Portland Jobs Vigil

Sarah Levy

August 18, 2010

Nearly 20 un- and underemployed workers and allies demonstrated in front of Portland’s City Hall on August 18 in the first of what is to become a weekly vigil demanding living wage jobs for all and a security net that doesn’t let anyone fall through the cracks.

Organized by a coalition consisting of the Sunnyside Self Help Employment Group; the Coalition of Unemployed, Underemployed and Marginalized Workers; and Jobs with Justice, the weekly vigils are meant to raise awareness and visibility of unemployed and underemployed workers in the Portland metro area—a group that is being pushed further and further under the radar.

“Only in America can you have a full-time job, be poor, live on the streets, and have no benefits,” organizer Ted Pyle announced through a megaphone to downtown passersby.

Oregon’s unemployment rate is now officially at 10.6 percent, over one percentage point above the national average. In addition, the rate of Oregon’s unemployed has continued to increase, as opposed to Washington D.C.’s recent decline, and in the midst of a national economy that is reportedly “recovering” (though for some reason the recovery has nothing to do with jobs creation). According to the Oregon Employment Dept. and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, when those who have given up job hunting and those working less hours than desired are included, the rate jumps up to 20.6 percent, compared to 16.5 percent nationally. And of course, it’s still much worse for minorities.

“It’s not our fault that we are unemployed,” said Eleyna Fugman, one of the main organizers of the coalition. “We are looking for jobs. We want to work.” With an Ivy League degree and plenty of experience working in the non-profit sector, Fugman is among the growing ranks of a well-educated and qualified workforce finding an increasingly bleak employment outlook ahead. She hopes that the vigils will make the unemployed more visible, and make it easier to connect with other groups, such as Oregon People Activating Leaders (OPAL), which came out in solidarity and to promote an upcoming march and rally against bus service cuts.

The visibility is also part of eliminating the shame and isolation that many people feel regarding unemployment. “There should be no such thing as the ‘working poor,’” Fugman said. “A jobless recovery is like a foodless meal.”

The coalition began in summer of 2009 when a group of four un- and underemployed neighbors started having monthly meetings. George Slanina, Jr., one of the founding four, said that the group shaped their goals in the first few meetings, and then focused on organizing a support network for those in need. Until now this had mainly evolved into a monthly potluck. Slanina said he envisions having more neighborhood groups so that people don’t have to spend money to go to a meeting. The groups can then help people get by on a daily basis, as well as provide a way to organize around a larger political struggle.

“Ultimately we want to build a nation-wide movement,” said Slanina. “Like back in the 30’s. You know that slogan, ‘start local, think global.’” For outreach, the coalition has put out an Unemployment/Underemployment Survey, with the hope that people will fill one out and then contact the group and get more involved.

For now, he said, the goal is for each person who comes to one of the vigils to bring another person to the next one. “We want to get enough people here to get noticed.”

Paul Dean, a member of the coalition, said that the next step is to get the unions involved, to make sure that the city doesn’t contract out jobs while undercutting the jobs that exist.

Also outside of City Hall on Wednesday were several mainstream media representatives, though to cover a different story. They were interested in the fact that city representatives were in the midst of rushing through a deal for the wind turbine company Vestas to expand in Portland. The [now in place] deal includes a fifteen-year $8 million interest-free loan—consisting of tax-payer dollars—from the city council to the company, with the added stipulation that they create 100 jobs over five years. That’s 20 jobs a year—barely crumbs when compared to the over 220,000 Oregonians in need. Possible reasons for the secrecy and speed behind the deal could be that the company’s stock value has recently plummeted, or the fact that Vestas is widely known throughout the UK as the Danish company that last year, after soaking up government money, closed their Isle of Wight plant, laying off 700 workers (http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=18566). While this led to a worker-led occupation of the plant, it is a bad sign for Oregon, and a poor reflection on City Council that indicates at best inadequate research and at worst misguided or biased interests.

It is also a sign of the enormous corporate welfare the city is capable of, and that the money exists, just not for the people who desperately need it.

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The vigils are set to continue every Wednesday from noon to 1pm in front of City Hall, at least through the November elections.

(more info)--

http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2010/08/16/daily22.html?page=1

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=18566

http://bojack.org/2010/08/taxpayers_shell_out_millions_t.html

Cut Backs That Will Kill in Detroit

Sarah Levy

June 26, 2010

Dozens of Detroit Paramedics protested June 25 because they want to be able to come to your assistance in the case of an emergency. Raising signs that said “Save Us So We Can Save You” and “Don’t Get Injured—EMS Can’t Respond,” the Paramedic workers withstood the 90-degree heat in order to raise awareness of cuts that are about to take place that will affect the safety of Detroit as well as anyone who happens to pass through.

Alarmingly, seventy-five percent of the demonstrators had worked all night, their shifts having only ended at 7am, and they would return to another full night on the job at 7pm.

“That’s how big of an issue this is,” said paramedic of 15 years Tim Goodman.

The issue is that in less than a week the city’s Fire Commissioner, James Mack, is planning to cut 75 Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and Paramedic positions from the Detroit Fire Department’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Division as well as cut 33 active members—a cut that would leave only 12 ambulances to cover the entire city of Detroit. As it stands, the city only has 24 ambulances available at any time, a total the paramedics say is devastatingly inadequate.

“Some people are actually dying,” said Kent Hammer, one of the paramedic workers. “This can’t go on.”

Hammer explained that the national standard for response time is four minutes—the time it takes for an untreated brain injury to leave permanent damage.

“Our response time is already over 10 minutes,” he said. “And that’s [before the cuts] with 24 ambulances.”

For reference, Detroit is larger geographically than the city of Chicago, although it is less populated. However, Chicago runs 62 paramedics at any time—almost six times more than Detroit will be left with if the fire commissioner gets his way.

One of the paramedics said he has had to drive more than 20 miles to get to a call, and that those in need are often forced to wait for over an hour.

There have already been many cuts that have hindered the ability of the workers to respond in the case of an emergency. Recently five advanced life support units were reduced to basic units, making them less effective. The basic units only include stretchers to transport people, but aren’t equipped with any of the materials to actually treat them.

Goodman said that on top of this, the city already doesn’t have a first response system in place—the system that allows the fire department to come to the scene of an emergency in most other cities before the ambulance can get there.

“Sometimes calls are backed up for four hours and we’re left showing up hours after calls,” said Hammer. “We’ve even had to take other forms of transportation.”

In illustration of the absurdly drastic nature of the situation, the police driving by the demo enthusiastically honked and shouted in support of the protesters—not a typical reaction to street-side protests.

“You know the cops are in support of us because every time they call for us, we’re not there,” said Jim Atkinson, a paramedic of 14 years.

He explained that (for example in the case of a shooting) because the police don’t want to just sit there and watch someone die, they are often forced to handle bloody bodies—something they are not trained to do.

Goodman gave an example to demonstrate the horrifying result of this lack of proper treatment.

“Even when we had 24 ambulances, there was one case—that wasn’t out of the ordinary—where there was a man in critical condition with a spinal cord injury only four blocks away from Medic 17’s quarters. Even four blocks away, we didn’t have anyone available, so the police had to put the man in their car [without any proper medical treatment or handling]. Because the man wasn’t handled properly, his spinal cord was permanently damaged. Now he will never be able to walk again. If we had been able to reach him, we could have handled him correctly and he could have been saved.”

Craig Mancini gave his own explanation for the police solidarity.

“They need us as much as we need them,” he said. “It’s the same with the firefighters. If they get hurt on the job, they want us to be there. That’s why they’re supporting us out here today.”

While a particularly ugly example, the proposed EMS cuts reflect the budget cuts that have been occurring across the nation, in everything from education to affordable housing, even as corporations and banking bandits continue to rake in obscene profits and bonuses. These upside-down priorities were clearly a source of anger among the protesters.

“Lots of administration could be cut, as well as other things that are not necessary,” said Hammer. “But instead they’re cutting the things that are essential.”

According to Goodman, the mayor put out a memo proposing cuts in administration as a way to balance the city’s budget. Goodman said that there are 19 various administrative Chiefs on duty at any time, who are paid lavishly but don’t actually do anything tangible for the citizens of Detroit.

Instead, Fire Commissioner James Mack—who is in the position to make the final decision on the issue—has disregarded the mayor’s proposal and is moving to cut the most necessary positions almost by half starting July 1^st. Although both the city council and the mayor say they are opposed to the EMS cuts, neither of them have actually done anything to stand up to Mack.

“We think there’s a deliberate misinformation campaign regarding where they want the cuts to come from,” Paramedic Jesse Rangel said. “The council proposed the cuts to areas that were not essential [but that’s not what the fire commissioner is trying to do].” Rangel said he thinks the city council is placing too much trust in the fire administration and that in return it is deliberately misleading the city administration.

Hence the paramedics took it upon themselves to profile the issue to the community and media. Rangel said the paramedic union has given presentations to various religious groups in the city as well as other community groups.

“People don’t have any clue of how bad things are,” he said.

In fact it’s hard to imagine how things could get much worse. Besides resulting in unnecessary deaths and forcing the paramedics to work insanely long hours, the cuts make it so that any time off from work is emotionally burdened with the knowledge that people are dying because not enough EMTs are on call to save them.

“The moral of the story is, when you’re in town, be careful,” said Rangel.

There is another moral to be gotten out of the story of the EMS cuts in Detroit. And that is that as long as profit is the driving force of society and carries the most weight in deciding what is necessary for a community, the lives of regular people will continue to be completely disregarded. Detroit shows that this is the case even when those profits compromise the safety of everyone—rich and poor—who could ever possibly get into an accident. And the story shows us how incredibly important it is that we organize to challenge these backward priorities.

Fire Commissioner James Mack can be reached at (313) 596-2901.

The New Face of Blackface

Sarah Levy

May 30, 2010

Following the creation of Arizona’s SB1070, the last thing the world needs is more “whitewashing” from the film industry.

In the midst of the new Arizona bill that makes being off-white a crime, Hollywood has essentially endorsed an all white America with two new films, The Last Airbender and Prince of Persia. But grassroots struggles are emerging to challenge these “whitewashing” efforts on behalf of the film industry.

Opening July 2, Paramount Pictures’ movie The Last Airbender is based on the popular children’s cartoon television series about a group of Asian and Inuit martial artists, “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” The series is noticeable for its widespread and genuine incorporation of Inuit and Korean culture, from (animated) costume design, written language, landscapes, philosophy, spirituality, and even eating utensils, with many fans (http://derekkirkkim.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-day-in-politics-same-old-racist.html) seeing it as an “evocative… re-imagining of ancient Asia.” However, when it comes to the movie adaptation, more noticeable than its feature length or use of actors instead of animation is the film’s choice of cast: dominantly white, as opposed to the ethnically Asian characters depicted in the cartoon. In fact, three of the four main characters in the movie are white—Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, and Jackson Rathbone—and while the fourth is played by Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire, directors had originally wanted Jesse McCartney (white) to play the role. Patel’s character also happens to be the antagonist.

Rightfully outraged, a largely internet-based grassroots coalition (mainly consisting of fans of the TV series) has organized to challenge Hollywood’s attempt to erase the face of minorities from its screens. For starts, they are calling for a boycott of the film.

"People need to realize that recasting Asian actors as white actors is institutionalized discrimination,” said Loraine Sammy, public relations coordinator for Racebending.com—a website which has attracted over 6,000 supporters since it was formed in 2008 with the intention of spreading the boycott. (As of now, the petition (http://www.petitiononline.com/racebend/petition.html) to Protest the Unethical Casting of "The Last Airbender”, directed to the president of Paramount Film Group, has upwards of 8,500 signatures.) Sammy continued, saying it is particularly harmful to minority children who are being told that “white [i]s the norm, even in a [fantasy] world that is Asian-based." (http://pacificcitizen.org/site/details/tabid/55/selectmoduleid/373/ArticleID/287/reftab/87/Default.aspx?title=APA_Groups:_Casting_in_'The_Last_Airbender'_is_'Whitewashing')

Asian American artist Derek Kirk Kim, author or Same Difference and Other Stories, created a petition of industry professionals who plan to boycott the film. In a 2009 blog entry (http://derekkirkkim.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-day-in-politics-same-old-racist.html), Kim wrote:

What if someone made a ‘fantasy’ movie in which the entire world was built around African culture? Everyone is wearing ancient African clothes, African hats, eating traditional African food, writing in an African language, living in African homes, all encompassed in an African landscape…but everyone is white. How offensive, insulting, and disrespectful would that be toward Africans and African Americans? How much more offensive would it be if only the heroes were white and all the villains and background characters were African American?

Unfortunately, when it opens, Airbender will not stand alone in its fashion of “whitewashing”—the new term for having white actors play the roles of non-white characters. This past week saw the release of the video-game-turned-feature-film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as, fans claimed, the clearly and should-have-been Iranian main character.

Amidst the current Obama era of “colorblindness” this seems to be the new form of blackface— it’s as if Hollywood is thinking, ‘rather than have white people pretend to be other ethnicities, let’s just pretend that everyone is actually white.’ In this bipolar time when race is supposed to no longer matter (see Obama,) but you can simultaneously get pulled over for “looking illegal,” Hollywood’s blatant racism makes clear that they don’t just want viewers to look past a person’s race, but they want them to look past the non-white races entirely. As Gene Yang, author of the graphic novel American Born Chinese and National Book Award nomineed, described it, (http://derekkirkkim.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-day-in-politics-same-old-racist.html) the casting is like “a white Asian fetishist's wet dream. All the Asian culture they want, without any of the Asian people."

Luckily, the power of internet organizing makes it look like by the time the movie hits theatres, Airbender will be met with a loud voice of dissent. As Racebender.com states,

We know we cannot change the casting of The Last Airbender, but working on this project [will not be] the end of our movement. We will continue to monitor other projects in Hollywood and advocate on behalf of artists of color.

This is a pivotal moment. We can help Hollywood see that Americans care about treating everyone fairly – and about showing our children that prejudice shouldn’t profit.