dr. Charles Ogletree, Dr. Cornel Nissan , and Mitsubishi, for a discus sion of minority partnerships. W est, Dr. Ron W alters, L aura Later business panels analyzed Murphy, and Lerone Bennett. This how to open doors in the food market panel concluded that the president’s industry, the survival of African national Conversation on Race" must F American funeral homes, and fair ness in media and telecommunica tions. *Cong. Jesse Jackson, Jr., led a crowded “How to Fight Back” work shop that afternoon, with his own special, focused, no-notes presenta tion on organizing. *Rev. Jackson’s keynote, “A Year of Change; A Century of Victories,” preceded t he Tra i I b I azer A ward given to Don King, at the Business Lun cheon. *Lou Rawls entertained the gala banquet that night, along w ith a wonderful video by C hee Chee W illiam s. The special honorees were Rev. Joseph Low ery, recipi ent of the Jack O ’Dell Peace & Justice Award, and Mr. & Mrs. Evander Holyfield, receiving the A rthur Ashe Award. *The last morning o f the confer ence featured talks by N A A CP President Kweisi M funte, LU LA C President Belen Robles, and former New York M ayor David D inkins. Analysts David Bositis and Bob Borosage then painted a precise picture of A m erica’s political situ ation. Two moments in particular stand out from Saturday m o rn in g ’s ses sion" -First, the wife and son o f labor leader M uktapar Pakpahan, read ing a letter of thanks for our aw ard, given to him as he sat locked in an Indonesian jail for his organizing e ffo rts . (O u r th a n k s to B arb Shallor, International D irector of the AFL-CIO, for her help in m ak ing this profound moment happen!)
