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News:
Working Poor Council gives millions to corporations for jobs
but opposes living wage. Happening
People: Myron Johnson & Rory
Baarstad
WHAT
A PARTY! Live music upstairs was provided by Raging Family and Caliente and free salsa lessons were given. During the break between bands, stand-up comics Ty Connor and Tom Heinl spoofed EW, reading from the latest issue and poking fun at the columnists, new design, letters and personals ads. The huge free cake donated by Sweet Life was consumed in about two minutes, says John Herron, EW''s director of business operations, who organized the event. Herron reports 25 large pizzas were consumed by the hungry crowd. Dancing on the main floor continued past midnight. —TJT
PVC
NIGHTMARE
Last year, this unusual film won the documentary award for excellence in cinematography at the Sundance film festival, the audience award at the Santa Cruz International Film Festival and first prize for best documentary at the Bermuda International Film Festival. Helfand opens her film saying: "Every three minutes, another house in North America is sided with vinyl." In her self-described "toxic comedy for the whole family," Helfand scrutinizes her parents' decision to replace the rotting wood on the exterior of their Long Island home with inexpensive, weather-proof, PVC siding. She then continues the discussion at various places around the world. Helfand will speak (time TBA) on Feb. 13 at Temple Beth Israel; from noon to 1:30 pm on Feb. 14 at 330 Hendricks Hall on "Women in Danger: Toxics and Women's Health"; at 7:30 pm on Feb. 15 at 180 PLC, UO for a showing of Blue Vinyl and discussion with Joe Thornton, UO professor, expert on global chemical pollution and author of Pandora's Poison. Finally, she'll speak from noon to 1:30 pm on Feb. 16 at Churchill HS for a film showing and panel discussion. Donations will be accepted at the door. — Michele Taylor
RAILYARD
FORUM Panel members will include David Monk of Oregon Toxics Alliance, Don Hanson of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), chemist and local resident Lance Miller, and an attorney from the Eugene law firm of Johnson, Clifton, Larson & Corson. Hanson is the DEQ project manager for the Union Pacific railyard site. A toxic plume emanating from the railyard is reportedly spreading in groundwater into the Trainsong, Whiteaker, and River Road neighborhoods, and nearby is the Willamette River. Citizens have voiced concerns that the DEQ and Union Pacific are only studying a few of the toxins at the site. "The railroad is slowly using up the statute of limitations, under the guise of accumulating more data," says Ray Heslep, a River Road homeowner sited atop the toxic plume. "Residents are at risk," according to Mara Wile, vice chair of the River Road Community Organization (RRCO). Wile says in addition to "unanswered questions about the danger to the public's health, the toxic plume has residents worried about the erosion of their property value." "Elected officials have been reticent to work in the public interest," says Rob Handy, chair of RRCO. "Will lack of action result in a fenced-off toxic hazard, a Love Canal of the West Coast?" — TJT
MRG
CLOSING OFFICE MRG, with offices in both Eugene and Portland, pools the financial resources of Oregon's progressive community and distributes it back to grassroots groups working on a variety of social change issues. Local groups that have benefited as grantees of MRG include Oregon Toxics Alliance, Eugene-Springfield Solidarity Network Fund, Pan Asian Community Alliance and Cascadia Wildlands Project. Over the years, Reymers has overseen the process of collecting and redistributing these funds, working in capacities ranging from administrator to co-director to grants director. "She's a phenomenal woman," says MRG Executive Director Susan Remmers. However, finding a replacement for someone so familiar with the inner workings of MRG would be nearly impossible. The foundation has, therefore, made the difficult decision to close the Eugene office, and concentrate efforts and energy in Portland to continue MRG's work throughout the state. Reymers says she believes there is in MRG "a real, genuine commitment to continue to develop a statewide presence." Remmers echoes this sentiment, and adds, "We are controlled by an activist committee that includes people statewide." Reymers and Remmers both maintain that the closing of the Eugene office will not affect the amount of grant money distributed in the Eugene area. Remmers says, "It won't impact the grants in this area at all. In fact, it will [free up resources] so that we can focus on expanding donor support …" Reymers will now be taking advantage of an opportunity to help run Oregon Gallery, a family business at 5th and Pearl specializing in Oregon scenic photography and other wall décor. She will continue to be involved with groups for social change through board work and consulting. She says, "It's been my incredible privilege to work with and get to know the grantees. I've managed not to get cynical because I see the incredible amount of work for social progress going on in this state." — Bobbie Willis
Working
Poor The Eugene city council voted 4-3 last week to defeat an ordinance to require the city, its contractors and companies receiving city money to pay a living wage. "I do not believe the public sector should drive or try to drive wages up in our community," said Councilor Jennifer Solomon. "The living wage is not good public policy." Solomon and Councilors Nancy Nathanson, Scott Meisner and George Poling voted against the living wage. Mayor Jim Torrey also spoke against the ordinance. Councilors Bonny Bettman, Betty Taylor and David Kelly supported the living wage. "It was a decision that was made along ideological lines," said Sarah Jacobson, a disappointed local labor activist who helped push for the living wage. The defeated proposal would have paid workers a minimum of $10 an hour if they received health benefits and $11.50 an hour without benefits. In addition to city employees, the living wage would apply to service contractors receiving more than $15,000 a year from the city and companies receiving more than $25,000 in city assistance a year. The pay increase would have been phased in over three years starting in 2005 with a first year cost to the city of an estimated $300,000. "I feel like I'm seeing emerging a bias against the working poor," Bettman said. She pointed out that the city has given away millions of tax breaks and other incentives to corporations in the name of living wage jobs but now opposes helping the poor directly. "If we're willing to spend money at the top of the economic food chain, we should be able to support the working poor." With low wages, "we are creating a cycle of poverty," Bettman said. She pointed to information from FOOD For Lane County indicating a family living on wages of less than $9.50 an hour requires public assistance to meet their basic needs. "Public money should not be used for perpetuating poverty," she said. Taylor made a plea for helping people forced to work multiple jobs that threaten to break apart families. "We're not concerned enough about preventing someone from becoming homeless." Kelly said the living wage was a "trickle-up strategy" for local economic development, and in addition, "it simply is the right and moral thing to do." Meisner, Nathanson, Poling and Mayor Torrey said the money for the living wage would be more efficiently spent on social services for the poor. It's "not the most effective means" to fight poverty, Poling said. Meisner said "the goal is worthwhile" but the money would be better spent on more police and a new Valley River fire station. Poling, Nathanson and Solomon said other cities were backing away from living wage ordinances, or there was no data to support their effectiveness. Nathanson said the city couldn't afford to pay a living wage. "We're spending down our piggy bank right now and we're going to be in a deficit." "I think it's a bad proposal," said Torrey. He said the "major impetus" for the living wage came from city unions who wanted to use it as a tool to press for higher wages for higher paid workers and to defeat efforts to privatize public jobs by replacing them with lower paid workers employed by private contractors. Torrey said low wages weren't a problem with city workers, "We pay great wages, we give great benefits." Kelly agreed that most city workers weren't the problem, only 10 to 20 would be affected by the living wage, he said. He said the problem was the low wages paid by city contractors. Kelly said the mayor's claim that the living wage was a move by city unions was "offensive." He pointed to a letter from the city's largest union saying the living wage wouldn't be used to negotiate higher wages for other workers. Bettman pointed out that the proposal had widespread support among local clergy and legislators. "It's not a union issue," she said. Kelly said 90 cities and other jurisdictions around the nation have passed a living wage ordinance with few problems. A Baltimore study confirmed that the living wage effectively reduces poverty, he said. Kelly and other supporters offered to scale back the proposed wage amounts if other councilors thought they were too high. Bettman said the city has invested millions in corporate tax breaks without evidence that they help the poor. "None of these strategies have proven to be effective; there's no data, no studies," she said. "It's a question of whether we're going to spend more economic development incentives and tax breaks on the rich, or whether we're going to focus some of our economic development strategy on the poor." After the vote killed the living wage, Kelly proposed taking $175,000 of the money that would have been spent and instead dedicating it to social services, as Torrey and other opponents had suggested. "This is an opportunity to put your money where your mouth is," Bettman said. But the council majority voted down more money to help the poor. The same councilors who voted against the living wage defeated the $175,000 proposal and another motion to cancel a proposed social services cut.
Myron Johnson & Rory Baarstad
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