NOV. 19,1997
Page A4
(Elje Jlortlanh (©bscruer
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T hank
Yot F or R eading T he P ortland O bserver
“Along the Color Line”
Labor Organizing And The Black Poor
The most important election to
take place this fall was largely
unreported in the press. There were
no public debates, no campaign
slogans or posters, not even a
bumper sticker. There weren’t even
any candidates running for office.
This election was not about per
sonalities. but power. At stake was
potentially the economic f uture of
millions of poor people across the
country.
Since the passage of the draco
nian 1996 welfare bill, the sur
vival of several m illion poor
women and children, the majority
of whom are blacks and Latinos,
become at risk. Hundreds of thou
sands of Aid to Families With
Dependent Children (AEDC) re
cipients have been forced into vari
ous "workfare" s c h e m e s In New
York City, for example, many
AEDC recipients are required to
work 20 or more hours each week
in order to receive their modest
payments.
These women usually work in
jobs normally associated with the
lowest wages: cleaning public toi
lets and streets, mopping hospital
floors, picking up litter in subway
stations. Few w om en receive
proper equipment for their jobs
Health and safety safeguards are
virtually nonexistent Frequently
women assigned to work outside
are not even provided with toilet
facilities
Several decades ago. the Asso
ciation of Community O rganiza
tions for Reform Now, known as
ACORN, began building a pro
gressive. human rights movement
among America's poorest and most
oppressed people. Today ACORN
has over 200,000 members. In its
latest initiative, ACORN began a
campaign in New York City to
achieve union representation sta
tus for workfare workers.
Some political "experts" though
that ACO RN ’s efforts to organize
AFDC recipients was quixotic at
best. Welfare mothers, for the most
part, have no personal history or
experience in unions Besides, or
ganized labor had traditionally
viewed poor people’s problems and
concerns as being irrelevant to its
own interests.
This October, New York C ity’s
.35,(MM) workfare participants were
given the choice to determ ine
whether they desired to have union
representation. Over a period of
four days, about 17,300 people cast
ballots at 250 polling sites across
the city. The election results were
clear: alm ost 17,000 w orkfare
workers voted in favor of organiz
ing a union, with barely 300 voting
against. The vote showed without a
doubt that "welfare mothers" rec
ognize the exploitation of labor
inherent in the workfare program.
Representatives of Republican
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani im
m ediately dism issed this over
whelming mandate for union rep
resentation Randy L. Levine. New
York City ’ s Deputy Mayor for Eco
nomic Development, protested that
because welfare is supposed to be
“temporary", that it made no sense
for “welfare recipients to become
city employees." ACORN organiz
ers immediately challenged the
Giuliani administration to meet with
them, with the goal of improving
working conditions for workfare
workers.
e
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t
V
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s
The North will Rí» fyaín, ni
Fortiani» (©bserver
Charles Washington
Publisher & Editor
J)
T he poet R obert Frost said,
“ w ritin g free verse is like p la y
ing tennis w ithout a n e t.” A nd a
b la ta n t d isre g a rd for the 'r u le s
o f the g a m e ’ can d e ra il even the
in itia l phase o f a w e ll-p la n n e d
e n te rp rise like the "A lb e rta Food
P ro je c t.”
But en o u g h , a lre a d y , o f the
sp e c ific d isa b ilitie s o f the c h o
sen com m unity gro u p we sought
to in te re st in the p ro ject. E xcept
to say that, for the on-com ing
g en eratio n and any o th e rs p la n
ning “C o m m u n ity -O w n e d ” , e c o
nom ic d e v e lo p m e n t, such re a l
tim e, e x p e rie n c ed -b a se d m odels
are needed - w h eth er they ended
in success o r w ere ab o rted . R e
fer to last w e e k ’s a rtic le .
T his is not to say that those
A m erican s w ho have lo n g -su f
fered from tra u m a tic and in s titu
tio n a liz e d eco n o m ic lim ita tio n s
do not need or d e se rv e g o v e rn
m ental in te rv e n tio n e g. m in o r
ity or ‘set a sid e ’ c o n tra c ts, A ffir
m ative A ction. W ithout that rec-
o g n itio n and in tercessio n in a
vicio u s and racist c irc u m sta n c e,
fin a n c ia l, cu ltu ral and p o litic a l
parity never w ill be achieved.
F or the m om ent, we restrain
o u rse lv e s from any cau stic c o m
m ents on the h y p o c rite segm ent
o f th o se g ro u p s w hose sh rill
s c r e a m s fo r a “ c o l o r - b l i n d
A m e ric a ” could cause you to a l
m ost fo rg et certain facts
. T his is the blu sterin g crow d
that in stitu tio n a liz e d racism , c re
ating an urg en t need for federal
in te rv e n tio n to prev en t a further
d escen t into an urban social and
econom ic d isa ste r fo r us all.
As my black n e ig h b o r put it
d u rin g a loud abusive co m m en
tary a d d re sse d to som e c o n stru c
tion w ork ers having th eir lunch
next to his p ro p erty ; "T h a t’s easy
for you to say. Y o u ’ve been free
since you landed on Plym outh
R o ck , e n s la v e d the A fric a n s,
sla u g h te re d the In d ian s, inv ited
over tens o f m illio n s m ore E u ro
pean im m ig ran ts - and, then, re
w rote the c o n stitu tio n s o f the
craft unions to read, for w hite
m ales o n ly ;.”
‘B ill’ has been re in fo rc in g his
p o int by giving me rid es up and
dow n N.E. A lb e rta S treet and
M .L.K. Blvd w here so m uch new
co n stru c tio n is going on
He has pro m ised me five d o l
lars for every black seen o p e ra t
ing any m ach in ery , tool or d e
vice m ore so p h istic a te d than a
shovel or a ham m er. So far, I ’m
still broke.
But, m ean w h ile, back to my
“A ll A m e ric a n ” c o n c e p t o f b u si
ness d ev elopm ent and ow nership
by c o m m u n ity r e s id e n ts w ho
'o n ly happen jo be m in o ritie s or
w o m e n ’ - an a w hose in d e p e n
d e n tly - m a n a g e d o p e r a tio n s
w ould be u n fe tte re d (o r c o n
tro lle d ) by any federal financial
or s o c ia l’ lien s, or cu ltu ra l e n
cu m b ran ces. In o th er w ords, e n
tre p re n e u rsh ip in the style o f the
“ A lberta Food P ro je c t." O r as
B ill’ w ould say, “ju s t like w hite
fo lk s.”
My c o m fo rt le v e l and su c
c esses w ith th is in clu siv e p o si
tion of e ith e r co m p le te in d e p e n
dence for those en dow ed w ith
the necessary sk ills and e x p e ri
ence, or a reaso n ed a ssista n c e
w here both the need and the c a
p a c ity to b e n e fit are d e m o n
strated - can be atte ste d to by
e ith e r o f the fo llo w in g su c c e ss
ful b u siness lead ers in our c o m
m unity. Both took my b u sin e ss
and urban econom ic c la sse s at
P ortland S tate U n iversity.
Sam B rooks o f the “O regon
A sso ciatio n o f M inority E n tre
p re n e u rs” and H erm an G rim es,
P resid en t o f “C o ast Ja n ito ria l.”
and there are m any m ore, too
num erous to nam e, w ho c o m
p le te d th at se rie s o f b u sin e ss
co u rses and have gone on to e i
ther chart new seas or to su c c e ss
fully m odel my own b u sin e ss
ex p e rie n c es or my in d ustry e x
perien ces; S ervice, m a n u fa c tu r
ing, retail - accounting, shipping ,
com puters.
N ext w eek: conclu d ed ‘one-
m o re -o n c e ’ as we append som e
necessary o b se rv a tio n s; “b e tte r
in fo rm atio n re trie v a l is n eed ed -
using your c u ltu ra l base and c o
hesion to your ad v an tag e, but
av oiding re se g re g a tio n in a n a r
row ing w o rld .”
V a n t a g e P o in t
The Sell out In New York: When Pragmatism Replaces Principle
B y R on D aniels
R udolph G iu lia n i, M ayor of
New Y ork, is the ep ito m e o f a
new w ave o f rig h t w ing p o liti
c ia n s w ho have com e to p ow er in
the last decade e sp o u sin g p o li
c ies and program s in d irect o p
p o sitio n to the in te re sts o f people
o f c o lo r and poor and w orking
people. Indeed, it w as R udolph
G iu lia n i w ho won the m ayoralty
in 1993 by bashing form er M ayor
D avid D inkins and accep tin g the
su p p o rt o f the P o lice B enevolent
A sso c ia tio n of the New Y ork
P o lice D ep artm en t at a drunken,
p ro fa n ity fille d , racist rally on
the steps o f C ity H all. R udolph
G iu lia n i, like so m a n y right wing
p o litic ia n s around this nation,
w as sw ep t into o ffic e by the
W h ite b a c k la s h a g a in s t th e
p ro g re ss o f B lack people and
o th e r peo p le o f c o lo r d u ring the
e ra o f 6 0 ’s.
In the face o f th is kind o f right
w ing reco rd , how is it p o ssible
that p ro m in e n t B lack political
and re lig io u s lead ers and lib eral-
p ro g re ssiv e labor lead er could
line up in su p p o rt o f R udolph
G iu lian i in the re c e n t m ayoral
e le c tio n in New Y ork? Such no
ta b le fig u re s as C o n g re ssm a n
F lo y d F la k e , C o n g r e s s m a n
A ugustus T ow ns and sta lw a rt la
bor lead ers like S tan ley H ill of
D istric t 37 A FSM E and D ennis
R iv eria o f 1199 H ealth and H os
pital W orkers gave th eir stam p
o f ap p roval to a m ay o r w ho has
given tax breaks to W all S treet
w h ile o ffe rin g no m e a n in g fu l
plan for jo b g en eratio n or e c o
nom ic developm ent for inner-city
n e ig h b o rh o o d and co m m u n ities.
H is honor has been a prim e p ro
p o nent o f w orkfare w hich th re a t
ens to u n derm ine the se c u rity /
sta b ility o f w orkers w ith good
p a y in g u n io n jo b s w ith in the
m unicipal w orkforce. In addition,
in a city w here h u n d red s o f th o u
sands o f B lack and L atin o stu
dents are com pelled to attend low
p e rfo rm in g s c h o o ls , G iu lia n i
d rastically red uced the education
b u d g e t fu rth e r d a m a g in g the
ch ances for these young people
to attain a q u a lity ed u catio n .
R u d o lp h G i u l i a n i ’s m a jo r
claim to fam e is a dram atic r e
duction in crim e. N ew Y orkers
are said to be fe e lin g m uch safer
these days. P o lice b ru ta lity and
m isco n d u ct, ho w ev er, have no
ticeab ly in creased as G iu lia n i’s
aggressive p o licing p o licies have
re su lte d in sc o re s o f cases of
p o lic e b r u ta lity a n d m u rd e r.
People in in n e r-c ity n e ig h b o r
hoods, p a rtic u la rly young A fri
can A m erican, L atin o and A sian
m ales feel less secu re as they
daily face the th re a t o f h a ra ss
m ent, abuse or even death at the
hands o f ren egade cops. T his is
the m an th at som e p ro m in e n t
A frican A m erican lead ers and
stalw art labor lead ers en d o rsed
in the recen t m ayoral cam paign .
In making this fateful decision
these “respected" leaders intention
ally or unintentionally sold out the
interests and aspirations o f the
m asses of B lack people, other
people o f color and poor and w ork
ing people. In most instances these
leaders meant well, they were sim
ply being “practical" in going along
to get along in order to have access
to the w inner in the hope of garner
ing some benefit for their lim ited
constituency or for them selves.
They chose the prospect o f gaining
“d iv is ib le ” p a tro n a g e /b e n e fits,
those benefits that m ight accrue to
an individual or a narrow co n stitu
ency over “ indivisible” benefits,
those benefits that accrue to an
entire group or class. They placed
pragmatism over vision, values and
p rin cip le. T hey abandoned the
many i” *’
ite re st o f a few.
Houston, Yes! - Hatch, No!
E le c tio n day b ro u g h t som e
good new s, by way of the Lone
S tar S tate. The very last state to
su rre n d e r during the civil W ar,
T ex as is not n o rm ally a place
w here one would begin the search
for ju stic e and eq u ality .
H ow ever, the voters o f H ous
ton stood tall, by voting to p re
serve the c ity ’s a ffirm a tiv e ac
tion program , thereb y proving
that not all A m ericans are fooled
or scared by right-w ing ra c e -b ait
ing. (A t the sam e tim e, they gave
Lee Brow n a strong first-round
lead in his attem pt to becom e the
c i t y ’s first A fric a n A m erican
M ayor.)
W hat are the lessons from our
v icto ry in H ouston?
♦F irst, this vote show s that
p e o p le are not a u to m a tic a lly
ready to re se g re g a te. (T h is also
m akes the C alifo rn ia situation
even m ore sh am efu l, as T exas
vo ters have now acted m ore d e
cen tly than Pete W ilso n ’s fo l
lo w ers.)
♦ S eco n d , the H o u sto n vote
d e m o n stra te s th at bold le a d e r
ship from w hite p o litic ia n s, as
part o f a broad c o a litio n , can
m ake a huge d iffe re n c e. M ayor
Bob L a n ie r stood strong on the
side o f ju stic e in this b attle, m ak
ing the case to preserv e and p ro
/M /AWOiy PU$ H
C O A L IT IO N
tect affirm a tiv e actio n . He d id n ’t
end it; he d e fe n d e d it. The c o n
tra st w ith the D em ocratic Party
an the C lin to n A d m in istra tio n is
stark. M ayor L an ier stepped fo r
w ard and fought back; m ost other
p ro m in en t D em o crats have re
m ained in hiding.
♦Third, this initiative victory in
Houston reminds us that an early
start is critical to our ability to over
come the other side’s huge funding
advantage. This early start will be
vital as the anti-affirmative-action
right wing moves to other states next
year, such as Florida, Colorado, &
Washington.
♦F ourth, this v ictory rem inds
us th at we can w in if we stay
focused on our p rio ritie s. R e v e r
end Jack so n spent the last w eek
end before the e le c tio n in H ous
to n , w o rk in g the c h u rc h e s to
bo o st v o te r tu rn o u t. T his e le c
tion w as the m ost im p o rtan t one
on the b a llo t for those in terested
in p re se rv in g Dr. K in g 's dream .
W e fought back hard there, and
we w on.
The people o f H ouston sent a
m essage o f d ecency to the rest of
the country. If we hear it, we can
save the dream . We hope it is
heard in the S uprem e C ourt. We
hope it is heard in the W hite
H ouse, and in C alifo rn ia
Sadly, it is obvious that Houston’s
message will not be heard by Orrin
Hatch (R-UT), who has chosen to
sully his career with an undeserved,
unprecedented, racially-charged at
tack on Bill Lann Lee, President
Clinton’s nominee to serve as Assis
tant A ttorney G eneral for Civil
Rights.
H a tc h ’s d ecisio n is m e a n -sp ir
ited, an abuse o f pow er, an insult
to A sian -A m erican s.
Karen N arasaki, E xecutive D i
re c to r o f the N ational A sian P a
cific A m erican L egal C o n so r
tium , put it th is way in The New
Y ork T im es: “Just a few m onths
ago he [H atch] said about a w hite
m ale n o m in e e , Jo el K lein , I
d o n ’t agree w ith all his view s,
but h e ’s q u a lifie d and h e ’s the
P re sid e n t’s c h o ice and he d e
serves the c h a n c e .’ N ow w hen
presen ted w ith Bill L ee i t ’s a
totally d iffe re n t sta n d a rd .”
T his is a sham eful e p iso d e for
O rrin H atch, and for the R e p u b
lican Party w hich seem s p o ised
to jo in him in defam ing one o f
the best q u a lifie d , m ost decen t,
m ost talen ted A m ericans e v e r to
be nom inated for this post.
Bill L ann L e e ’s story sy m b o l
izes the A m erican D ream the co n
se rv a tiv e s claim to stand f o r -
born in H arlem , o f a fath er w ho
im m igrated to A m erica w ith no
m oney, w orked in a laundry, and
v o lu n teered to serve in the A ir
Force d u rin g W orld W ar II.
Bill played by the ru les, too,
grad u atin g Phi Beta K appa, ma-
gna cum laude from Y ale, and
then from C o lu m b ia U niv ersity
Law S chool. He has spent his life
w orking on b e h a lf o f civil rig h ts,
and lists en dorsem ents even from
his previous opponents. (P erhap s
S e n a to r H a tc h w ould lik e to
m atch up L ann L e e ’s q u a lific a
tio n w ith th o s e o f C la r e n c e
T h o m as...Y eah , rig h t!)
Bill L ann Lee is an A m erican
success sto ry ; but h e ’s about to
becom e an o th er victim o f a v i
c io u s , p a r t i s a n , id e o l o g i c a l
battle. I t ’s a sham eful e p iso d e .
The right w ing is taking no p ris
oners.