(Clir Fortiani» (Dbseruer
Page A 6
Courts Resolve
Wage Complaints
January 08, 2003
Minimum Wagers Get a Raise
Oregon’s
lowest
earners bring
home more
each week
(A P) — O regon w orkers are m ore and
m ore often turning to the federal courts for
resolution on wage and overtime complaints.
T he num ber o f law suits filed this year
alleging violations o f the Fair Labor Stan­
dard A ct, the law that regulates pay and
overtim e, rose to 48, com pared to 42 last
W ynde D yeb /T he
P ortland O bserver
photobv
year, 38 in 2000 and 21 in 1999.
In early December, a Portlandjury found
Nikesha James, 18, works
at KFC in the St. Johns
neighborhood o f north
Portland. She is one o f
thousands o f minimum
wage workers who received
a raise o f 4 0 cents an hour
on New Year’s Day as a
result o f an Oregon ballot
measure narrowly approved
in November.
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, guilty
in a class-action overtime case— the first o f
:a series to be tried nationw ide.
And in Multnomah County last year, Taco
Bell lost a w ag e-an d -h o u rcase involving
overtim e, although total dam ages have not
been determined.
Fair Labor Standards Act cases are on
by
the rise nationwide.
W yndf . D yer
T he P ortland O bserver
In reaction to the rising num ber o f law ­
proposals to update the 64-year-old Fair
Labor Standards A cttoclarify whoqualifies
for overtim e and allow em ployers to offer
more flexible work schedules.
ceived a 40-cent raise to $6.90 on New
about $ 14,300 a year and officials say that is
Y ear’s Day, giving Oregon the third highest
still below the poverty level for familiesof three
minimum wage rate in the United States. Wash­
or more.
1319 N.E. 7»
to go to college at O klahom a State, plans a
economy, expect to have di fficulty offsetting
with Alaska in the lead at $7.15.
career as a pediatrician so she d oesn’t have
costs.
“For some people 40 cents
to w ork for m inim um wage the rest o f her
Restaurant owners who typically employ
more an hour can real ly help a
life. Right now, she said, working four days
part-time minimum wage earners say patrons
lot,” said Nikesha James, a
a w eek at her current pay is fi ne as she tries
can expect to see menu prices raise slightly to
minimum wage worker at
to save money for her prom dress and gradu­
compensate for the wage hike.
KFC in the St. Johns neigh­
ation gow n. But Jam es d o esn ’t know how
State officials have said that the minimum
borhood o f north Portland.
some people make a living even at $6.90 an
wage increase will probably not have much
hour.
impact on Oregon ’ s staggering unemployment
you join
CALL
But some say the increase,
1 -8 0 0 -6 5 1 -6 0 0 0 0
narrowly approved by Oregon
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Sharpton Makes Run for President
Activist pledges to push issues concerning most Americans
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(A P) — The Rev. A1 Sharpton
Preparing for the cam paign,
announced Friday that he wi 11 form
Sharpton criss-crossed the coun­
a presidential exploratory comm i t-
try last year giving speeches and
tee, saying he is probably more
w ro te a b o o k title d “ A1 on
qualified than any other Democrat
A m erica” that w as released in
seeking the W hite House.
October. In the book, the black
“ I am running for president to
leader said presidential politics has
finally put the issues concerning
becom e “an exclusive club for
m ost A m ericans on to the front
w hite males, o f a certain incom e,
burner,” the 48-year-old civil rights
Wellness Within REACH: Mind, Body, and Soul
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Sharpton unsuccessful ly sought
Sharpton expects to file papers with the
Federal Elections Committee on Jan. 21, spokes­
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2:00-3:00pm
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Hunptou
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—
followingand I speak forthepeople/’said Sharpton,
ing h im se lf m ore closely w ith the party e sta b ­
who has never held public office.
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Jan. 11,2003)
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i
Salvation Aray
5325 N Wians.
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S at
—
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o f a certain age.”
Rev. AI Sharpton
activist said.
w om an Rachel N oerdlinger said.
Tues
rate.
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UNTIL M ARCH 15,
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Mon
Most food grown in Oregon is picked and
and small farmers, already troubled by a poor
1 8 0 0 65*1 6 0 0 0 W e ic h t W a t c h e r s . c o m
NorttwrinsterRws. Church
extra 40 cents may hit hard.
James, 18, a high school senior who plans
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mum wage earners, but for employers the
ington, with a minimum wage o f$ 7 .0 1 is the
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The increase may ease the burden on mini­
A full-time minimum wage workerwilleam
A VERY COOL W AY TO
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help the most needy workers.
Thousands o f low wage Oregonians re­
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Bigotry Tied toGOP Leader
Flap similar to downfall of U.S. Sen. Trent Lott
(AP) — A candidate for the chairman o f the
California Republican Party circulated an article
suggesting the nation would have been better off
if the South had won the Civil War, a published
report said Saturday.
The Contra Costa Times reported that Bill
Back, the current vice chairman o f the state GOP,
sent the article to party members in 1999 as part
ofan e-mail newsletter. It was written by Bill Lind
o f the Center for Cultural Conservatism, a wing
o f the conservative Free Congress Foundation.
“Given how bad things have gotten in the old
USA, it’s not hard to believe that history might
have taken a better turn,” Lind wrote.
“The real damage to race relations in the South
came not from slavery, but from Reconstruction,
which would not have occurred if the South had
won.”
Back told the Times he did not agree with the
views expressed in the article, saying he found
them “i ncorrect and incomplete." He said the news-
letter published different views he didn’t always
agree with and said he regretted sending the article.
I
“ It was never my intent to hurt or offend
people. It was to communicate and get people to
think or discuss issues,” he said.
The flap comes just weeks after U.S. Senator
Trent Lott was forced to step down from his
GOP leadership post after commenting the nation
wouldn't have had so many problems if Strom
Thurmond had triumphed in his 1940s pro­
segregation run for president.
The Times said word o f the newsletter an­
gered Shannon Reeves, the state’s Republican
Party secretary and the only black member o f its
executive committee. Reeves rejected the de­
fense that Back was simply trying to generate
discussion.
“There’s no room for bigotry in the Republi­
can Party and I don’t think there's a lot o f room
in the Republican Party for people who distribute
bigoted information,” Reeves said. “I wonder,
does the African-American community have any
value to the leadership o f the party when leaders
send out something like this, not considering at all
this would be offensive?”