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P ortland O bserver
Im a g in e y o u ’v e b ee n se rio u sly
injured on the job. Y our injury was
caused by
u n s a fe
w o rk in g
c o n d itio n s. K n o w in g th a t y o u r
e m p lo y e r c a r r ie s y o u r w o rk e r
com pensation insurance, you file for
benefits to cover the costs o f your
debilitating injury.
N ow d e s p e ra te , Y ou take y o u r
em p lo y e r to co u rt. Y o u ’ve ju s t
discovered the ju stice o f O regon’s
W orkers C om pensation system.
T he above scenario is the story ot
Terry Sm others and it’s in the news
because Sm others w ouldn’t take “no
for an answ er He took his case all the
w ay to the O regon Suprem e Court.
The case was argued on N ovem ber 8,
1999. I f S m others’ prevails, the
co u rt’s decision could well change
the shape o f w orkers’ com pensation
and provide m any m ore rights to
O regon’s injured workers.
Sm others w orked for a G resham
trucking com pany. His job was inside
the m echanic’s pit adjacent to the
wash rack w here trucks w ere w ashed
with a chem ical m ixture containing
s u lf u r ic ,
h y d r o c h lo r ic
an d
hydrofluoric acids. The m ist from the
w ash area continuously drifted into
the pit, and sm other, suffered from
itc h in g an d w a te rin g ey e s and
headaches. The em ployer was cited
for safety violations num erous times,
CONTRIBUTED STORY
P ortland O bserver
O reg o n A sso c iatio n o f M inority
Entrepreneurs ofPortland will receive
the Vision 2000 M odels ofExcellence
A w ard at V ision 2000. The states
sm all business conference to be held
on Dec. 1-2, in W ashington, D.C.
W inners o f these national aw ards
w ere se lec ted from h undreds o f
nom inations subm itted to the U.S.
S m all B usiness A d m in istra tio n ’s
O ff ic e o f A d v o c a c y , w h ic h is
spo n so rin g the aw ards program .
V ision 2000 is designed to show case
outstanding initiatives that advance
small business programs and policies.
“ It is a honor to present a vision 2000
A w ard to so m any outstanding local
sm all business initiatives,” C h ief
Counsel for A dvocacy Jeer W. G lover
said. “T hese aw ard-w inning small
business program s and leaders are
th e s u re s t g u a ra n te e fo r sm a ll
b u s in e s s s u c c e s s in th e n ew
millennium . The Office o f A dvocacy
will give these awards in D ecem ber to
c e le b r a te
th e
e x tr a o r d in a r y
accom plishm ent o f entrepreneurship
in the 20the C entury."
V ision 200 M odels o f Excellence
A w a rd s fo r M in o rity B u sin e ss
D evelopm ent honor program s or
initiatives created to specifically
assist and support m inority-business
owners.
The O regon A ssociation ofM inority
E ntrepreneurs w as chosen to receive
the aw ard for their efforts to assist
a n d s u p p o r t m in o rity b u s in e s s
ow ners and m ake entrepreneurial
opportunities available forminorities.
State policy-m akers, state and local
program directors, non-profit service
providers. Sm all business ow ners,
and sm all business trade association
executives w ill attend this years
conference to honor w inners in a
n um ber o f ca te g o rie s including:
Leadership in Sm all Business Issues;
S m a ll B u s in e s s D e v e lo p m e n t;
A ccess to C a p ita l; G o v e rn m e n t
P ro c u re m e n t
O p p o r tu n itie s ;
R egulations that w ork for Sm all
B usiness; P rogram s that S upport
S m a ll T e c h n o lo g y B u s in e s s ;
W om en's B usiness D evelopm ent;
M inority B usiness D evelopm ent;
Rural Business D evelopm ent; and
D istinguished Programs.
/
. •.
but the problem o f the acid mist was
not solved. S m o th ers co n tin u ed
b reath in g it. H e ev en tu ally w as
hospitalized with pneum onia and in
1993 he collapsed on the job. Smothers
filed a worker's com pensation claim ,
but the claim was denied. The denial
stated the respiratory problem s were
pre-existing even though Smothers
had never received medical care tor
any such condition previous to the
w ork exposure.
W hen his claim was denied, another
was told he had run out o f options.
W orkers’ C om pensation law bars
w orkers from taking their em ployers
to court, no m atter how responsible
the em ployer may be for creating
unsafe w orking conditions.
By sim ply asserting his constitutional
right to trial by jury, Terry Smothers
is b rin g in g to th e su rfa c e th e
unfairness ofchange made to workers’
com pensation over the past 12 years.
Big insurance com panies and state
agencies like to brag that the system
is fixed. They m ake their points by
pointing to huge saving in workers
com pensation insurance. The truth
is those savings are at the expense o f
injured w orkers like Terry Smothers.
The bar has been raised to the point
that m any individuals with legitimate
w o rk p la c e in ju r ie s a re d e n ie d
coverage. Every O regonian should
be truly afraid o fb ein g injured w hile
on the jo b , for the follow ing reasons:
M any w orkplace injuries are blamed
Home Loans you can Finally Qualify for!
on “pre-existing conditions” even
though there is no objective evidence
o f such conditions.
Injured w orkers are not allow ed to
give testim ony in their ow n hearings
on perm anent ow n m edical care.
Inj ured w orkers who can never return
to w o rk a re r o u tin e ly d e n ie d
com pensation for being perm anently
and totally disabled.
O nce they’ve had their claim s denied
injured w orkers have no other legal
recourse.
O regon's W o rk er’ C o m p en satio n
system is out o f balance and is not
helping the very people it is supposed
to serve: injured w orkers. W orkers
are losing becau se they are not
getting the care they need w hen
injured on the job.
Em ployers are losing because their
m ost productive w orkers are not
getting the care they need to be able
to return to work. O regon taxpayers
are losing because m edical care that
s h o u ld b e p a id b y W o r k e r s ’
C om pensation is being paid out o f
the O regon H ealth Plan or private
health insurance.
O pportunity to restore balance to a i
system that is out o f w hack. It can i
give w orkers a place to seek ju stice :
w hen they are injured on the job.
Note: Jim Egan is an A lbany w orkers’ ’
Com pensation attorney. H is office ï
address is PO Box 279 A lbany ORT
97321-0083 He can reached at 54 1 --
928-6171.
Rates as Low as
Purchase:
Supporters o f the event include the
A m erican Franchisee A ssociation,
American Institute ofCertified Public
Accountants, Ceridian, ChamberBiz,
Fortune Small Business M agazine,
International Franchise A ssociation,
M icrosoft, National A ssociation for
th e S e lf E m p lo y e d , N a tio n a l
A ssociatio n o f W om en B usiness
O w n e rs ,
N a tio n a l
B u s in e s s
Association, National Small Business
United, Onvia.com, Pacific Bell, Small
Business A ssociation o f M ichigan,
S m a ll B u s in e s s T e c h n o lo g y
Coalition, SMC Business Council and
U.S. Cham ber o f C om m erce V ision
2000: The States and Small Business
C onference will be held on Dec. 1-2,
in W ashington, D.C. C ham ber O f
Commerce. The Chamber is located at
1615 H Street, N W W ashington, D.C.
20026. For m ore inform ation about
the conference and aw ard w inners
visit the V ision 2000 hom e page at
h ttp : //w w w .s b a . g o v /A D V O /
vision.htm l. Inquiries about program
content and aw ards m ay be directed
to A n d re w M u n ro R e g io n a l
A dvocate at 206-553-5231 or D avid
Voight at (202) 205-6888.
The SB A ’s O ffice o f A dvocacy was
created by an act o f Congress in 1976
to protect, strengthen and effectively
r e p r e s e n t th e n a t i o n ’s sm a ll
b u s in e s s e s w ith in th e fe d e ra l
g o v ern m e n t.
As part o f this m andate, the office
c o n d u c ts p o lic y s tu d ie s a n d
eco n o m ic research on issu es o f
c o n c e rn to sm a ll b u s in e s s and
publishes data on sm all business
characteristicsandcontributions.For
instant access to sm all business
resources, statistics, and research,
visit the O ffice o f A d v o cacy ’s home
page at http: w w w .sba.gov/A D V O /.
6.5%
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* VA Loans
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Contact:
Otus Denson
Otus Denson
Oregon Association of Minority
Entrepreneurs wins Vision 2000
Models of Excellence Award
for T he
.
(Fljv |hutlm tò (ftbamwr
A place to seek justice for
injured workers
for T he
.
Page A6
December 8, 1999
CONTRIBUTED STOR\
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201-0225
AIM 3980 SW Collin» Way Lake Oswego. OR 97035
Tree from page 4
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country is using school choice to
im prove results, O regonians have
seen only a m odest charter school
law, w hich is yet to have a meaningful
effect. W e co n tin u eto b earth eb u rd en
o f d o u b le -d ig it b ie n n ia l b u d g e t
increases for state governm ent, a rate
nearly three tim es faster than inflation.
The system, it seems, has an insatiable
appetite for o u r lim ited resources.
Enter two tax m easures slated for the
N ovem ber b allot to increase the cost
ofg o v em m en t: a tri-county business
incom e tax to “ help the schools” and
a m easure sponsored by the A FL-
C IO th a t w o u ld ra ise th e sta te
corporate incom e tax rate. T here is a
sim ple truth behind these “business
tax” proposals. B usinesses do not
pay taxes, only individuals do. Any
in form ation-age eco n o m y . M any
state and local governm ents have
not only m et public needs w ithout
in c re asin g ta x e s, b u t h a v e also
enacted tax rate cuts.
To deal w ith the dual problem o f
e d u c a tio n
s p e n d in g
and
p e rfo rm a n c e , m o st s ta te s h av e
o p e n e d th e p u b lic e d u c a tio n
m onopoly to choice and com petition.
The states - A m erica’s laboratories
o f dem ocracy - are vying to set new
standards in “m ixed” system s w ith
th r iv in g p r iv a te s c h o o ls a n d
in c re a sin g ly c o m p e titiv e p u b lic
schools.
In O regon, how ever, w e risk falling
behind because our leaders reflexively
oppose adjusting the public school
m onopoly. W hile the rest o f the
You flip a switch. The light goes on. That's the way
we like it. So when a storm knocks out the power, we
take that very seriously. And we're on the job. In any
weather. Day or night. And if we need to bring in extra
crews, we’ll do that, too.
So what do we do if the power goes out?
Power to the people.
cost im posed on a business is either
passed on to others in its com m unity-
cu sto m ers, su p p liers, em ployees,
shareholders and neighbors - o r the
firm “goes out o f business.”
O p in io n le a d e rs c la m o rin g fo r
business tax hikes find it easier to
h id e a tax fro m th e p u b lic by
conscribing com panies to act as tax
collector. They m ust think it ’ s a good
idea for people to pay higher prices
fo r th e g o o d s a n d s e rv ic e s w e
consum e, as long as it’s not in the
form o f a tax paid directly by people
to the governm ent.
Thank Sen. Russell Long for telling it
like it is, so that appearances need not
deceive. T o O regon tax advocates,
every citizen looks ju st like “that
fellow behind the tree.”
First, our crews work to clear downed power
lines and make sure critical public services - hospitals,
fire department and other emergency services -
have power. That way, they are ready to handle
emergencies. Then, we restore power to as many
people as we can through transmission lines, which
keep hundreds of substations full of energy. And we
check out power plants to be sure they function as
they should.
Substations, distribution lines and tap lines come
next. Substations convert high-voltage power into
power you can safely use at home. Distribution lines
travel from the substations, then tap lines feed into
homes. If your neighbors down the block have power
before you, they're probably on a different distribution
or tap line.
Crews then work to restore power to individual
customers. Depending on what caused the outage, this
step can take time. But we stay on the job until, when
you flip a switch, you've got power.
To report an outage,call 1-877-548-3768 (I-877-L IT E S O U T ).
# PACIFIC POWER
A PacifiCorp Company
Making it happen.
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