Negro Employment in Basic Industry: A Study of Racial Policies in Six Industries 9781512821109

Citation preview

NEGRO EMPLOYMENT IN BASIC INDUSTRY A Study of Racial Policies in Six Industries

INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH UNIT WHARTON SCHOOL OF FINANCE AND COMMERCE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Founded in 1921 as a separate Wharton Department, the Industrial Research Unit has a long record of publication and research in the labor market, productivity, union relations, and business report fields. Major Industrial Research Unit studies are published as research projects are completed. Advanced research reports are issued as appropriate in a general or special series.

RECENT INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH UNIT STUDIES (Available from the University of Pennsylvania Press or the Industrial Research Unit) No. 40 Gladys L. Palmer, et al., The Reluctant Job Changer (1962) $7.50. No. 41 George M. Parks, The Economics of Carpeting and Resilient Flooring: An Evaluation and Comparison (1966) $5.00. No. 42 Michael H. Moskow, Teachers and Unions: The Applicability of Bargaining to Public Education (1966) $8.50. No. 43 F. Marion Fletcher, Market Restraints in the Retail Drug Industry (1967)

$10.00.

No. 44 Herbert R. Northrup and Gordon R. Storholm, Restrictive Labor Practices in the Supermarket Industry (1967) $7.50. No. 45 William N. Chernish, Coalition Bargaining: A Study of Union Tactics and Public Policy (1969) $7.95. No. 46 Herbert R. Northrup, Richard L. Rowan, et al., Negro Employment in Basic Industry. A Study of Racial Policies in Six Industries (Also Vol. I Studies of Negro Employment) 1970 $10.00. Nos. 1-39 Available from Kraus Reprint Co. 16 East 46th St., New York, Ν. Y. 10017

NEGRO EMPLOYMENT IN BASIC INDUSTRY A Study of Racial Policies in Six Industries (Volume I-Studies of Negro Employment) by H E R B E R T R . NORTHRUP

Professor of Industry and Director, Industrial Research Unit

CARL B . KING WILLIAM H . QUAY, J R . HOWARD W . RISHER, J R .

Research Associates

RICHARD L . ROWAN

Associate Professor of Industry and Associate Director, Industrial Research Unit

INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH UNIT WHARTON SCHOOL OF FINANCE AND COMMERCE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

Copyright Ο 1970 by the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 79-128-607 MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMEIUCA

ISBN: 0-8122-7621-3

FOREWORD In September 1966, the Ford Foundation began a series of major grants to the Industrial Research Unit of the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce to fund a series of studies of the Racial Policies of American Industry. The purpose has been to determine why some industries are more hospitable to the employment of Negroes than are others and why some companies within the same industry have vastly different racial employment policies. Studies have proceeded on an industry-by-industry basis, under the direction of the undersigned, with Dr. Richard L. Rowan, Associate Professor of Industry, as Associate Director. As of March 1970, reports have been completed in twenty-one industries, and ten more are underway. Twelve industry studies have been published as reports: automobiles, aerospace, steel, hotels, petroleum, rubber tires, chemicals, paper, banking, insurance, public utilities, and meat packing. Others including motor truck, railroads, urban transit, coal mining, shipbuilding, textiles, and tobacco are being readied for publication. With this volume, we inaugurate a series of books updating, revising, and combining our industry studies and analyzing the reasons for different racial policies and Negro employment representation in different industries. This book thus includes our previously published reports on automobiles, aerospace, steel, rubber tires, petroleum, and chemicals, with the first three which were published in 1968, updated, and all revised where deemed desirable. A final chapter analyzes and contrasts the situation in various industries. In addition, this volume, as the first in the series contains an introductory part, setting forth the purpose and hypotheses of the overall project, and a brief overview of the position of the Negro in industry. Three additional volumes are now being prepared for publication and four or five others are planned. Volume Π, entitled Negro Employment in Finance; Volume ΙΠ, Negro Employment in Public Utility Industries; and Volume IV, Negro Employment in Southern Industry are all expected to be published in 1970. Somewhat later, five more volumes are due: Negro Employment in Transportation Industries; Negro Employment in the Maritime Industries; Negro Employment in ν

vi

Negro Employment in Basic Industry

Selected Manufacturing Industries; Negro Employment in Service and Retail Trade; and Negro Employment in Building Construction. These nine volumes should contain the most thorough analysis of Negro employment now extant. Volume I is the result of cooperative effort of several persons. Parts One and Eight were written by the undersigned after considerable and significant discussions with Dr. Rowan. Part Two (automobiles), Part Three (aerospace), and Part Five (rubber tires) are also the undersigned's work, with Professor Alan B. Batchelder of Kenyon College, assisting on Part Five. Professor Rowan wrote Part Four (steel). Part Six is the joint work of Carl B. King and Howard W. Risher, Jr. Mr. King, who already had a law degree from the University of Texas, made his contribution while a candidate for the M.B.A. degree at the Wharton School. Mr. Risher is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania; Part Seven is the work of William H. Quay, like Mr. King, a former M.B.A. student, now in industry. Mr. Quay was assisted by our editor and proofreader extraordinary, Mrs. Marjorie C. Denison, who also did the principal editing, proofreading, and the index. She was, in turn, ably assisted by Miss Elsa Klemp, and with Miss Klemp compiled and checked tables, charts, and facts in general. Our administrative staff is headed by Mrs. Margaret E. Doyle, who has managed to keep our financial affairs sound, order our supplies, take care of our travel, maintain student relations, trouble shoot on a variety of problems, and manage the office and its personnel. Our secretaries and stenographers—Mrs. Marie P. Spence, Mrs. Veronica M. Kent, and Mrs. Rose Elkin— did the typing. Many others have contributed to this volume. The extraordinary cooperation of numerous industry and government personnel made it possible to obtain material and data not otherwise available. Their request for anonymity precludes our recording individually the great debt which we obviously owe. Dr. John R. Coleman, President of Haverford College, made the initial grants possible as a staff member of the Ford Foundation, and later Mitchell Sviridoff, Vice-President and Basil T. Whiting, Project Officer, assured continued Foundation support and interest. In addition, Mr. Whiting arranged a special addition to the grant to make this publication possible. Numerous students added their help, questions, or discussions to improve our own understanding.

vii

Foreword

In most previous reports, as in this one, the data cited as "in the possession of the author," have been carefully authenticated and are on file in our Industrial Research Unit Library. Director Industrial Research Unit Wharton School of Finance and Commerce University of Pennsylvania HERBERT R . NORTHRUP,

Philadelphia March 1970

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE FOREWORD

Ν

Part One INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW Herbert R. Northrup CHAPTER I.

II.

THE APPROACH AND SOME HYPOTHESES

3

Some Hypotheses Which Are Examined Final Introductory Comments

4 10

A N OVERVIEW OF NEGRO EMPLOYMENT

11

Population and Concentration Income, Economic and Educational Status Employment and Unemployment Occupational Status The Government and Equal Employment Opportunity Index

11 18 22 26 35 747

Part Two THE NEGRO IN THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY Herbert R. Northrup I. Π.

ΠΙ

INTRODUCTION

43

THE INDUSTRY BACKGROUND

44

Industrial Structure Occupational Distribution Wages and Earnings Unionization

45 47 49 50

THE PRE-WORLD WAR Π PERIOD

51

Early Area and Job Concentrations General Motors and Chrysler Mr. Ford Was Unique The Initial Union Impact

51 53 55 58 ix

x

Table of Contents

CHAPTER IV.

V.

VI.

VII.

VIN.

IX.

Index

PAGE

T H E WORLD W A R I I PERIOD

61

Wartime Changes in Management Policies Area Differences

61 63

F R O M POST-WAR RECONVERSION TO 1 9 6 0

65

The Chrysler Experience, 1946-1960 Ford in the Forties and Fifties General Motors, 1946-1960 The Recession Impact, 1957-1960

65 66 68 72

INDUSTRIAL EXPANSION AND CIVIL RIGHTS, 1 9 6 0 - 1 9 6 8

76

Recession and Prosperity Negro Employment in the 1960's—the General Picture The Craftsmen Problem Managers, Professionals, and Technical Employees . . Dealers and Salesmen Office and Clerical Regional and Locational Factors Company Differences The Negro and the UAW

76 77 81 85 86 88 89 96 99

SOME PERSONNEL PROBLEMS OF THE N E W ERA

105

Impact on White Employees Efficiency and Turnover Discipline Problems The Impact of the 1967 Riot

105 106 108 109

DETERMINANTS OF INDUSTRY POLICY

113

The Need for Employees The Character of the Work Industrial Location Managerial Policy Government Policy Union Policy

113 113 114 114 116 117

CONCLUDING REMARKS

119

749

Table of Contents

xi

Part Three THE NEGRO IN THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY Herbert R. Νorthru ρ CHAPTER

PAGE

I.

INTRODUCTION

127

II.

T H E AEROSPACE INDUSTRY

128

Sales and Structure Manpower Earnings and Unionization Industrial Location

130 136 142 143

III.

WORLD WAR I I : F R O M EXCLUSION TO UTILIZATION

IV.

F R O M AIRCRAFT TO AEROSPACE,

1945-1960

Negro Employment, 1945-1950 The Korean War to 1960 Nixon Committee Findings Developments in the South V.

.

145 150

150 152 157 158

E M P L O Y M E N T EXPANSION AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION,

1960-1966 The Early Missile and Space Period, 1960-1964 The General Picture and "Affirmative Action" Since 1966 Officials and Managers Professionals, Technicians, and Sales Workers Office and Clerical The Craftsmen Problem Operatives Laborers and Service Workers Negro Women in Aerospace Intraplant Movement and Seniority Locational Factors Regional Differences—General Southern Developments in the 1960's Union Impact on Racial Policies Government Policies

159 159 164 171 172 173 174 180 181 182 183 185 188 204 214 216

xii

Table of Contents

CHAPTER VI.

VII.

PAGE

SOME PROBLEMS OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

218

Impact on White Employees Efficiency and Turnover Efficiency and Government Pressure Some Perspectives

218 219 220 221

DETERMINANTS OF INDUSTRY POLICY

222

The Demand for Labor The Job Structure Government Pressure Seniority and Unionism Locational and Regional Factors Managerial Policy

222 222 223 224 224 225

Index

753 Part Four THE NEGRO IN THE STEEL INDUSTRY Richard L. Rowan

I.

II.

III.

IV.

INTRODUCTION

233

Definition of the Industry Research Methodology

234 235

T H E STRUCTURE OF THE BASIC S T E E L INDUSTRY

240

A General Overview of the Steel Industry Size Process and Organization Integration Geographic Factors Major Markets for Steel Unionization

240 247 249 250 252 254

PRE-WORLD W A R I I E M P L O Y M E N T PROFILE

256

Distribution of Negroes Within the Industry Skill Distribution Occupational Distribution

257 260 263

NEGRO E M P L O Y M E N T , 1 9 4 0 - 1 9 6 0

269

The National Scene, 1940-1960 Negro Employment in Selected States,

269 1940-1960

271

Table of Contents

xiii

CHAPTER

PAGE

Negro Employment in Selected SMSA's, 1950-1960 . . 276 Occupational Distribution, 1960 280 Population and Employment Ratios 280 V.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

NEGRO EMPLOYMENT IN THE 1 9 6 0 PERIOD

283

The National Scene Occupational Distribution

286 292

REGIONAL AND SELECTED PLANT COMPARISONS

306

Regional Comparisons Changes in Negro Employment, 1963-1968 Negro Employment in Selected Large and Small Plants, 1968

308 312 315

RACIAL EMPLOYMENT POLICY IN THE STEEL INDUSTRY

319

Employment Policy Declaration of Company Policy Recruitment Programs Selection Procedures Apprenticeship Programs Seniority Systems and Upgrading

319 320 322 325 327 330

CONCLUDING

335

REMARKS

Appendix A. Statistical Data Index

338 757

Part Five THE NEGRO IN THE RUBBER TIRE INDUSTRY Herbert R. Northrup I.

INTRODUCTION

373

II.

T H E RUBBER TIRE INDUSTRY

374

Employment and Productivity Trends Occupational Distribution Wages, Fringe Benefits, and Hours Unionization Industrial Location

383 386 391 393 395

xiv

Table of Contents

CHAPTER III.

PAGE

NEGRO RUBBER TIRE E M P L O Y M E N T , THE YEARS BEFORE WORLD W A R I I

400

Early Negro Employment 400 Collective Bargaining and Departmental Segregation 406 IV.

NEGRO RUBBER TIRE EMPLOYMENT, WORLD WAR I I ΤΟ

1960 Negro Employment During World War II The Post-World War II Period Technological Change and Plant Dispersion, 1947-1960 V.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

Index

408 408 411 417

NEGRO EMPLOYMENT IN THE 1 9 6 0 ' S

426

Negro Employment in 1964 Regional Differences An Overall Look—1966 and 1968 The Rubber Tire Industry—1966 and Beyond Intraplant Movement and Seniority Locational Factors Regional Differences—General Southern Developments Union Impact on Racial Policies Government Policies

427 427 431 435 448 450 451 463 481 485

SOME PROBLEMS OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

487

Impact on White Employees Efficiency and Turnover Some Perspectives

487 490 492

DETERMINANTS OF INDUSTRY POLICY

493

The Demand for Labor The Job Structure Government Pressure Unionism and Seniority Locational and Regional Factors Managerial Policy

493 494 494 494 495 496

CONCLUDING REMARKS

500

761

Table of Contents

xv

Part Six THE NEGRO IN THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY Carl B. King and Howard W. Risher, Jr. CHAPTER I. II.

III.

IV.

PAGE

INTRODUCTION

505

THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY

507

Industrial Subdivisions Sales and Structure Employment Occupational Distribution Earnings and Unionization Unionization Industrial Location

507 510 514 515 523 524 526

NEGRO E M P L O Y M E N T PRACTICES, 1 9 4 0 AND BEFORE . .

529

Salaried Employment Hourly Employment

529 530

EARLY A T T E M P T S TO UPGRADE NEGRO EMPLOYMENT,

1940-1960 World War Π to the Korean War From the Korean War to 1960 Concluding Remarks V.

AFFIRMATIVE

ACTION

AND

NEGRO

534 534 538 545 EMPLOYMENT,

1960-1968 Development of Affirmative Policies, 1960-1964 Affirmative Action, 1965-1968 Criteria for Selection and Promotion Analysis of Occupational Groups Employment of Negro Women Regional and Locational Factors Union Impact on Racial Policies Government Action and Managements' Response VI.

PROBLEMS ARISING FROM EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Impact on White Employees Impact on Efficiency Government Pressure Some Perspectives

546 546 549 554 557 569 571 578 581 ....

584

584 585 588 590

xvi

Table of Contents

CHAPTER VII.

PAGE

FACTORS A F F E C T I N G N E G R O E M P L O Y M E N T

591

Employment Trends Locational and Regional Factors Unions and Seniority Government and Civil Rights Pressure Managerial Policy

591 593 594 595 596

Index

765 Part Seven THE NEGRO IN THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY William Howard Quay, Jr.

I.

INTRODUCTION

Π.

T H E CHEMICAL INDUSTRY

608

Industrial Structure Manpower Earnings and Unionization Industrial Location

609 614 617 619

NEGRO E M P L O Y M E N T IN CHEMICALS PRIOR TO 1 9 6 0 . .

621

The Pre-World War II Era World War II Developments Early Union Influences Negro Employment, 1945-1960

621 622 626 627

ΙΠ.

IV.

NEGRO E M P L O Y M E N T AND AFFIRMATIVE

607

ACTION

IN

THE 1960'S The Early 1960's The EEOC Data for 1966 The 1964-1968 Field Sample Analysis of Occupational Groups Locational Factors Regional and Plant Size Comparisons Affirmative Action Union Impact on Racial Policy The Government Role in Equal Employment Opportunity

636 636 637 639 641 649 650 668 671 674

Table of Contents

xvii

CHAPTER V.

VI.

PAGE

DETERMINANTS OF INDUSTRIAL POLICY

676

Demand for Labor Job Structure and Plant Size Governmental Pressure Seniority and Unionism Locational and Regional Factors Managerial Policy

676 676 677 678 679 679

CONCLUDING

680

REMARKS

Appendix

681

Index

767

Part Eight CONCLUDING ANALYSIS Herbert R. Northrup I.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The Demand for Labor The Nature of the Work Time and Nature of Industry's Development and Community Mores Consumer Orientation and Image Concern Management Ethnic Origin Community Crises Nature of Union Organization Impact of Technology Industrial Location The Role of Government Managerial Policies Index

719

721 723 730 734 735 735 736 739 740 741 742 769

Part One

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW by HERBERT R .

NORTHRUP

PART ONE: LIST OF TABLES TABLE

PAGE

1

Total and Negro Population, United States, 1900-1969 .

11

2

Percent Distribution of the Negro Population by Region, United States, 1940-1969

13

Population by Race, in Each of Thirty Largest Cities in the United States, 1950-1970

14

Population and Population Change by Location Inside and Outside Metropolitan Areas, 1950-1969

17

Median Income of Nonwhite Families as a Percent of White Family Income, 1950-1968

19

Family Income in 1968, and Comparison of Negro and White Family Income, 1965-1968, by Region

19

7

Persons Below the Poverty Level, 1959-1968

20

8

Educational Attainment of the Population 18 Years Old and Over, by Labor Force Status, Color, Sex, Residence, and Region, March 1965

21

3 4 5 6

9

Median Income of Men 25 to 54 Years Old by Educational Attainment, 1968

22

10

Unemployment Rates, 1948-1969

23

11

Employed Persons by Race, Sex, and Occupational Group, United States, 1940

27

12

Employed Persons by Race, Sex, and Occupational Group, United States, 1950

28

Employed Persons by Race, Sex, and Occupational Group, United States, 1960

29

Nonwhite Workers by Occupation, Annual Averages, 1957, 1962, and 1967

32

Nonwhite Workers as a Proportion of All Workers in Higher Status Occupations

34

13 14 15 2

CHAPTER I.

The Approach and Some Hypotheses The civil rights issue remains the number one social and economic problem in America today. Basic to this issue is the right and ability of citizens to earn a livelihood. Negroes, our largest minority, continue to represent a disproportionate share of unemployment, and are concentrated disproportionately in the unskilled and lower-paying jobs where employed. Other civil rights issues would undoubtedly not disappear if minority group employment problems were solved to the same extent as those of the white majority have been, but the opening of jobs on a truly fair and equal basis would be the most significant step toward eliminating racial inequities. A job with dignity and income stabilizes the family, permits the acquisition of decent housing, and enables a person otherwise to fend for himself even if he is socially unacceptable to others, or encounters invidious rebuffs. Considerable detail concerning the Negro in the labor market is now available. Several studies have been made of union and government policies toward discrimination in employment. A number of case studies of particular employer racial employment policies are also available.1 But employer policies have not been analyzed in depth to determine their rationale. Yet, employer policies will be the major determining factor in the course of minority group employment, even though union and government policies will interact with and affect such employer policies. If economic conditions of minority groups are to continue to be improved, we must know why some industries are more hospitable to minority group employment than are others, and why some companies within the same industry have vastly different racial employment policies. What are the economic, institutional, and behavioral I. See, for example, Herbert R. Northrup and Richard L. Rowan, eds., The Negro and Employment Opportunity (Ann Arbor, Bureau of Industrial Relations, University of Michigan, 1965), Chapters 5-10, 20, 22-23.

3

4

Negro Employment in Basic Industry

factors determining these policies? Κ these questions are capable of constructive analysis—as it is believed that they are—then it can be determined in what types of industries and companies the greatest potential for Negro employment exists, and in what types the most significant barriers to such employment are found. These findings, combined with labor market analysis and trends with business and job forecasting, will permit a more rational attack on discrimination in employment in terms of potential results for effort expended. They should also materially improve vocational guidance, the direction of training and development at all levels, and the utilization of legal means to overcome discrimination. SOME HYPOTHESES

WHICH ARE

EXAMINED

The varying racial employment policies of American industry have been the study and practice of the senior author for more than twenty-five years.2 During this period of sweeping change, several basic hypotheses have been developed which are examined in this and succeeding volumes. Some of the key hypotheses which our studies list and the questions test are set forth below. (1) The Demand for Labor Negroes have made their greatest employment gains in time of relatively full employment—World War I, World War II, and the 1960's are key examples of such periods. Does this pattern exist throughout each industry? Will it endure? In every industry examined in this and the other volumes in the series, the impact of the demand for labor and of labor market conditions are examined. (2) The Nature of the Work The availability of Negro labor—that is, the supply—is affected by numerous factors, most of which also affected demand. Thus Negroes were first employed in industry as unskilled laborers or in work which was dirty, unpleasant, or backbreaking. Their disadvantaged educational status, their lack of experience, and their over-supply relative to demand have all contributed to this situation. Industries which have traditionally needed such labor have employed large numbers of 2. For results of early efforts, see Herbert R. Northrup, Organized Labor and the Negro (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1944).

Introduction and Overview

5

minority groups. Does this fix the status of the minority group and "disqualify" members of that group in the eyes of the employer for better jobs in such industries? This question takes on added significance in view of the heavy replacement of unskilled labor by mechanical devices and the relative decline in demand for unskilled labor since World War II. Do industries and companies which traditionally employed Negro labor in traditional jobs tend to be more discriminating employers of the future (or even the present)? Or does the presence of Negroes on the employment roles enable them to advance more easily to better jobs? Do both hypotheses have some validity in different circumstances and in different industries? The industries discussed in this volume include older ones like steel and relatively new ones like aerospace and therefore afford an opportunity to test aspects of these questions. Likewise, in nearly all the succeeding volumes, this hypothesis will be examined on an industry by industry basis. (3) The Time and Nature of the Industry's Development When an industry began may determine how its policies became institutionalized, what is required to change them, and under what circumstances they will in fact be changed. Thus the traditional white industry of the South is cotton textiles which developed there during post Civil War years in part as an economic restoration mechanism and a source of employment for poor whites. Negroes were excluded or confined to yard or janitorial work. It set the pattern for most new southern industries prior to World War II, and did not change until the mid-1960's. In contrast, the tobacco industry which developed prior to the Civil War employed Negroes since its inception. But cigarette production which started in the 1870's like other post-civil war manufacturing, was worked on by whites only. Instead of exclusion, the tobacco industry developed a racial-occupational segregation pattern which remained until recent market and government pressures forced token integration. Bituminous coal mining used Negroes as strike-breakers and a labor source after World War I ended immigration; but Negroes have been excluded from anthracite mining which reached maturity and was unionized before Negroes were brought into northern industry during World War I.

6

Negro Employment in Basic Industry In 1942, a leading utility executive stated that Negroes were not qualified to operate trolley cars; it was difficult to say that about Negroes as bus drivers when the Negro applicant drove up in a car. In this and all succeeding volumes, careful attention is paid to the timing of an industry's development and to the policies followed by industry in the South, as well as in other regions. The special cases of the textiles, tobacco, coal, and paper industries, along with lumber, will be analyzed in our forthcoming volume, Negro Employment in Southern Industry.

(4) The Mores of the Community Industry does not operate in a vacuum. Generally, in fact, does not industry policy reflect the mores of the community? The development of industry in North γ. South, in heavily minority group populated v. light minority group populated areas, etc., may provide the basis for quite different racial employment policies. When companies have expanded into new regions, do they follow community patterns? Or, do they adhere to what they were accustomed in their initial location? Are there consistent reasons for variations other than the convictions of managements? Each industry is examined in the light of history and community views to determine the answer to these questions. (5) The Relation of Racial Employment Policies and Consumer Market Orientation Are companies that produce products directly for the consumer market more likely to pursue more vigorous equal employment policies than those which make goods for other producers? Would, for example, the racial difficulties in some areas have been at least arrested if consumer goods industries had been the dominant employer? There are many facets to such a question. The diverse nature of an industry's customer orientation is examined in each of the industry studies in this and succeeding volumes. (6) The Concern of the Industry, or more likely, the Company with its Image is Significant Company or executive concern with its "image" involves more than consumer orientation. For example, it is possible to

Introduction and Overview

7

contrast companies in the business machine field and discover wide variation in interest in minority group employment. This observation may also be made with respect to other industries. What is the significance of executive interest in projecting a certain image of the company? (7) Ethnic Orientation of Management Do companies headed by individuals of minority ethnic stock or by those whose origin was somewhat outside the background from which most managers have developed initiate programs sympathetic to expanded minority group employment? To the extent that such information can be obtained, it is tested empirically. (8) Community Crises In recent years, company racial policies have been altered by such events as the southern school integration struggle and the Detroit riot. Nationally based companies located in the South found that they could not remain neutral because, if schools closed, they could not recruit key managerial or professional people to their southern locations. Southern banks, utilities, and financial institutions saw that school closings would thwart community industrial development. Likewise the major automobile companies understood that Detroit racial unrest threatened their capacity to produce. The impact of factors extraneous to industry's direct employment function, but closely related thereto, is examined wherever pertinent in each industry studied. (9) The Nature of Union Organization In general—although not always—older industries like railroads, printing, and building construction, are ones unionized on a craft basis with its concomitant job scarcity consciousness and antiminority group bias. A community of feeling between craftsmen and employers on racial employment matters exists in such industries. The interaction tends to strengthen discrimination. Moreover, the fragmentation of unions adds additional barriers which must be overcome if existing discriminatory patterns are to be modified. When a union comes in, does it tend to institutionalize the practices of a particular period and thus make progress in the future difficult? Does this occur with

8

Negro Employment in Basic Industry unions organized on an industrial basis as well as with those organized on a craft basis? Or is union policy largely a neutral factor? Each industry discussed in this and succeeding volumes carefully analyzes the impact of unions on the industry racial policies.

(10) The Impact of Technology The concentration of Negroes in unskilled and service work makes them especially susceptible to replacement by machines; and their inferior educational background poses impediments when opportunities to operate new equipment are available. Of course, there are opposite experiences as the bus-trolley example indicates. But the relatively small ratio of Negroes in skilled jobs compared to unskilled, and their lack of background and training to operate complicated equipment continue as major problems. Must the traditional impact of new technology always endure so that progress is partially at the expense of the black man? Do union policies play a significant role in racial aspects of technological displacement? The industries discussed in this volume demonstrate a surprising variation in this regard, as do some of those analyzed in succeeding volumes. Our analysis of the bituminous coal and railroad industries in later volumes— two industries in which technological displacement has been a major factor—will show that Negroes have been disproportionately affected. (11) The Service Industry Situation The service industries offer a fertile field for examination because some have been traditionally Negro, or minority group, some traditionally white, some segregated by establishment, some segregated by job (waiters v. busboys), and some mixed. Is there a hypothesis which can explain these varying employment patterns? In view of the continued expansion of this sector of the economy, the volumes examining financial institutions, hotels and retail trade, and transportation services are of added significance. (12) Industrial Location The location of a plant or industry, not only as to region, but also in relation to Negro residence is likely to be a significant

Introduction and Overview

9

determinant of the racial composition of the work force. It is likely that the less skilled the work, the less will people travel distances to the job. Commuting mores vary, however, from area to area so the locational impact must be examined in each instance. (13)

The Role of the Government The impact of government on employer policies is, of course, a significant study in itself, but it must be dealt with in a study of employer policies. This involves not only procurement and fair employment commission activity, but also general standards setting government employment. The usual hypothesis is that the closer the company is to government supervision, the more it must follow government standards. Yet, a careful examination of the facts will demonstrate that this hypothesis is far too simple. The automobile industry, which sells primarily to the public, has a far higher percentage of Negroes than does the aerospace industry, which has the government as its principal, or in many cases, sole customer. Electric and gas utilities and the Bell System are regulated primarily by state public service commissions, but in many areas, the policies of these utilities differ. Airlines, maritime employers, truckers, and railroads also do not demonstrate too similar policies despite similar governmental relations; and there are other examples. Why these variations occur is obviously worth careful study, and will be examined carefully in our various volumes. Perhaps more significant is the question of whether government regulation is a requirement for progess toward equal employment, and the concomitant question of whether progress, even under government pressure, can be made if the demand for labor slackens. These questions are, of course, fundamental not only for an understanding of employer racial policies, but also for a rational prediction of future trends.

(14) Managerial Action and Policy Managers are affected by the various factors playing upon them in their decision making, but their own ideas, feelings, background, concepts, and prejudices operate not only as a result of the various factors set forth above, but independently also. The differences in racial policies among companies sim-

10

Negro Employment in Basic Industry ilarly situated attest to this fact. Throughout our discussions, we shall attempt to assess the role played by managerial action and policy in affecting the extent and nature of Negro employment. FINAL

INTRODUCTORY

COMMENTS

The racial policies of American industry are affected by numerous internal and external pressures and variables. By examining the history and present status of Negro employment in some thirty industries, we believe that these racial policies can be better understood, that public policy in regard to manpower, resource allocation, and fair employment can be more intelligently directed. The six key industries studied in this volume include 32 companies that rank among the top SO in the Fortune directory and almost 20 percent of the top 500. Their policies are not only representative of America's major manufacturing corporations but help set the pace for all industry. Before examining the policies of the six industries, it is helpful to take a broad overview of the position of Negroes in industry.

CHAPTER II.

An Overview of Negro Employment The overall position of Negroes in the economy provides the institutional background for the racial policies of industry. In this chapter, we take a broad look at Negro population and its regional and urban concentration; at relative Negro income, economic, and educational status; and at occupational change and status. A final section provides a brief review of government attempts to improve the job and occupational status of Negroes. POPULATION

AND

CONCENTRATION

Negroes have comprised 10 to 12 percent of America's population since the turn of the century (Table 1). Initially the bulk of the black population lived in the South—as late as 1940, 77 percent resided in the one-time Confederate states and in the neighboring border Total and Negro Population United States, 1900-1969

TABLE 1.

Population (millions)

1900 1940 1950 1960 1968 1969

Total

Negro

Percent Negro

76.0 131.7 150.5 178.5 198.2 199.8

8.8 12.9 15.0 18.8 22.0 22.3

12 10 10 11 11 11

Source: U. S. Bureau of the Census Note: Data exclude Alaska and Hawaii prior to 1960, armed forces overseas for all years and armed forces living in barracks for 1966-1969. 1969, 5-quarter average centered on January 1969.

11

12

Negro Employment in Basic Industry

areas.3 Since 1940, the proportion of Negroes in the South has declined steadily, so that a bare majority now reside there. The first mass migration of Negroes northward occurred during World War I. Prior to that time, those Negroes who did live in the North were primarily service employees in cities. In the South, however, Negroes (and whites) were mainly a rural population. Southern Negroes were traditionally employed in construction, including the skilled trowel trades (bricklaying, cement finishing, and plastering) and to a lesser extent, painting and carpentry, in tobacco factories, on the railroads, in forests product industries, in the southern Appalachian coal mines, and in the steel mills of the Birmingham area; for the most part, however, southern Negroes labored in the fields. When northern industry turned to the surplus labor pool of the South after World War I cut off the supply of immigrant labor, thousands of Negroes (and whites) moved from southern farms to northern cities and to urban living. In such industries as meat packing, steel, and automobiles, Negroes thus won their first foothold in northern manufacturing jobs.4 Migration continued throughout the 1920's as southern Negroes sought to escape the poverty and harshness of southern rural living, but slowed down considerably as a result of the depression of the 1930's. World War Π, however, opened the doors for jobs for Negroes to a greater extent than ever before. Migration from the South reached a peak during this period as industries and jobs were opened to blacks in war material producing plants by a combination of patriotism, labor market needs, and increased government intervention. Since World War Π, the outmigration of Negroes from the South has continued, but at a slower pace. Moreover, despite the loss of three million blacks, between 1940 and 1964, in the South their number 3. Regional definitions in this chapter follow those of the Bureau of the Census. See Table 2 for details. 4. This chapter makes use of a number of studies of the U. S. Bureau of Census and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, particularly: The Negroes in the United States, Bulletin No. 1511, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1966. Social and Economic Conditions of Negroes in the United States, jointly. (BLS) Report No. 332 and Census Current Population Report Series P-23, No. 24, 1967; Recent Trends in Social and Economic Conditions of Negroes in the United States, BLS Report No. 347 and Current Population Series P-23, No. 26, 1968, The Social and Economic Status of Negroes in the United States, 1969, BLS Report No.. 375 and Current Population Series P-23, No. 29, 1969; all published in Washington, D. C., by the Government Printing Office; Claire C. Hodge, "The Negro Job Situation: Has It Improved?" Monthly Labor Review, Vol. XCH (January 1969), pp. 20-28.

Introduction and Overview

13

has increased in recent years. The South, where 20 percent of the population is black, retains a narrow majority of the nation's Negroes (Table 2 ) . The overwhelming number of Negroes, both North and South, are city dwellers. By 1960, six cities—New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Washington, and Los Angeles—had approximately 20 percent of the nation's black population. Of these, only Washington, a

TABLE 2.

Percent Distribution of the Negro Population by Region United States, 1940-1969

Region

1940

1950

1960

1966

1968

1969

United States South North Northeast North Central West

100 77 22 11 11 1

100 68 28 13 15 4

100 60 34 16 18 6

100 55 37 17 20 8

100 53 40 18 22 8

100 52 41 19 21 7

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census Notes:

Data before 1960 exclude Alaska and Hawaii. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Regional definitions used in Part One are the standard Bureau of the Census definitions as follows: Northeast: New England: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont. Middle Atlantic: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania. North Central: East North Central: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin. West North Central: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota. South: South Atlantic: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia. East South Central: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee. West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas. West: Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming. Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington.

14

Negro Employment in Basic Industry η

oo

Η

a ο

!

I

s s s gs ό

—

ι—

r-

«ο

Ο f · ^

Ν Ι* Ν

Α η Ν βό 1*1

h; » ! ^

Ν

a

«

ο

«

"

-

«

Ν

4

CS m ^t*

Ο « m

VI ο cn

»n

Ο es cn

VC ^

« Ν

V) «

«η ο — 00

00

8

Ο «

in oö

Ο ö

ο

Cl >o

r-

«

Ι-

o ·»* r»

m

h; •Ί-

CS 00

Vi

s ä

o\ CS cs

ο rn

£

Ο

VI

r»

n cs

CS t < r—t CS

ON o o m ο 9 t o·,

vo 1 00

t-; ci ts

© « Ν

CS »ό ^

© «η CI

© οό Η

•Λ CS cs

« CS ~

» rt 00 Τ —' c s

i · V"> —


ft βο ft 00