February
1.2012__________________
portlanj Observer B lack H ¡Story M o n th
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B lack H istory
pages 2-11
Making Below Minimum
Cab drivers earn subpar wages
page 7
M indy C ooper
T he P orte and O bserv er
A c co rd in g to a new re p o rt re le a se d by th e C ity o f
P o rtlan d R ev en u e B u reau , th e a v e ra g e h o u rly in co m e o f
P o rtlan d taxi d riv e rs is $ 6 .2 2 , m ore th an $ 2 b elo w the
O reg o n m inim um w age.
A lthough the city regulates taxi fares and the num ber o f
perm its, there is no regulation o f the taxi com panies and their
services, w hich the report found to be insufficient to pro­
m ote sustainable w orking conditions for drivers.
The review , conducted under the direction o f M ayor Sam
A dam s, contains a com p reh en siv e analysis o f the econom ic
and w orking conditions o f taxi cab drivers, w ho are not
subject to O regon w age law s because they w ork as indepen­
dent contractors.
“T his study show s that o u r taxi drivers, like taxi drivers
in o th er cities, face low w ages and long hours. T he question
is: does the status quo reflect the values o f the city o f
Portland?” A dam s said.
W h ile taxi c o m p a n ie s ty p ic a lly p ro v id e se rv ic e s like
d isp a tc h , in su ra n ce , c re d it c a rd p ro c e ssin g , a d v e rtisin g
and v eh icle e q u ip m e n t, d riv e rs are re q u ire d to pay a
by
O pinion
pages 8-9
page 13
C lassifieds
H ealth
page 14
pages 14-15
Taxi cab drivers line up for passengers at
Union Station, downtown.
continued
on page 11
A scene from ‘Restless City, ’ a film is set in the volatile world of West African immigrants in New York City.
C areer E ducation
pages 20-21
Experience the African Diaspora
Cascade Festival of African Films opens
C alendar
F o o d
page 24
page 22
O ne o f the longest running A fri­
can film festivals o f its kind will
feature appearances by tw o young
directors w ho focus on the lives o f
A fricans new ly arrived in the United
S tates
The 22nd annual C ascade Festi­
val o f A frican Film s raises the c u r­
tain on m ore than 20 film s on the
A frican D iaspora experience that
will be show n from Friday, Feb. 3
through M arch 3 at three locations
- the M oriarty A uditorium on the
Portland C om m unity C ollege C as­
cade C am pus, 705 N. Kill i ngs w orth
St.: the H ollyw ood T heatre. 4122
N.E. Sandy Blvd.; and M cM enam ins
K ennedy School, 5736 N.E. 33rd
A ve.
The festival, w hich is free and
open to the publ ic, show s 111 ms ran g ­
ing from full-length features todocu-
m entaries and short films. M ore than
5.500 people attend the festival an-
continued
on page 12
Andrew Dosunmu