August 2,2000
Page A6
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An Interview with Scott Thomason of Thomason Auto Group
Big City Produce
as D an Bn
Scott Thomason usually ends his
com m ercials with the household
phrase, “ If you don’t come see me
today, I can’t save you any money.”
The car magnate has taken a single
Ford car dealership and transformed
it into the northw est’s premier mega
d e a le rs h ip en co m p assin g 1200
employees and $750 million in sales.
O n the way, he has incurred some
rough spots, the latest obstacle being
a num ber o f civil right complaints
lodged with the Bureau o f Labor and
Industries and the Equal Opportunity
Commission. On July 14, The Portland
Observer met with Mr. Thomason
re g a rd in g the issu e o f th ese
complaints. The following interview
is an excerpt from that conversation.
The Portland Observer: One o f the
first questions I would like to ask you
is, “What is your take on the civil
rights complaints?”
Thomason: What do you mean by
“take?”
The Portland Observer: There have
been other civil rights complaints in
the local auto industry. You have had
a perception o f being insulated by
your general managers. I’ve talked to
Brain Poole (one o f the complainants).
He said he talked to his general
m anager, but he never had the
opportunity to talk with you.
Thomason. That’s changed ... My
take is that we take every complaint
seriously. We investigate w hat’s
going on and try to find out what
really occurred, and then we take it
from there. But I have zero tolerance
personally. Zero tolerance.
The Portland Observer: Do you think
it was the culture o f the general
managers? Do you think it was a lack
o f the line sta ff s being able to talk to
you set the predicament up?
Thomason: I don’t think we ever set
the environm ent up for this to
happen... You ’ re talking about some
is o la te d c o m p la in ts. O f those
complaints, even the last three were
placed over a year ago. These are not
recent com plaints... March 15,2000,
was when I started doing town hall
meetings and talk to every employee
in this company in a period o f six
weeks personally. I stressed the
im p o rtan ce o f a p o sitiv e w ork
environment. I personally told every
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employee that I have zero tolerance
for any sort o f discrimination or
harassment. I got through the whole
company in six weeks. Now I am doing
that with new hires about once a
month.
The Portland Observer: You do this
yourself?
Thomason: I do that personally. You
alluded to the fact that, yeah, I have
been a little rem oved from the
operation, and w e’re changing that;
because in order to change the culture
o f this company, it needs to come
from me first. I realize that and spend
a lot o f time on that.
The Portland Observer: You grew up
in the car business .You know that
many sales people are cynical about
people in general and that they have
little regard for their fellow man. So
what do you think about the incident
involving Mr. Poole in light o f such a
Cynical atmosphere?
Thomason: Maybe that has been part
o f the industry... it is not part o f my
company, and 1 have been clear on
that. That is grounds for termination.
The Portland Observer: Have you
cleaned house?
Thomason: I don’t know if “cleaned
house” is the right word, but I will tell
you that
there have been those who did not
buy into the new company culture,
and they are not here anymore.
The Portland Observer: That’s pretty
important. You know most people
think that you are taking action only
in response to Federal pressure
resulting from the suits.
Thomason: When this came out, I
had no k n o w le d g e o f th is.
Discrimination is the furthest thing
from my mind. I have never ever had
those thoughts in my heart... So I
studied that. 1 said I’ve got to learn
about the A frican-A m erican— I
guess the African-American Culture.
So I flew two consultants out from
Washington D C. and hired them. I
spent the day with them. They took
me through what really happened out
there, and I was blown away and
educated. I also locally had Matt
Hennessy. He came down and talked
to the group for quite a while. I’m
getting up to speed now , so I
understand - so I understand how
the African- American feels— so I
can communicate that to my people.
In summary, Mr. Thomason has
implemented over eight corrective
action items in his effort to change
the culture ofThomason Auto Group,
including but not limited to the
following actions:
In June 1999, requiring all
employees to review and endorse the
Ashbury Automotive Group ’ s Policy
Prohibiting Sexual Harassment and
the Equal O pp o rtu n ity Policy.
Thomason Auto Group’s Employee
Handbook was also updated between
August 1998 and June 1999 to include
a zero tolerance policy for all forms of
discrimination and harassment.
•
In August 1999, requiring all
managers to attend four hours of
train in g given by independent
counsel, called “Employment law for
managers.”
In November 1999, hired Alan
Lave as director ofHuman Resources
Providence Bridge Pedal
More than 13,000people from throughout the Northwest
are expected to bike and hike the bridges in one o f the
nation’s largest community biking events. The fifth
annual Providence Bridge Pedal and Providence Bridge
Stride takes place Sunday, August 13,2000, from 7 am.
to 1:30 pm. in downtown Portland.
The Providence Bridge Pedal is a 27-mile bicycle ride
starting between 7 and 8:30 am. and crossing eight o f
Portland’s bridges including the Hawthorne, Ross
Island, Marquam, Burnside, Steel, Fremont, St. Johns
and Broadway. This year's 27-mile ride will result in the
following traffic changes on the bridges:
Fremont Bridge - The top deck o f the Fremont Bridge
(1-405 South) will be closed from 5:30 to 11:30 am.
Travelers should take 1-5 South over the bottom deck
o f the Marquam Bridge, which will remain open
throughout the event, to get to 1-405, Highway 26 and
1-5 South.
Director. Lave has 20 years experience
in the human resources arena, holding
high-level HR positions at Nike,
Stanton Industries and Smuckers.
In February 2000, opening the
Employees Resource Center, led by
A1 Lave. This provides employees
with one central location for all
payroll, trining, hiring, management
and other HR issues.
In March 2000, beginning town
h a ll m e e tin g s b e tw e e n S co tt
Thomason and employee groups.
T he m e e tin g s giv e S c o tt the
o p p o rtu n ity to e x p la in the
philosophies o f TAG and Asbury
Automotive, and to listen to employee
concerns.
In M ay 2000, lau nched
supervisory training through a 12-16
hour course covering topics such as
in te rv ie w in g ,
h irin g ,
equal
em ploym ent opportunity (EEO),
d iv e rs ity , c o n flic t re so lu tio n ,
c o a c h in g ,
c o u n se lin g
and
employment law.
It should be relatively clear that he
responded with due diligence to
change a culture that historically held
a cynical view o f the world and
g e n e ra lly re q u ire s little or no
education to be a part o f it. A change
at Thomason Auto Group will affect
the whole industry, putting other
major dealers on notice that they have
more social responsibilities than just
making a profit
As a footnote, Mr. Thomason says
that he is available to speak to any
interested group concerning his
policy and operation o f the Thomason
Auto Group in regarding civil rights
or sexual harassment issues. If your
organization is interested, you can
contact Erika.
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Tuesday, August 8, 5:30-8 pm
Patton Park (on Interstate two blocks south of Killingsworth)
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Overlook Neighborhood Association and Trl-Met
Stations in Arbor Lodge (on Interstate at Portland Blvd.fit Lombard)
Thursday, August 24, 5:30-8 pm (part of Arbor Lodge Fair)
Peace Lutheran Church
2201 N Portland Blvd
(Tri-Met bus 40)
Arbor Lodge Fair is sponsored by Arbor Lodge
Neighborhood Association & Peace Lutheran Church
For information call (503) 962-2254 or
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PDC
METRO
Hawthorne Bridge - The eastbound lanes will be closed
from 5:30 to 11:30 am. The westbound lanes will remain
open throughout the event. Travelers headed eastbound
to Northeast and Southeast Portland should take the
Broadway, Burnside or Steel bridges.
Marquam Bridge - The top deck o f the Marquam Bridge
(1-5 North) will be closed from 5:30 to 10:30 am . Travelers
should take 1-405 North to get to Highway 26 and the
bottom deck o f the Freemont Bridge, which will remain
open throughout the event, to get to 1-5 North and 1-84
East.
Ross Island Bridge - Bikers will ride westbound and the
bridge is closed for construction.
Steel B ridge-T he Steel Bridge will beclosed from 6:30 to
11 am. Travelers headed westbound to downtown Portland
should take the Broadway, Burnside, Hawthorne and
Morrison bridges. TriMet and MAX light rail will continue
to operate and use the bridge.
HOME FOCUS
David Labovitz
SR. Loan Officer
M ortgage M arket, INC
What are FHA loans?
FHA - Federal Housing Authority
loans are a great help for millions o f
people. In the home lending world of
y e s/n o
a n sw e rs,
e le c tro n ic
underwriting dominated by multi
billion dollar banks, FHA loans are a
lifesaver for many o f us.
FHA loans are approved by many of
the same banks that I described
above, but since they are guaranteed
by the Federal Government, the rules
are different and much easier. Common
sense actually rules here! Let’s look
<
at the differences between FHA loans
and typical conventional loans.
• FHA u ses to u g h e r a p p raisal
standards
• A good underwriter can ‘listen’ to
explanations for credit problems that
make sense
• Low down payment - 3%
• Gift money from immediate family is
O.K. for all o f the downpayment.
• Low mortgage insurance rates
• FHA fixed loans are assumable
• S im p lifie d and in e x p e n siv e
refinancing programs
• FHA does require more paperwork
• FHA has fewer categories foryou to
pay for closing costs.
• Aside from your down payment,
sellers can pay all o f your closing
costs.
Since FHA is a government agency,
they encourage banks to make low
income loans to help communities.
R em em ber, ask your len d er
questions!
That’s it for now. Let me know ifyou
have any questions or suggestions
for future articles.
David Labovitz, Mortgage Market,
Inc., 503/234-5160.
I
Two reasons I quit smoking.
You can do it too.
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