August 8,2001
Page A5
®h* Jlo rtla u b (Obseruer
Leaders Squabble Over Mushroom Boycott
(A P) — O reg o n ’s only farm
w ork ers’ union is hoping that a
w id e n in g g ro c e rs* b o y c o tt
ag ain st P ictsw eet m ushroom s
w ill help the union land its first
m ajor labor agreem ent.
H ow ever, decisions by two
m ajor grocery stores to stop buy
ing the brand h av en ’t produced
any m ovem ent tow ard neg o tia
tio n s .
W h a t h a s r e s u lte d ,
though, is a political squabble in
th e co m p a n y ’s h o m eto w n o f
Salem, where M ayor Mike Swaim
thrust h im self into the issue by
successfully urging Fred M eyer
s to r e s to q u it b u y in g th e
Pictsw eet mushroom s.
Fred M eyer,
w h ic h o p e r
ates about 120
sto re s in the
W e st,
an
n o u n c e d its
d e c is io n
in
early July.
State Senate
P re s id e n t
G eneD erfler.a
R e p u b lic a n
and longtim e
S a le m b u s i
nessm an, said
Supporters of workers at the Salem Pictsweet
S w a im ’s a c
plant rally on the Capitol steps. (AP Photo)
tions hurt the
city and interfered w ith a m atter
that should be settled betw een
the em ployer and its w orkers.
“ I f he continues to attem pt to
stop businesses from operating
in Salem , his ability to continue
spending taxpayer m oney will
d is a p p e a r,” D e rfle r to ld the
Statesm an Journal. ” I ’ve never
had the Senate president sug
gest 1 sh o u ld n ’t intercede on
b e h a lf o f Salem co m panies,”
Sw aim countered. “ W hy is it
these Salem citizens d o n ’t have
the sam e legitim ate claim on my
time? I don’t think it’s inappropri
ate at all that I intercede in their
interests.” Grocery giant Safeway
joined the boycott in mid-July.
Swaim and the union, Northwest
Treeplanters and Farmworkers
United, c laim that employees at the
mushroom farm work under"stoop-
labor” conditions for low pay.
PCUN organizer ErikNicholoson
estimated that 90 percent o f the
Pictsw eet plan t’s em ployees are
Hispanic and that most are paid
the state minimum wage o f $6.50
an hour, up to about $7 an hour.
Pickers tell ofworking 12-hour
shifts, often bent over or on their
knees harvesting m ushroom s in
darkness except for beams from
m in e r’s-ty p e lig h ts on th e ir
h eads.
A June 8 citation from the state
Qwest O ld • r
Burger King
Offers Exchange
in Toy Recall
c h ild ren .
u rg e r K ing an sm all
Burger King received 18
nounced a volun
tary nationw ide reports of the toys break
ing. Kids
They were offered for
recall of 2.6 million
I
Meals toys because they are children under 3 years old.
The Consumer Product
potentially hazardous to chil
dren. It’s the
co m p an y ’s
third toy recall
in less than
two years.
The fast-
food
giant
w arned p a r
ents last week
to tak e the
“Look For Me
Bumb e ee 'Look For Me Bumble Bee'and‘Hourglass
and
H our- Space sprout'are deemed potentially
g la ss Space hazardous to kids.
Sprout” toys
away from their youngsters Safety Commission joined
and return them for a free Burger King in making the
announcement, which was
replacement toy.
There have been no inju on the company Web site.
ries or deaths associated “We guard the safety and
with the toys, but Burger well-being o f our customers
King decided to voluntarily very seriously,” said Burger
recall the toys after an inde K ing spokesm an C hris
pendent consultant found Clouser. “We believe this is
they could break into pieces, an appropriate precaution
posing a choking hazard to ary move.”
U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-
Ore., has voiced his support
for the Employment Non-Dis
crimination Act.
The bill, introduced in Sen
ate last week and cosponsored
by Smith, protect gay men and
women from discrimination on
the basis of sexual orientation.
“Every American should
have the opportunity to work
and should not be denied that
opportunity because of their
sexual orientation,” said Smith.
“That legislation represents the
next logical step in anti-dis-
criminatory protections in the
workplace.”
The legislation will not cre
ate any special rights for gays
and explicitly prohibits quotas;
it also exempts small busi
nesses, religious organizations
and the military, and does not
require benefits to the same-
sex partners of employees.
“The measure is a simple,
narrowly-crafted solution to a
significant omission in our civil
rights law,” said Smith. “No
one should be denied employ
ment on the basis of sexual
orientation or any other factor
not related to ability to do a
particular job.”
iw •
to Give Easter
Service
B
Workplace
Discrimination
Law
Sponsored
D epartm ent o f C onsum er and
B usiness Services directs the
com pany to “address the hazard
o f eye strain.”
The light intensity from the
battery-operated lamps dim in
ishes during final hours o f pick
ing, the reports says, and em
ployees “experienced dizziness,
redness and pain in their eyes.”
The com pany, part ofT ennes-
see-based United Foods, isn ’t
com m enting on the situation.
Several requests for com m ents
from the Salem office and tele
p h o n e m e s s a g e s le ft w ith
Pictsw eet offices in Tennessee
w ere not answ ered.
P hoto by S herena S mith /T he P ortland O bserver
Families in Need Get Legal Help
The St. Andrew Legal Clinic, 807 N.E. Alberta, was recently awarded $111,500 by the Meyer
Memorial Trust to support its low cost legal services to low-income residents of the Portland
metropolitan area. The trust, established by the late FredG. Meyer and not affiliated with the current
Fred Meyer stores, also awarded a local grant of $65,000 for the Homowo Festival of African Arts,
taking place Saturday, Aug. 25 and Sunday, Aug. 26 at the South Park Blocks on the Portland State
University Campus. For more information regarding the legal clinic, call 503-281-1500.
(AP) — O regon regulators
have given Q w est C om m unica
tions International six m onths to
reverse a decline in service to
their custom ers by answ ering
calls m ore quickly, and the com
pany says it will hire m ore than
2,400 em ployees to do so.
U n d e r th e a g re e m e n t a p
proved by the O regon Public
U tility Com m ission, Q w est must
answ er custom er calls w ithin 20
seconds at least 85 percent o f
the time. The PUC can issue
fines o f as m uch as $50,000 a
month if the goals are not met.
Qw est also will be under scru
tiny for 17 m onths, during which
it will be required to provide
m onthly progress reports to the
PUC and m aintain perform ance
goals.
Q w est officials have blam ed
the delays on staffing shortage
and an increased volum e o f calls
to its sales prom otions for w ire
less telephone service and DSL
lines.
State regulations require Qwest
to answer 85 percent o f nonrepair
calls in no more than 20 seconds. In
April, the most recent number avail
able, the company answered 29
percent on time, down from 69 per
cent the previous April.
Consum er complaints to the
PUC have increased from 186 in
January to 323 in May. The PUC
received 321 complaints from June
1 through June 22.
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