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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 27, 2002)
Committed to Cultural Diversity www.portlandobserver.com November 27, 2002 METROfr ^ o r tla n b (Ohsi'rlu'r « WE UNITED tour Old School Funk Plays Portland Sunday Portland will be shaking its groovethang, Sunday, Dec. 1 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Roseland Theater when the United We Funk ommunity a le n d a r C Tour puts the roof on fire. But we don’t need no water, you know the rest. The tour features music from the old school. It promises to be one o f the most talked about shows to come to the Rose City in a few years with some o f the greatest music ever made. Featured artists include The Dazz Band (Let it Whip); Michael Coo per o f Confunkshun (Loves Train and his many solo hits); the Bar K ay’s (Soul Finger, Shake and Dance) and Clubnouveau ( Lean on Me). Some o f the fattest bass lines and guitar riffs that leave you breathless came from the era o f continued on page B2 Residents Hopeful Despite Economy Adopt a Pet Couple Take Life Day By Day The Oregon Humane Society is extending its outreach efforts to several area pet stores this month. Help the Humane Society bring homeless pets into the commu nity, call 503-285-7722, extension 204 for more information. Former school custodians would love their jobs back, but make best of layoffs Free Thanksgiving Dinner St. Andrew Catholic Church will offer its annual free T hanksgiv ing Feast to 400 people from the surrounding neighborhoods on north and northeast Portland on Thanksgiving day from noon to 3 p.m. at the church Com m u nity C enter locates at 4940 NE 8lh Ave. To volunteer to help w ith the dinner or to donate food, call 971-244-0339. by * Kennedy School Thanksgiving M cM enamins welcomes friends and fam ilies for a traditional T h an k sg iv in g D in n er b u ffet from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Kennedy School at 5736 N.E. 33'“. The menu features chipolte pepper, pesto and traditional develed eggs, m aple baked ham with h o n e y -b e e r m u s ta rd , h e rb - roasted turkey breast, baked yams w ith Jonathan apples and brow n sugar glaze, traditional sage stuffing and fresh baked pu m p k in p ie w ith w h ip p ed cream. For reservations, call 503- 249-3983. Thanksgiving Blood Drive The American Red Cross invites blood donors to give the gift o f life at its Eight Annual Thanks giving Day Blood Drive. Charac ters from O regon C h ild re n ’s Theatre ’ s Sacagawea wi 11 make a special appearance, along with broadcasts o f the M acy’s Parade and national football gam es, hands-on children’s activities, food, beverages and a visit from the Portland Fire Bureau and its engines. The event will begin at 7:30a.m. and end at 12:30p.m. at the American Red Cross Donor Center, 3131 N. Vancouver Ave. Holiday Tea Sunday Area residents are invited to join the Les Femmes group during a special Holiday Tea on Sunday, De. 1 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Irvington Village Plaza on North east Mason and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The event will feature the sorority’s 2003 Pro spective D ebutante’s. Partici pants are asked to enter the plaza from the adjacent Irvington Cov enant Church parking lot. I Leo Burrel has perfected his trade over a 34-year career. Leo Burrel - A Quality Welder Tradesman looks to grow job base and stay independent bv D avid P i . echl T he P ortland O bserver There aren't a lot o f independent welders, in Oregon. In fact, Leo Burrel just might be the only mobile indepen dent welder in the state with advanced certifications. Whatever your welding needs, wher- everyou are, Burrel will come to you. He does big projects with contractors and subcontractors, small jobs, commercial welding and residential. “ I pretty much do it all,” he said, “welding, fitting, burning and onsite fabrication.” Burrel started welding in 1968 and has been with seven different unions in 34 years, but it wasn’t until he established his own business that he finally had the opportunity to deliver the kind o f quality and service he always wanted to. “The way I was taught, quality and cosmetics went hand and hand,” Burrel explained. “ I guarantee my weld.” In fact, the integrity ofB urrel’s welds are so strong, inspectors know his work when they see it. “ My weld is my signature," he said. According to Burrel, welders work ing for huge contractors are often forced to compromise quality with speed. It’s I Burrel gets most o f work through an attitude that has become unaccept able to the gritty laborer who honed his word o f mouth, the yellow pages, and craft welding in the Baltimore, Oregon, online. Ideally, he would like to get about 120 and Washington shipyards. “When they pressure these guys to hours a month worth o f welding jobs. “I’m just trying to make a living, to work too quickly, quality suffers,” he provide enough for my families needs,” said. he said. Burrel found some work with the $300 million dollar light rail project in north Portland, but ultimately it didn't amount to much. “Tri Met is really try ing to get some o f the bigger contractors to use smaller guys,” he said. “I think they’re doing their best to help people.” But Burrel wishes they could insert a clause into the contracts o f large public projects so that guys like him have a Going it alone certainly has its re seat at the table "Right now they’ve got people really wards for Burrel but the path has not working for you, but they can't make been easy. Burrel says it can be a lot slower for people hire you,” he said Burrel sometimes thinks independent independent w elders because they aren’t working under the umbrella o f a workers like him are too small to notice, larger firm. When big contractors put up but he’s not giving up so easily. “It’s a learning experience.” Burrel an apartment building, they often al ready employ all the welders they need. says confidently. “I’ll get hot slowly." Leo Burrel can be reached by calling “It makes me a little sad when I see the steel going up, and I can’t get in on the 5 0 3 -3 1 3 -2 3 9 6 o r by em ail at aqualityweldoronly(a>attbi.com construction,” he said. D avid P lechl /T he P ortland O bserver C liff Greene first met Karen Waters when the two former Portland Public School District custodians were freshly assigned to buff the imposingly long halls o f Grant High School. Her strength and dedication to hard work instantly impressed him. In those days, Greene says they had to hand- carry the bulky buffers up three flights o f stairs. “Those machines are heavy,” he said. “She could carry them.” Just two years after that fateful encounter, the couple was married. Although they were eventually assigned to different schools, they remainedjust a mile apart. Waters at Kel logg and Greene was just around the comer at Y oungsten. "W e took pride in what we did.” said Greene. “Teachers would compliment us, we had a love for it.” The couple logged a combined 31 years with the district. They weren ’t getting rich, but they were comfortable. Then, everything changed. “For years w e've negotiated with the district and we always worked it out in the end,” said Waters. This time they didn’t. In an effort to bridge a gaping financial shortfall, the school board decided to cut 318 custodians and replace them with a contracted, lower-wage and primarily disabled staff. Greene and Waters were shocked. They couldn 't bel ieve the district would let hundreds o f people go after so many years o f impeccable service. “We just didn’t see it coming,” said Greene. Portland Habilitation Center cut a deal with the district to take over where the long-time custodians left off. The contract terminated 65 years o f Local Union 140 service to continued on page H6 It makes me a little sad when I see the steel going up, and I can’t get in on the construction. Cliff Green and Karen Waters o f northeast Portland struggle to survive economically after losing their jobs in the Portland School District. The couple had a combined 31 years with the district, before layoffs this summer. photos bv 1 D avid P i echi TT he P ortland O bserver
