Evening star., 1961-04-07

OF GdDOr Jerry E1OlleIIldu HUI
Gated today.
Sanctions could include can
collation. of Lockheed'S billion
Robert Kennedy Hits Industry.
Pose C-3
dollar contract with the De-
tense Department for produc-
ton of jet cargo planes and
troop carriers.
Mr.. Holleman, who is eXecu-
tive vice chairman of President
Kennedy'S Committee on Equal
Employment Opportunity, con-
ferred about the Lockheed case
for more than an hour today
with Herbert Hill, labor special
ist of the National Association
Tor the Advancement of Colored
People.
Mr.. Hill submitted complaints
and affidavits by 81 NAACP
members employed at Lock-
heed'S plant in Marietta, Ga,
and additional complain S
against several other companies
in the South. The Lockheed
employees charge that the COM
pany and the International
Association of Machinists CO.
operate in discriminating
against Negroes.
Mr.. Holleman said he had
assured Mr.. Hill that "all COM
plants will be thoroughly in
veStigated" by the presidential
committee.
Celebrating on this state
ment, Mr. Hill said Mr.. Hole
man had told him the COM
mittee will review the Lock-
heed contract. If investigation
confirms the NAACP allega-
tions, according to Mr.. Hill,
the presidential committee will
insist that Lockheed change
discriminatory policies.
If Lockheed or other Gov
ernment contractors refuse to
eliminate discrimination, Mr..
Hill said. the committee in
tends to recommend cancella-
ton of contracts.
Contract cancellation is one
Of the sanctions available
under the Presidents March 6
executive order establishing
the committee. The committee
officially came into being.today.
Jesse C. McGlon, the Ma
chinists' vice president in
charge of the Atlanta Marietta
area, issued a. statement main
tanning that Negro employees at
the Lockheed plant are in a
segregated local at their own
request. If they have changed
their minds and now want to
merge with the white locals,
he said, the union will help
them.
A union spokesman here de-
MED Mr.. Hill's charge that
there is "tacit" cooperation be-
tween Lockheed and the Ma
chinists in discriminating
against Negroes. There are
no backdoor agreements" he
said. adding that the union
does not control the apprentice
training program.
Concerned About Contract
The Lockheed contract was
awarded March 13. Mr.. Hill
said the NAACP is especially |
concerned about the award be-
cause Lockheed has a public |
record of overt discriminatory
practices" documented by
NAACP complaints to the Gov
ernment during the Eisenhower
administration.
Unless Lockheed changes it's
racial policies, he told reporters,
the new contract will have "a
direct and profound effect on
he pattern of Negro employ
ment in the entire Southeast
region" He said the contract
will make Lockheed the largest
and most important employer
in the Atlanta Marietta area.
The conference began in a |
tense atmosphere because, Mr.. |
Hill complained, Mr.. Holleman
and Vice President Johnson had
ignored NAACP letters and
phone calls. Mr.. Johnson is
chairman of the committee.
"Sensitivity" Impressive
After the meeting Mr.. Hill
said he was deeply impressed
with his (Mr. Holleman's) SEN
sitivity and awareness of the
questions that raised" He said
I'VE mutually regretted" the
earlier miXup. and said Mr..
Holleman explained that the
committee was just getting
under way.
The Negro employees COM
plain in their affidavits that
Lockheed bars Negroes from
desirable jobs, discriminates on
seniority and promotion, oper-
ates segregated cafeterias and
rest rooms, Segregates time
clocks and codes time cards by
race. and segregates recrea-
tional facilities on adjacent Air
Force property.
MI. f1lll Cdlled IOcKneeQ S |
Marietta installation "one of
the most rigidly segregated |
plants anywhere in the South"
The NAACP. he said, has been |
trying since 1856 to break down
discrimination by Lockheed and |
the international Association
of Machinists, but has been
getting a pathetic runaround. +"
He said he plans to confer
again with Mr.. Holleman with
in 30 days, and expects to file |
many additional complaints
with the committee about en-
ployment discrimination in the
North and the South