Minneapolis spokesman., 1963-08-15

years been Disseminated agains
should now receive some job pr
has both supporters and critics.
Some employers now feel
should receive special considers
manufacturing concerns and il
lars of goods and services to Ne
groes are almost devoid of Negro
personnel.
The issue which is beginning to
rage nationally was precipitated
locally by Curtis c. Chivers, pres
ident of the Minneapolis branch of
the NAACP and vice-president and
advertising manager of the Spokes-
man and Recorder papers, in a
statement made before the August
8, hearing of the Minnesota ad-
visory committee of the us. Civil
Rights Commission, held in Mime
apolis.
The WALL STREET JOUR-
NAILS Monday, August IL, edi-
tons lead news article dealt with
the new problem in a nationwide
roundup which found employers
on the side OF job preference and
labor unions against the suggested
program.
The JOURNAL article reported
Employers trying to open up
more jobs to Negroes are running
into a new problem-charges by
white workers that they're being
Disseminated against.
White resentment over prefer
ence allegedly shown Negroes has
already flared into the open. White
plumbers in Cleveland recently
complained bitterly that special
privilege" was involved in the hir-
ing of two Negro plumbers for
public construction project. White
Post Office employees in Dallas are
protesting that three Negroes
raised to supervisory positions
were promoted lover the heads"
Of better qualified candidates. At
Western Electric Co., the manu-
featuring affiliate of American
Telephone & Telegraph Co., a num-
Der of white clerical workers are
unhappy about what they consider
favored treatment for Negroes in
hiring and promotion.
Some Of the girls who have
been with the company for a long
time think they're being passed
over in favor of less qualified col
ored girls" says one Western Elec-
trio employe.
Employers and labor relations
! experts fear such friction could
grow. In Philadelphia the building
industry is under heavy pressure
from equal rights groups to en-
ploy more Negroes in skilled jobs.
ITO give the relief these groups
are demanding would mean dis
elimination against whites" main
tains Myron Jacoby, a lawyer for
two contracting associations in
the city. Compliance with the Ne
gro demands, says Mr.. Jacoby;
wuld be equivalent TO forcing us
to fire whites who have had jobs
for some time"
Forecast OF Trouble
A spokesman for the New York
State Mediation Service says the
agency "can be expected to have
to arbitrate numerous cases" in
volWng charges of discrimination
against whites. "As more jobs are
opened up for Negroes, there are
bound to be cases Of reverse dis
elimination" ments the
spokesman There is no way of
avoiding It,"
Negro rights groups - notably
the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
and the militant Congress of Rae
ial Equality have been press
ing employers and unions In many
parts of the country TO hire more
Negroes, Negro leaders have set
Negro hiring quotas on building
projects, in the motion picture in
dustry, in stores and in a variety
of other fields. Picketing, boycotts
and threats Of such actions have
been used to back up employment
demands.
Many Negro spokesmen frankly
concede they are asking for pref
erential treatment for Negroes for
the present; they argue that this
is the only way Negroes can "catch
up" after years Of being excluded
from many jobs. Even the Urban
League, long considered a relative
ly conservative Negro rights group,
takes this viewpoint. When q Ne
gro and a white are equally quail
flied for a particular job, we're
saying hire the Negro" says Whit
ney M. Young, Jr., executive di-
rector of the League.
A surprising number of en-
ployers agree that Negroes should
get a special break now. Industry
should be going as far out Of Its