Portland Observer Section II Thursday. February 15.1979 Page 5
(hat many Black youths arc deprived o f essential and
encouraging work experience. L ittle wonder that many
o f these youths eventually develop a lack o f com m it
ment to the labor market.
Many policy-makers are accustomed to thinking o f
summer work problems as the solution. But the jo b
problem o f the Black teenager is a year-round concern.
Even during the winter their unemployment rates are
high. The current public service employment program is
no solution to the problem o f chronic teenage unem
ployment since it favors adults and is geared to the em
ployment o f a very small p roportion o f the unemployed.
The fact is, most Black teenagers ought to be in
school rather than in the labor market. Sadly, many
who arc out o f school are caught in the midst o f a cruel
circle: Their parents need their work efforts, schools are
often unattractive, and the labor market insists on doing
w ithout them. Clearly, one o f o u r agendas must be to
break this circle; f o r to ignore the teenage problem is to
ignore the fu tu re generation o f Blacks.
It is only during periods o f high employment that
Blacks, women, teenagers and the unskilled have done
relatively well. Their employment and wages have risen
faster than those o f skilled workers in such periods and
d is c rim in a tio n on the part o f employers is relaxed
because they fin d it too costly to forego p ro fits by
discrim inating against such workers or by putting un
realistic demands on the kinds o f skills they require.
H igh employment also means greater jo b security and
therefore there is less resistance on the part o f the white
w orker to increased jo b opportunities fo r others.
longer found it profitable to train Blacks because many
o f them could no longer be used as cheap and inden
tured labor.
The legacy o f this exclusion is still w ith us. Today, a
disproportionate number o f Blacks, most o f whom are
unskilled, are still trapped in the lowest paying jobs at
the bottom o f the economic ladder. In the days o f
slavery, most were in agriculture, domestic w ork, or
doing just pure hard physical work as unskilled labor.
But over the years, Blacks have shown a steady
exodus out o f agriculture. This is p rim a rily the conse
quence o f the declining importance o f agriculture as a
source o f employment, and the decreased demand fo r
physical labor in farm ing.
The decline o f agriculture sent Blacks rushing in to the
cities only to be met by high unemployment during the
Depression, and intense com petition by whites — all
o f which stymied the progress Blacks were making in en
tering non-farm employment. A ctua lly, the number o f
Blacks in m anufacturing fell during the Depression, and
many traditional Black jobs — even the really menial
ones — were taken over by unemployed whites.
A recovery was made in the progress o f Blacks during
the Second W orld W ar and during the Korean W ar. But
the real hope fo r sustained Black progress has occurred
since I960, particularly during the mid-60s.
Blacks could take great pride in the advances made
during this period as they moved o ut o f the worse
Shared Work
TAKE ADVANTAGE . .
Fresh meaning would be added to Am erica's past i f
the nation were in the midst o f high employment. But
the fact is that the nation is not. Because unemployment
poses a disproportionately large burden fo r Blacks, a
number o f civil rights leaders have suggested methods to
reduce this burden.
One suggestion, which has earned support in the civil
rights com m unity, is that o f shared work.
The basic concept is one which would distribute the
burden o f unemployment across racial groups in a way
which w ould drastically reduce the disproportionate
burden which Blacks carry. A t least one idea would
have workers reduce their work week and be compen
sated fo r that loss o f a day through unemployment
compensation, which is not taxable. When this is match
ed by savings such as lunch and transportation costs, the
actual loss o f earnings by the w orker who gives up one
day so the jo b o f his partner is saved is significantly
reduced. Moreover, he gets a day o ff. Unions are split
on this issue.
Over the past several years a number o f federally-
funded jo b training programs such as the Job Corps,
the M anpower Development and T ra inin g A ct, and
others have been initiated to aid the disadvantaged
worker. A large number o f Blacks have been enrolled
and as remedial and compensatory e fforts, they un
doubtedly have made w orth w h ile contributions. But
Blacks must think beyond these programs as they w ill
not solve the more d iffic u lt long-range problem o f
higher incomes and better jobs fo r the m a jo rity o f the
Black population.
Essential short-range e fforts, which these programs
are, must be separated fro m essential long-range efforts
o f producing more skilled workers and a less hostile
economic environment. Unless this is done. Blacks w ill
continue to be the m ajor clients o f such remedial ef
forts.
Over the long haul, i f Blacks are to share equitably in
the Am erican jo b m arket, there must be a national
policy fo r fu ll employment which w ill guarantee a job
fo r everyone w illing and able to work.
Upward Mobility
A lth o u g h most Blacks were slaves o f dom estic
w o rk e rs d u rin g the days o f sla ve ry, there were
numerous Black artisans - - some free and some slave.
They were carpenters, masons, painters and the like.
Not surprisingly these artisans were competitors to the
skilled white male — both in the N orth and in the
South. It is estimated that in IS65, there were five Black
mechanics lo r every white.
This com petition was weakened by laws which
legah/cd discrimination, by unions which denied mem
bership to Bl.i.ks. and by outright tear on the part o f
Blacks lo r their salety All these pressures were intensi
fied as Blacks became free Many former slave-owners no
paying jobs into better employment. D uring the 60s,
they moved fastest into clerical and sales occupations,
but gains continued into the 1970s. More and more
Blacks are e n te rin g p ro fe s s io n a l, te c h n ic a l, and
managerial occupations. More Blacks are entering crafts.
These gains, which continue in spite o f the current
deep recession, cannot be minimized. One o f the most
im portant features o f Black upward m ob ility should not
go unnoticed and this has occurred in the form s o f
women leaving domestic work and entering clerical oc
cupations. Between 1964 and 1974, the percentage o f
Black women in domestic work fell from 33V# to 11V#.
A t the same time, those engaged in clerical work in
creased from 11 Vo to 25Vo.
Yet, Blacks continue to be badly underrepresented in
the better paying jobs, and this is only partly related to
the lack o f skills which can be traced to discrimination
in all facets o f education. As one Black economist,
Marcus Alexis, points out, “ People do not train for
jobs from which they know that they w ill be excluded.”
Underrepresentation is also due to discrim ination o f
em ployers and, in some cases, d is c rim in a tio n o f
customers. Hence, an employer would argue that it was
not he who was u n w illin g to hire Blacks, b ut his
customers who objected to them.
The real question is why after decades o f denials,
there was a sudden burst o f upward m ob ility o f Blacks?
One reason was the C iv il Rights Act o f 1964 which
of some of the finest technical schools in the nation
and team an A ir Force skill. Because that's what it’s
all about in the Air Force. It's a modem service geared
for the future And its schools and skills have to stay
current if the Air Force is to remain the nation’s aero
space guardian
Find out today about an Air Force skill. And when
you do, you'll also find out that the Air Force offers
you an excellent salary . . enrollment opportunities
in its community college .
advanced education
opportunities . . . valuable on the job experience . . .
worldwide asskyiments
30 days of paid vacation
a y e a r. . medical care . dental care . . and
much more
It's one of the finest opportunities in the nation
Call today. For infom v.tion, contact
M S g t Bill Edwards
at 221-2652
A g re a t w oy of We
We’ve got
the best reason
there is for being
learned a long
biggest. We
time ago that (he
more we could do
for our subscribers
as indi\iduals. (he
happier (hey were
anti the longer
they warned it)
sia\ with us.
So we gave people
what they needed.
Like free choice of
doctor anti hospital.
Anti fast, courteous
claim service.
And coverage for lots
of different kintis of
medical problems.
With the result that
toila\ more people can
get what the\ want
from Blue Cross of
Oregon than from
anybody else.
Anti tlo.
Blue Cross
•ko I qual I »PP-
of Oregon