St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1944-09-01

Negro workers who are not suited
for upgrading and those who do not
have the training and background
for white collar jobs are demanding
new ratings and advancement and
confusing the issue by trying to ex-
change a maids job for that of a
secretary.
Refuse Heavy" and "Dirty" Work
For almost two years, informed
sources reveal, many lucrative jobs
have gone a-begging or have been
taken by white workers because
Negroes are refusing to do "heavy"
or "dirty" work. The thousands of
jobs available in private industry
and in the vast field of domestic
labor, are being slowly but surely
filled-and permanently-by Ital-
ian, Irish, Swedish, German, Polish,
Hungarian, Filipino and in many
instances, by Chinese and japanese
. because Negroes are turning
down traditional jobs as porters,
cooks, maids, dishwashers, janitors,
elevator operators, bellhops, coun-
termen, truck drivers, laundresses,
and so forth.
The spread Of this alarming and
disconcerting phase of our labor
situation is growing daily. Negro
migrants from points in the deep
est South to labor-hungry areas in
the North, such as New York, Chi
cago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles,
Detroit, Cleveland, Gary, Pitts
burgh, Youngstown and Newark,
pose major problem in the labor
pool. Many of these people are I'M
able to read and write, yet they
have heard the magic words cup
grading" and white collar" jobs
somewhere and are in northern
communities seeking such employ
ment.
Unpreparedness Is Cited
Unpreparedness is widespread
among most of the applicants for
white collar jobs and upgrading
from porter or unskilled laborer to
a higher position. Instead of i'm
proving on their time and the jobs
they already hold, many of them
spend their money on good times,
"balling," and on liquor. They don't
take advantage of educational OPP
portunities that would improve
their status. They are ever ready
to holler discrimination" when
whites who study for improvement
are moved ahead of them.
The unhappy thing about it all is
that our labor leadership has done
little or nothing to create a more
favorable situation out of which
some hope for the better can be
seen.
Unskilled Negro labor has not
been sufficiently brought under
control where it can be placed
where it belongs.
1t has not been thoroughly en-
phasized that "upgrading" and
white collar" jobs are for those
who are qualified and not for the
maid, the butler, the cook, the yard
boy, or the laundress, unless they
have thoroughly prepared for such
advancement.
Soldiers Returning for Jobs
With the postwar period figura-
lively just around the corner and
the fact that millions of the men,
bers of our armed forces will be
returned to civilian life and thus
to active competition for the avail
able jobs at hand, some manner of
controlling the domestic and I'M
skilled labor situation must be de-
vised and put into operation imme-
diately. Among the millions of
GI's who will be hunting jobs in
the very near future will be thou
sands who are expecting to return
to the very jobs foolish Negroes
are spurning today. White eleva-
tor operators, white countermen,
white cooks, white janitors and
bellhops, white truck drivers and
laundresses, as well as porters, will
swarm all over jobs available in
these categories.
The Negroes outlook should be to
keep all the jobs which have been
additionally called "Negro jobs"
and add to them all others that he
can get. The idea should be to con-
troll completely the vast field of do
nestle service; to be the main
source of unskilled labor and then
press forward in other fields
through rapid and thorough train
ing of people to fill the positions
that crop up.
If Negroes continue complaining
that they can't do this and that
kind of work because it is "too
dirty" or degrading" or "too
heavy" they'll wake up one of
these mornings and find Poles,
Irish, Italian and other foreign
born workmen holding down the
jobs and getting the pay envelopes
that would ordinarily go to Negro
workers.
Situation in Hollywood