The Mayor of Portland, Oregon, Ted Wheeler, has given its city employees 40 hours of uncontested bereavement leave so they may mourn the 400 years of slavery and oppression of African-Americans in the United States, according to the Portland Tribune.
The announcement was made on June 8, in an email to all Portland city employees. The offer follows over a week of mass protests across the city in response to police brutality, sparked by the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
"We're witnessing a dramatic shift in our nation, one that is urgently charting the path forward for restorative justice, inclusion and understanding. I feel tremendous responsibility, as well as tremendous privilege, to be a part of this historic movement," said Wheeler.
The email from Mayor Wheeler is as follows in its full text:
Colleagues,
As a nation and as a City we continue to grieve the recent loss of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, and others in the country and in our community. We acknowledge that Black employees are experiencing a collective grief and trauma coming from a culmination of oppression that is over 400 years old.
We hear and understand that many of our employees, especially our BiPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) employees, are deeply impacted by these recent events and are hurting.
I want to give our employees space to grieve and reflect: 40 hours of bereavement leave as allowed under HRAR (Human Resources Administrative Rules) 6.03.
I am directing managers and supervisors to approve the leave without question.
I am hopeful that other employers in our community will do likewise.
We're witnessing a dramatic shift in our nation, one that is urgently charting the path forward for restorative justice, inclusion and understanding. I feel tremendous responsibility, as well as tremendous privilege, to be a part of this historic movement. Thank you for walking that path with me as we continue to serve the City of Portland.
Sincerely,
Ted
Portland's Chief of Police stepped down today as a result of chaos and lack of backing from city law makers.
Join and support independent free thinkers!
We’re independent and can’t be cancelled. The establishment media is increasingly dedicated to divisive cancel culture, corporate wokeism, and political correctness, all while covering up corruption from the corridors of power. The need for fact-based journalism and thoughtful analysis has never been greater. When you support The Post Millennial, you support freedom of the press at a time when it's under direct attack. Join the ranks of independent, free thinkers by supporting us today for as little as $1.
Remind me next month
To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy
