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J une 21, 1995 • T he P ortland O bserver
Of
B y P rof . M c K inley B crt
No way is there any humor in
such a declaration, for “The End OF
Jobs” is the title of a new and fright­
ening book on the Best-seller lists.
And as indicated by the title, it deals
with the traumatic changes (reduc­
tions) in the nations’s workforce that
would seem to threaten us all. And it
will get worse.
I will review the book at a later
date, but for now let me prepare you
for this “future shock” , by sort of
tying the loose ends of concerns raised
throughout the past year by my ar­
ticles. O f course, these “loose ends”
turn out to be not so loose at all when
we think about it; economic models
provided by descriptions o f how
‘other’ minorities (especially immi­
grants) are pooling their resources
and talent to launch enterprises to
provide jobs and also ‘seed’ new
ventures (just as Portland blacks once
did).
And certainly, it was revealed
and emphasized that African Ameri­
cans have inspiring role models and
‘how -to-do-it’ plans dating back to
the successes at the turn-of-the-cen-
tury (E.F. Richings, “Evidences of
Progress Among Colored People,
1902” ), as well as personally-evalu­
ated descriptions of Portland’s black
business com m unity— 1940’s and
195O’s. Then, too, there was the se­
ries on "Los Angeles” and how to
exploit the opportunities presented
by the market-place, though all of
them may not have a point-to-point
correspondence with one’s particu­
lar degree or precession. And, again,
as I did years ago in the business
classes I taught at Portland State
University, “go afield for new ideas
and practices not being applied at
home” (I even suggest “study out-of-
town ‘yellow pages’ and newspa­
pers). It works!
“The end of jobs” is not a pro­
cess that has sneaked up on us, nei­
ther black nor white nor in between;
from the rash of corporate mergers
and junk bond-financed take overs
and attendant down-sizing, to the
early-retirement buyouts of senior
Historic College
Celebrates Graduation
Two hundred and eleven gradu­
ates o f Bethune-Cookman College,
an historically black college in
Daytona Beach, Fla., followed the
path o f the college’s motto: “ Enter to
Learn and Depart to Serve” as they
triumphantly received their bache­
lor’s degrees April 24 before an over­
flow audience o f more than 2,500
family members and friends.
Rodney E. Slater, federal high­
way administration administrator,
delivered the commencement ad­
dress.
He told the graduates that this
was their day to reflect on all the
roads they have taken.
“ Look at all the m eans it took
you to get h e re ,” S later said , “ and
use them as reasons to w ork to
com m it to do w h atev er life c a lls
you to do.
“ T he a d m in istra tio n at BCC
has given you the o p p o rtu n ity to
serve, and you are g ifte d and
co u rag eo u s enough to co m pete
on the in tern atio n al le v e l,” he
said.
“Life is a special thing and we
have to live it. As you go forth, listen
to the still, small voice and come
forth, come forth,” Slater said, refer­
ring to the responsibilities o f being a
productive citizen, as he concluded
his inspirational message to the audi­
ence.
and tenured employees, it has all
been right there for all to see. The
“bottom line” has meant the “unem­
ployment lines at an ever-incre ising
pace. Both firms and public agencies
have used an inspired number of
techniques to reduce the costs re­
lated to 'in house’ personnel.
“O utsourcing’ is a euphemism
for the process of contracting out
processes that were previously per­
formed by a com pany’s or agency’s
own employees. This makes pos­
sible the reduction of a number of
personnel costs from pension contri­
butions and medical plans to vaca­
tions, holidays and sick leave. And
because of this, the workforce specs
of new firms in the area exhibit a
chilling reduction in jobs and wages.
For specific local trends in this
process, we need look no farther than
our city ot Portland. Even betore the
June 17 “Oregonian” article by Cathy
Kiyomura (“Auditor Urges More
Competition In City Jobs”), there
had been tense conversations among
employees at lunch or break; who
goes, whostays, who is vulnerable, is
natural attrition going to help? And,
as in all such cases, there is a scurry­
ing and a worrying among retailers
and those who finance consume credit
(“how long did you say you have
been with the City ma’am?”).
The article cites nine months of
study and a recommendation that “we
can gain cost savings...public agen­
cies competing fairly and openly with
private firms also would improve
service.” All very interesting, but we
must note in passing, the nation-wide
attacks on set-aside contracts for
minority business firms as well as
upon affirmative action in the area of
jobs. O f course, the tooth fairy
afficiandos will see no connections
in a possible commercial and cul­
tural mix.
And always watch the classified
sections of your daily newspaper.
Always in times of economic dow n­
turn there is a rapid in crease in
c e rta in ty p e s o f a d v e r tis in g :
“ S a le s” , “T ra in e e s” , “ M ajor op
portunity” , "H ot New F ran ch ise”,
and soon. N ext w eek here we will
discuss a leadership that seem s
to have no new ideas to deal w ith
new tim es, still talking about beggin
and marching instead of a decades-
overdue program for marshalling
capital, skills and consumer buying
power.
We're
working
for you,
so you're
always
connected.
Sometimes, building a successful
business means you have to do it all.
You w ork into the wee hours o f the
morning, running those numbers
yet again, just so you can make the
most importaht connection—that first
soccer game or that sixth birthday
party. And one day your hard w ork
w ill pay off—for you, and for those
Youth Volunteer Corps
The Youth Volunteer Corps of
America is a national network o f
programs that offers young people
the opportunity to improve theircom-
munity through volunteering.
Locally, the Youth Volunteer
Corps (YVC) is a program o f the
Portland Area Council ofCam p Fire.
YVC is now recruiting for its sum­
mer program, which will be held in
two sessions, July 5-28 and July 3 1 -
August 25.
Youth ages 11 to 18 are invited
to attend an informational and sign­
up night on Thursday, June 15, from
6:00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m. at Wilson
High School, 1151 S. W. Vermont
Youth who cannot attend the
sign-up event may register with Kim­
berly H azel or C raig Sw italla,
503 224-7800.
who w ill follow.
U S WEST understands what goes
into building a tradition o f excellence
that lasts for generations—because
we've been w orking hard at it ourselves
for more than 100 years. Today we offer
you unparalleled reliability in products
and services that helps your business
run just that much easier.
That way, you're always connected.
And so is your business.
LlßWEST
© 1995 U S WEST, Int
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