September IO. 2003
Page B5
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D iversity ^ W orkplace
SPECIAL
EDITION
J
Helping Ex-offenders Transition into Jobs
T r e a tm e n t?
It’s about tim e for PR O G R ESS,
an acronym for People R eaching
O ut G etting R esources E nabling
Successful Solutions. The group
w as created to address recidivism
in our com m unity by understand­
ing that ex-offenders have lim ited
ability developing strategic plans
to address their jo b re-entry needs
appropriately.
Research indicates that success­
ful interventions should include use
o f com m unity resources for m eet­
in g in d iv id u a l n e e d s , fa m ily
therapy, problem solving, diversion
and treatm ent for substance abuse
o r sexual deviation.
With PR O G R ESS, these needs
will be m et by m atching offenders
with social w ork professionals to
help connect, navigate, m onitor,
m otivate, and prepare these indi­
viduals w ith the necessary tools to
effectively address their crim in o ­
logical needs to im pact successful
and safe transition.
The group has team ed up w ith
PathfindersofO regon to im plem ent
its offender transition program .
P athfinders contracts w ith O regon
D epartm ent o f C orrections to pro ­
v ide cognitive restructuring and
facilitation in all o f its prisons. In
addition, P athfinders has o v er 12
y ears experience w orking inside
institutions p ro v id in g co g n itiv e
restructuring.
The jo in t effort w ill focus on
helping offenders m ake the m ost o f
their rehabilitation in prison, by
, adding concrete assistance o n the
o utside to p ro m o te co m m u n ity
safety through successfully stabi-
• lizing the offender.
For m ore inform ation contact
SherrelleO w ensat 503-701-0109.
P r e fe r e n tia l
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
S h e rre lle O w ens (le ft) a n d S h a ro n D a rcy le a d an e f f o r t a im e d a t h e lp in g e x -o ffe n d e rs tra n s itio n in to th e jo b m a rke t.
Black Union Leader Honored
f
i. .
Contact Us to participate
in the upcoming Minority Business Edition on October 8. 2 0 0 3 .
•
We look forward to hearing from you.
Activism and
support for civil
rights
recognized
Call 503-288-0033
In the past, it w asn ’t uncom m on
for an A frican-A m erican w om an to
be referred to as a "tw o -fer" — she
counted tw ice for affirm ative-ac-
tion purposes: once as a w om an
and again as an A frican A m erican.
With the current challenge to the
U niversity o fM ichigan' s use o f race
as o n e o f several factors in determ in­
ing adm ission, affirm ative-action
policies have been thm st into the
spoil ight once again. Is there a stigm a
attached to affirm ative action? That
depends on w hom you ask.
‘‘T here is no such thing as a level
playing field," says Jack W inston,
an H R executive for a global bever­
age com pany. “A t o u r com pany,
we have m ade a strategic decision
to increase the representation o f
people o f co lo r in all areas o f our
business. W e 're open and up front
about w hy we think this is good for
business. W e teach our m anagers
that any em ploym ent decision in­
volves som e aspect o f ju d g m en t —
and our judgm ent is that diversity
is good for o u r com pany.”
So w hat can you do i f y o u ’re
view ed as an em ployee w ho has
benefited from preferential treat­
ment?
You do y o u r jo b well.
O ne reason certain perceptions
are pervasive at the w orkplace is
because som e supervisors use af­
firm ative action to dodge the truth
about an em p lo y ee’s prospects.
“ It’s easier to say ‘Y ou d id n ’t
get this jo b , because I had to put a
m inority in it’ than to give honest
perform ance feedback to som eone
y o u 'v e know n for years,” specu­
lates Ruby A nderson, a hum an re­
sources m anager based in A tlanta.
If som eone is bold enough to
im ply you are less qualified be­
cause o f your race, think about
responding by asking: Is it po s­
sible that I’m in this position b e ­
cause I’m g reat at w hat I do?
The U niversity ofO reg o n Labor
Education and Research C enter will
1 award its first Emory F. Via Workers
E d u c a tio n A w a rd to M ic h a e l
Howard, an A frican A m erican civil
rights leader from Portland.
H ow ard, a 22-year ja n ito r and
m em ber o f the Service E m ployees
International U nion Local 4 9 , re ­
ceived the honor as a union activist
w ho has played asig n ifican t role in
organizing, education and m o b ili­
zation activities at the grassroots
level.
T h e a w a rd a ls o re c o g n iz e s
H ow ard’s significant efforts to raise
aw areness about injustice at the
local, state and global level and his
prom otion o f the values o f so lid ar­
ity, inclusion, civil rights, hum an
rig h ts and service to others.
“ M ike H ow ard is a leader with
g reat integrity,” said A lice Dale,
P resident o f SEIU Local 49. “ His
b o ld and consistent leadership on
w o rk e rs’ rights, civil and hum an
rig h ts and racial and econom ic ju s ­ M ic h a e l H o w a rd w ins E m o ry F. Via W orkers E d u c a tio n A w a rd fo r
tic e m akes him m ost deserving o f h is a c tiv is m w ith im m ig ra n t's rig h ts .
.this aw ard.”
Michael Howard works for ABM
A n a tiv e b o rn U .S . citizen , stronger, m ore unified union and
as the lead jan ito r in the W ells Fargo H ow ard has perso n ally lobbied community.
P ud d in g in dow ntow n Portland. His O re g o n 's C ongressional delega­
“ A fric a n -A m e ric a n s h av e
)nany roles in his union include tion to secure legislation favorable been g o in g th ro u g h this stru g g le
stew ard, chiefstew ard, political o r­ to im m igrants. He has stood with fo r a long, lo n g tim e, and now
ganizer, m em ber organizer and ser- his im m igrant co-w orkers during im m ig ran ts are g o in g thro u g h it,”
geant-at-arm s. As
H o w ard said. “ I tell
o n e o f th e top
p eo p le th at if w e ju s t
elected officers o f
jo in together - L atino,
the union, he most
A f r ic a n - A m e r ic a n ,
recently served as
A sia n , C a u c a sia n -
a bargaining team
ju s t as G o d w o u ld
m em ber for Local
w an t us to - e v e ry ­
4 9 's m aster ja n i­
b o d y w o u ld h av e a
torial agreem ent,
b e tte r life ."
c o v e rin g 1,800
T h e E m ory F. V ia
ja n i to r s in th e
W o rk ers A w ard w as
g reater Portland
n am ed in h o n o r o f
area.
E m ory V ia, th e lab o r
T h e ja n i t o r s
c en te r’s first full-tim e
w on their stron­ - Michael Howard, Portland labor and civil rights leader
d ire c to r w ho d id p io ­
gest contract ever
n e erin g w o rk in the
this sum m er, including fully paid INS raids and em ployer threats to so u th e rn U n ite d S tates in the
health insurance for em ployees and im m igrant w orkers, reaching out to 1950s th at c o n n e c te d the lab o r
incentives to raise w age and b en ­ his union brothers and sisters o f all m o v em en t to the em erg in g civ il
efit standards forall janitors in Port­ races, ethnicities and nationalities rig h ts m o v em en t.
land.
to bring them together to build a
I tell people that i f we just
join together - Latino,
African-American, Asian,
Caucasian - just as God
would want us to - everybody
would have a better life.
I
I
Providence Health System-
Committed to diversity
in the workplace
As one of Oregon's largest private employers,
Providence Health System respects and values differences
in our patients and employees. We've developed programs
to support diverse needs and have been recognized as
one of the best places to work in the state.
At Providence, we honor diversity while sharing a
common goal-m aking a difference in your health.
Providence Health System
A c a r in g d i f f e r e n c e y o u c a n f e e l
Providence Portland Medical Center • Providence St. Vincent Medical Cent«
Providence Milwaukie Hospital • Providence Newberg Hospital
Providence Seaside Hospital • Providence Medford Medical Center
Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital • Providence Health Plans
Providence Resource Line 503-574-6595 • www.providence.org/oregon
WhMoil
INTEGRATED
HEALTH
NETWORK
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