The Phoenix index., 1941-07-05
BY EMORY JACKSON

placing Negroes in defense indus
tries, scores of Atlantans attending
the forum on government affairs
held at Atlanta University were
told Friday night
DR.. Robert G. Weaver, of the Of
flee of Production Management
Washington, was the principal
speaker.
The speaker said that he believed
that the planned march on Wash
ington inspired Presidents RooSe-
velt's executive order prohibiting
discrimination in defense, unions
and governmental departments on
account of race and that the order,
obviously influenced the postpon-
ing of the march"
In reply to a folloW-up question,
he said that while he had no au-
thority for the opinion, he believed
that the five-man Fair Employ
ment committee would be inter
racial. He hazarded the opinion that
this committee would be named
this week.
The speaker cited numerous in
stances to say, in reply to a queS-
ton, that labor union policy, which
sometimes excluded Negroes, was
not solely to blame for avoiding en-
ployment of Negroes in defense in
dustries. Specifically he said, and
illustrated by way of example, I'M
ions in few instances had assist
ed with breaking Negroes into in
duStrieS.
Employer race prejudice and un-
willingness to take new step, DR..
Weaver commented, were reSpon-
sible for most discrimination in de-
Tense industries.
In his Commute lead-off discus
sion of the defense subject, Dr..
Weaver contrasted labor conditions
now, in which rs per cent of labor
is trained. with World War /.
when only 40 per cent was skilled.
Negroes, he said, fell into the
large bulk, for most part, of un-
skilled labor during the first
World War. New industries and
high mechanization of industry in
general, he said, were responsible
for the increased in skilled labor
use.
A two-pronged approach has
been made in breaking down racial
barriers in defense industry Offer
ing training to Negroes and finding
places for them in industries. Such
an approach cuts through the wi
ciouS circle" operating to bar Ne
groes and other minority groups
from working i'll many of the vital
defense plants.
STUBBORN PROBLEMS
In tracing the development of
OPM's policy, DR.. Weaver said that
ON Sept. l, 1910 that instrument
declared an discrimination
policy. Unions followed suit and i'll
April OPM succeeded in having in
duStry endorse that principle. Un-
der the pressure of national pro-
test, President Roosevelt issued his
memorandum and later implement
ed it with his executive order.
Chief and most stubborn prob
lens have been found in conStruc-
ton, aircraft, shipbuilding and or
dinance plants Efforts to graft
Negroes into defense, work has been
concentrated in such key areas like
Detroit and Ohio. HeadWay had
been made in rubber industry.
BY training sufficient number
of Negro workers to break ice" "
the job of working Negroes into
plants where hitherto they have
not been able to secure employ
ment has been successful on this
sampling theory. In the basic de-
fenSe industries the open rather
than the close shop predominateS.
MADE A START
1--WE have made start; we have
begun to open new avenues" the
speaker said.
Showing how paradoxical the
problem is, Dr.. Weaver said that in
Tennessee there was a shortage of
moulders accompanied by a de-
mand for Negro moulderS. In Sa-
vannah, Ga. shipbuilding COM
pany employs Negroes in unskilled
capacities, but refuses to allow them
to do skilled jobs. The ingalls,, a
iron smeltering firm works of
Birmingham, while promising to
modify its no-promotion or no-skill
work for Negroes policy, has not
eliminated such in its shipbuilding
plant.
Meantime the speaker said that
there was a community problem
He said that it was hard to get
workers to take defense training
courses unless there was visible
possibility of getting jobs by so
doing.
Moreover, he described the de-
Tense training approach as a three
step procedure. First to train for
available jobs; second, train for jobs