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