Page A 4
N o v e m b e r 17, 1999
(The ^U irtlanò © b e t t e r
Opinion
fiurtlanò
(Fb»riuer
Articles do not
necessarily reflect or
represent the views of
(Elie ^ jJ o rtla n h (© b s e ru e r
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Trucks, profit, and death wreaking havoc on our roads
B i T i m o t h i L y n c h ______________________________ _ _ _ _
for T he
^ o r tla n h
(©bsertier
USPS 959-680
Established 1970
STAFF
P
u b l is h e r
C harles W ashington
E d it o r
Larry J. Jackson, Sr.
P ortland O bserver
Every w eek in Am erica over 100 people lose
their liv e s--a n d hundreds m ore are m angled
and crippled— in highw ay accidents involving
trucks. Recently, a congressional subcommittee
held a hearing to discuss this horrible fact. Yet,
s o m e th in g a b s o lu te ly c r u c ia l w as n o t
addressed: the fact that behind the w heel in
nearly all o f those accidents w ere non-union
truck drivers. In an A ssociated Press report this
February, a m other was quoted asking, “ W hy
was the tired trucker w ho killed my son on the
road after 16 hours?” It is urgent for the American
people to know the cause o f these deaths—
w hich are increasing with every year— and what
can stop them.
The great Am erican educator Eli Siegel, founder
o f the philosophy A esthetic Realism, explained
that the terrible, huge num ber o f work-related
a c c id e n ts, m aim in g s, fa ta litie s, and also
industrial diseases, have arisen from the very
basis o f the profit system. He explained that this
system is contem pt for people. It’s based on
bosses and stockholders w ho d o n ’t do the
w ork, taking the profits that other men and
w om en w orked hard and long to produce. 1
learned from A esthetic Realism that unions
have been the largest force on b eh alf o f safety
on the jo b , and also econom ic ju stice, in
A m erican history. As a union leader, I ’ve seen
vivid evidence for this fact. U nions have been
the m eans o f stopping an em ployer from using
a hum an being utterly as a m echanism to supply
him w ith money.
Passenger car drivers are to blam e for m any car-
truck collisions. H ow ever, w hat is the central
reason for a tru ck er’s driving w hile sleepy—
w hich leads, for instance, to his running o ver a
car and killing four passengers? W hy does a
trucker “cut com ers” and rush to get the delivery
m ade and the truck back for the next load? The
reason is: a boss sees every truck, driver, and
load in term s o f profit for him self—and the
quicker the delivery and the low er the w age he
pays, the bigger the profit. Bosses m ake it clear
to a trucker that if he w ants to keep his jo b h e ’d
better “ deliver”— n ot giving a dam n for w hat
happens to that driver, and through him , to
people on the road. Interstate trucking is not
covered under the Federal Fair Labor
Standards A ct, and therefore com panies are not
required to pay a driv er overtim e— so they
often dem and that the driver work 60 or m ore
hours per w eek. A lso, m ost interstate drivers
are paid by the load or m ile, not the hour, and are
not paid for w aiting tim e or time spent loading
and unloading. So unless there is a union
contract requiring respectful pay for a reasonable
w ork w eek, if a driv er is to eke out a living he
fin d s sp e e d a n d lo n g h o u rs d e s p e ra te ly
necessary.
Mr. Siegel ex p lain ed that contem pt— "the
ad d itio n to s e lf th ro u g h the lessen in g o f
som ething else”— is the source o f all injustice.
I think his seeing this is one ofthe most important
discoveries in w orld history. C ontem pt is w hat
has a person feel he is superior to people o f
another race, religion, or background. And
contem pt is w hat has an em ployer send out a
truck know ing the clutch could give w ay, o r its
brakes are not in good shape. In m y years as a
union organizer, I’ve w itnessed m any o f the
horrific hum an results o f our contem ptuous
econom y, from broken backs to burned bodies,
to w orkers driving dangerously overloaded
trucks, often w ith balding tires. W orkers put up
w ith dangerous conditions because they are
terrified o flo sin g that needed paycheck; frantic
over the fact that they m ight not be able to feed
their fam ily if they object.
M eanw hile, w hat is the reason for the increasing
num ber o f deaths caused by truck accidents?
W hy are drivers forced to drive even longer
distances and at faster speeds?
Beginning in M ay 1970, in a series o f lectures,
Mr. Siegel show ed that the profit system , after
hundreds o f years, was no longer able to function
successfully. H e said: “The inefficiency o f ill
will in econom ics is now becom ing apparent all
over the w orld. T here w ill be no econom ic
recovery in the w orld until econom ics itself, the
m aking o f m oney, the having o f jo b s, becom es
ethical; is based on good w ill rather
than on the ill w ill w hich has been predom inant
for centuries.” [Goodbye Profit System: Update,
Definition Press, I982,pp. 156,xxxiii]
T oday, despite the continuous, cruel assertions
that our econom y is “boom ing,” it is a fact that
the A m erican m iddle class has been shrinking;
tens o f m illions are w orking tw o o r m ore jobs
New TV movie predicts Y2K meltdown
B y R oger A uerbach __________________________________________
C
E
opy
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Joy Ramos
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anager
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ir e c t o r
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Y2K meltdow n. That is the fictional prediction o f an NBC
m ade-for-TV m ovie scheduled for airing on Sunday, Nov.
21. The show reportedly features w idespread pow er
failure, instrum ent problem s w ith com m ercial je ts and
bank A TM s that d o n ’t work.
The keyw ord is "fictional.” A fter investing untold millions
to fix forecast com puter glitches, leaders in business and
government almost universally believe Y ear2000 problems
in the country will be m inim al.
The greater problem is on a personal level: W ith few er
than 60 days left until Jan. 1, crooks are increasingly
tem pted to try to defraud anxious citizens.
A lready, people posing as bank or credit-card officials
have called custom ers asking for account num bers. (Hint:
Bank and credit-card com panies already know your
account num bers.)
One senior reported a call from a “banker” w ho w anted to
transfer her m oney to a special Y 2K -safe account.
Banks have reported that w orried seniors have tim ed CD
m aturity dates so they can w ithdraw their m oney in
December. O ne couple is reported to have lost cash they
buried in coffee cans.
State agencies, A A RP and others are advising seniors
and others not to panic. Federal and state agencies have
spent hundreds o f m illions o f dollars reprogram m ing and
testing their com puters so they w o n ’t confuse year 2000
with 1900. T herefore, you should expect state and federal
checks and benefits to continue as usual.
Likewise, businesses and utilities have a financial interest
in preventing service interruptions.
But scam artists like especially to prey on elderly people
because they are m ore likely to have m oney, to be trusting
and to be isolated from others w hom they m ight consult.
In evaluating possible scam s, here are three questions to
ask yourself: Is it too good to be true? A m I being rushed
to m ake a decision? Is a sm ooth-talking stranger asking
me for m oney or personal inform ation (such as bank,
credit-card, M edicare or Social Security num bers)?
Ifth e answ er to any o f these questions is “ yes,” then d o n ’t
get involved.
If you have Y 2K concerns o r w ish to lodge a com plaint,
you m ay contact the O regon D epartm ent o f Justice in
Salem toll free at (877) 877-9392. To request a brochure
about Y2K and seniors, call my office toll free at (800) 232-
3020. If you w ant to know w hat O regon state governm ent
is doing about Y2K, and how you can prepare, then from
Portland call(5O3) 225-5555 ext. 4500or(888) 877-3044 from
outside Portland.
Even though com puters aren ’ t expected to cause problem s,
it’s still a good idea to prepare for N ew Y ear 2000 as you
w ould be for a severe w inter storm or natural disaster.
O rganizations such as AARP and the A m erican Red Cross
recommend:
•
D o n ’t w ithdraw large sums o f m oney from the bank,
w here it is federally insured. K eeping large sum s at
hom e jeopardizes not only your money, but also your
personal safety.
•
Do keep financial statem ents for the last six m onths
o f 1999. For New Y ear’s weekend, do w ithdraw a small
am ount o f cash and put it in a safe place.
•
Do keep your ca r’s gas tank at least h a lf full at y e a i’s
end. But d o n ’t risk your safety by storing large
am ounts o f fuel.
•
Store enough food, m edications and w ater for two
w eeks, and rem em ber to have a good m anual can
opener.
•
Be sure your sm oke alarm s, radios and flashlights
have fresh batteries.
•
H ave warm clothing and blankets available in case o f
pow er failure.
The threat o f Y 2K -related problem s, w hile sm all, has had
a benefit: m ore than ever before, O regonians are thinking
about general em ergency readiness and are guarding
them selves against scams.
By being wary, O regonians also are helping to guarantee
that the success o f crooks and scam artists, like the
troubles portrayed in the NBC movie, are purely fictional.
T o learn w hat the D H S is d o in g ab o u t Y 2K , see
w w w .hr.state.or.us/v2k on the Internet.
ju st to survive. Forcing people to be poorer is
the only w ay to keep big profits com ing in for
people w ho d o n ’t do the work. This is the
r e a s o n c o r p o r a te o w n e rs h a v e c lo s e d
th o u san d s o f A m erican factories, costing
m illions o f A m ericans their jobs. O w ners then
open overseas in nations w here they can pay
obscene w ages, and w here there are virtually
no regulations that protect workers. But you
can’t have American trucking done in Guatemala
or Indonesia. So instead, bosses increasingly
f o rc e A m e r ic a n tr u c k e rs to p u t in
u n c o n s c io n a b le h o u r s , u n d e r h o r r ib le
conditions. A nd they increasingly try to w ipe
out w hat w ould stop them:
unions. O ne result is the increasing deaths on
US roads. A re our citizens— w ho may be your
children, your friends, you— w orth sacrificing
in b eh alf o f personal profit?
A m erica is desperate for an econom y that is
dem ocratic and just. W e will have such an
econom y w hen A m erica proudly goes after the
pow er that Ellen Reiss, the Class C hairm an o f
Aesthetic Realism, describes in the international
jo u rn al T he R ight o f A esthetic Realism to Be
Known: “The pow er ofrespect in econom ics.. .is
the pow er o f every person to be given his
dignity; w hat used to be called the fruits o f his
labor; his fair share ofth e w orld’s w ealth.... The
pow er o f respect is the pow er to feel w e are
w orking, not to be exploited by som eone or to
beat out som eone, but because w hat we do can
strengthen other people even as w e feel w e are
being strengthened.” [TRO 1359]
Letter to the editor
I am w ritin g in resp o n se to the
introduction o f the ill-intentioned
Agricultural Job O pportunity Benefit
and Security A ct o f 1998 (A JO BS) as
a national bill by Senators Ron W yden
and G ordon Smith. W hile the values
and sentim ents that the right-w ing is
prom oting across the U nited States,
its m ain purpose is to recreate an
almost identical act used in the middle
part if this century and com m only
know as the”B racero Program s.” M y
family im m igrated to this country
u nder the m isery o f the B racero
Program . W e toiled on this co u n try ’s
farms under subhum an working. And
condition; Sm ith and W yden on a
new generation ofm igrant workers. It
is farcical that W yden and Sm ith on
a new generation o f m igrant w orkers.
It is farcical that W yden and Smith
claim to p rotect w orker by loosening
standards for living an d w orking
condition; these standard are already
so low that they are a n ational
disgrace. This country does not need
another Bracero Program s. It needs
com plete overhaul o fth e profit driven
a g rib u s in e s s in d u stry , so ru le s
m andating decent living, w orking
conditions, and w ages are enforced.
So-called “ illegal” im m igration is not
a problem in this country. U.S. bosses
get rich to on low -cost im m igrant
la b o r w h ile w h ip p in g up ra c ist
hostility against these workers. It is
due to greed o f controlling every
resource in the world that this country
needs immigrants for all areas oflabor.
The profits o f their productivity stay
in the hands o f the U.S. ruling class
and do not benefit the people! W e
need to dem and im prove conditions
for all farm w orkers, U.S. b om and
im m igrants. W e need to tell W yden
and Sm ith to drop their racist bill.
Sincerely, F.d uardo Martinez Zapata,
Freedom Socialist party ForestGrove
better d o 'die (Suitor
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