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11/15/1974 - Affirmative Action by Richard J. Balzer

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT WRITER S CONSENT INSTITUTE O1 CURRENT ZORLD AFFAIRS Broadway Lot RB Mass 01905 Affirmative Aetlon November M Rerd H Nolte Institute Current World Fifth venue New York New York I007 Dear Mr Nolte Discrimination employment because color relion national origin theoretically outlawed enactment VII Civil Rights Bill Ten years dozen peces federal legislation later overnment still tryin goals Tte reality Today companies Western Electric discriminate submit Affirm ative Action programs Equal ployment Opportunity Commission western Electric stated levels corporation committed policy Affirmative ction _Donald Proeknow company current president stated January Based belief W ability Kreat challenes successfully I anticipate confidently equal opportunty goals fully realized At local level D L Filder Ceneral Manager Merrimack Valley Works Our objective insure force profile clearly reflect meaningful distribution utilizatom minority group employees provide realzatto equal oppot through continuous afirmatire aetion programs It learn althouKh company committed affirmative action there affirmative reaction company program floor there floor _reat passive hostility toward company affirmative action Dollcles T surprised first quantlt7 uality racial antagon I encountered We movin reater racial understanding there remains shops great reservoir racial hostility Most people I refer black people Negroes those coloreds There incredible umber racial stereo types jokes aboutblacks whichwere liMelytocroppithemostunexpected mstanees For exmnple afternoon midst started political discussion about George M Richard Nxon Watergate defender Wixon potatlmg WLon state Massachusetts economic change lower mlddle class nerca RJB Te other person pointed Washington D C Te Nxon supporter started laugh expect lives Washington colored people All those coloreds welfare wonder voted against Nixon Nixon Watergate abandoned woman resnonded remark saying right there bunch those colored people started throwing rocks Another I talking couple about Red One thought Reggie Smith ballplayer chocolate Without dropDin conversation continued Spanish surnamed Deople receive better treatment conversations I heard There approximately dozen different anish sDeakin nationalities represented force Western floor almost always referred Spanish puerto Ricans regardless their nationality Just blacks qpanish speaking people topic likely One evening while I working upstairs sitting having smoke during break attractive young panish woman walke As passed Pete fellow slttlnK Boy Dants father feund One morning downstairs talkin about baseball someone mentioned Puerto Riean players That needed start discussion negative characteristics Spanish speakln people The cnversation ended fellows savin These gpanish DeoDle ahead They their The speaker boasted talking about because worked The language floor often harsh uncomplimentary lmnuage however deceptive because always accurately reflect feelings People employ socially accepted Dhrases black spanish speaking referring minority group members This however necessarily harbor negative positive feelings tadard minority group members those people socially acceptable language For people I colored descriptive which grown often unfortunately persisted using regardless their feelings This course doesn everyone hostile either language action toward individua minority members There people I harbor racial prejudices There larer nmbers people probably majority people shops although particularly blacks spanish Deakin peoDle vicious unfriendly toward specific minority members RJB People differentiating between Froups inividual I times I heard someone something Oh I Gladys everyone those coloreds Similarly person I nothing about Spanish speaking people helpful Cuban woman worked taking company sponsored English classes He seemed enuinely enjoy experience helplm practice English With general racial antagonism exists people I seemed bitterly resent consider company bending bacard minorities Western Electric remains according people there places workers anxious their children relatives friends plant number people inority becoming increasingly difficult shops One night X eatin dinner couple fellows spanish speaking table I think anythin Bill MellenI older felow sitting upset He understand behind their minority hiring colored oanish deserve chance going The company Spanish English classes If problems They preference hiring Now wants because preference minorities Hw about company obligation Don obligation I years I haven asked Now I because hiring minorities Sure oisses would anyone People believe minority members given preference hiring enjoy special treatment comes promotions A woman You I started working before could become tester That before started hiring minorities When found minorities couldn dropped could promote Shortly before I several people promoted selections known there several people especially upset One getting around They promoting coloreds spanish women lesbians switch hitte It opportunity gotta around John _Downey bitter atspoken He They slavery It white slave In white esecially might forget about etting ahead One people received promotion woman She department after announcement women Alice Kelly You AI I namhs hanged Rosa When I grou_D I I those Puerto Rican women They attitudes This woman Cuba years vromotion Now there people longer haven promotions The company bends backwards these people right These Puerto Ricans attitude They company They supervisor certain other If attitude these minorities They murder The company bends backwards these people right They Some Like woman alright She tough Cuba Castro Droperty T guess pretty wealthy They lorda She college education I I along But strange attitudes I think righte everything about minority Dloyees seemed agitate people preferential treatment minorities perceived receiving plant While worked dnstairs woman complained about Greek friend gettin sDeeial leave sbsence requested visit relatives Instead woman wanted Western would reapply years service Doris friend angry about If Helena Spanish colored would leave absence Another woman I woring third shift recently surplused second shift though anted remain third shift colored couldn speak English I could G D shift I wanted The compm house classes English second langaage The classes offmred employees whose native lanuae English The object course according compan bulletin people understand speak write icient nFlish perform entry level safely proficiently Enrolled workers given hours classes When I first heard about course I thought which people would getpset However surprise large number Deople I something snide about classes One older Italian fellow Can believe those Puerto Ricans learn English Whem ather speak English You think anyone learn This program other company singled example company doesn anythin kinds things Spanish RJB worked there always seemed rImors about minority employees receiving sDecial treatment The rumor I heard company tying protect minor ities against layoffs Article union contract At union contract ratification steward second shift peonle asked Article inserted protect minorities The local president assured person exceDtion inserted protect minorities handle company sidered certain business emergencies The contract states The however exempt selection layoff certain employees exemptions ecessary avoid unreasonable departmental depletion With ewzrything about minority employees I surprised approximately S700 workers between rades about minorit groun members As women minority workers predominently found lowestwork positions There aproximately minority workers comprising slightly _9200 grade workers The percentage grade level I grade levels The minority representation higher levels smaller Of approx imately officials managers three section chiefs department chief minorities Spanish surnamed Americans other minority proportionately underrepresented higher sions Although minority employees grades through B8 Spanish surnamed positions above grade Frthermore minority employ supervisory positions Spanish surnamed American The relatively minority employees shops partially reflects areas general population Unlike Emerica large cities Merrlmaek Valley remains relatively small minority population There peoDle immediate statistical region those minority ulation I proximately Nearly minority population 8anish surnamed In panlsh surnamed population aDproximately people Seeing statistics wonder about number thin_s I heard shops minorities wondered receiving preferential treatment And there relatively minority workers people resentful company programs First although absolute number minority emplyees still fairly minute number minority workers representing hirees F_reater So though minority emDloyees represent graded force represent nearly represent minority population RJB I thought erhaps might promotions Even though ority employees might negligable existing supervisory personnel higher positions recent promotions might prise signifleant percentag More minority employees being promoted However imediate future their remain fairly small For example there approximately grade workers minority group members For company projected grade workers those three minority employees A quick super Wlsory positions where promotions clearly seniority shows there increase minority group renresentatin still large numbers Therefore though company affirmative action program number people iumlediately affected relatively small The objective reality there relatively minority emloyees Izerrimack Val works presently dramatic increase their numbers immediate future Nevertheless working floor different reality A common increasing numbers minority workers takin current workers children relatives friends minority workers given unjustified instant promotion minorities enerally receive prefer ential treatment Both union company offihials quite erned about these feeliltgs A union official repeatedly heard remarks people about blacks Puerto Ricans almost service instant promotions sklping usual ualification serviee eonnected promotion scheme He telling people impossible violated labor contract rumors persisted Finally disgusted hearing unfounded rumors walked shops He around challenging people worker gotten preferential treatment aainst couldn instant promotions He worker However added I walked those shops people still believed there people getting instant promotions A company offielal quite concerned about persistent rumors favoritism preferential treatment bending rules minorities practically I heard unfounded He tests dropped rules changed accommodate minority workers rthermore claimed unqualified minority workers being promted owever admitted people equally qualified minority worker might given preference With assurances company union officials large numbers people still believe minority group workers receiving sorts prefer ential treatment It simDle dismiss these feelings being unfounded reflecting nothing seated racial prejudices Admittedly these elings reflect racial antagonisms These feelings seated historically seated ethnic cleavages The Merrimack Valley early recipient several waves ethnic migration Large numbers Irlsh Italians Poles Eastern _uropean Jews French Canadians textile mills shops These distinct ethnic communities ethnic antagonisms Old newspapers reports ethnic antagonisms flared violent disruptions Many timers Dlant about strong ethnic churches gathering places Irish Hibernlan Halls Today ethnic divisions antagonisms strong They replaced racial antagonism Although racial prejudices should dismissed worker oppositiom affirmative action One cannot overlook people asked immediate price advancement minority group members There infinite number opportunities stern Electric anywhere matter Many people shoDs believe these opportunities further diminished eompmy affirmative action programs This society discriminated against racial minorities particularly eneroUs toward ethnic Americans Great numbers people working shops first second third generation immigrants Many people I stories about parents parents textile mills shoDs speain They wages given assistance struggled aainst often hostile environment It surrisin people whose parents grandparents suffered through unsupportive environment would itter toward people receiving perceive advantages their paents enjoy which themselves being given Unfort nately antagonism people directed toward minority groups themselves villains Affirmative action places minority workers often uncomforZable position I wonered about situation I minority worriers while I aestern There worked Now Fear later there There twominorityemployeesinm areaon evening shift I tended blacks panish speakn people I specifically about their feelings racial situation shops I rarely asked whites I about these matter I reported I heard people talking about spontaneously So I little information about minority 9onulation feelings One Cuban woman I speak English spent other S Dansh sDeakin people A black fellow I night heard Derson their friends colored scream The normaton I minority worker woman I after I stopped workng She quite frank about personal feelngs about thought thngs She there preJudtned boted people estern Electrc She companywas putting black Spansh speakng people nearly mpossble situation She Sure there racism hatred company added host1ty I should place rather runnng around saying equal opportunity employer wouldn nearly problem today They anything Equal ploywent Commission getothe mtnorttes So bringng mnorttes crammng peoplets throats That there hatred It already situation worse As socety handle mnorty problem courts Congress decreed employemnt companes shall longer deciding shall proceed against racial dscrtmnaton A company stern Electrc longer require ments smpl7 statng equal opportunity employer panics being requLred through program aErmatve action Eor hstory ether intentional untntentonal dscrtmnation hLrng promotons levels Yet necessary program negatve aspects pttfng workers against other tnorty loyees unarly vlatn In white workers mnorty employees llans engaged company governnt advantages racial hostility shops based percepton minority group members given preferental treatment which others receive 1themajorityotwors hostile andbtterabt stveactionprogrt tsetablebutunderstandable angercannot fairlydsmssedasslyreflectingdpseatedracistfeelings ehottrangerstertrantpatthattywill deto8ufer change Hany people I believe emplovnt elsewhere asked dsproportonately social change ealthy pople soeety often solated schools mnorty problem Loer middle class people Received New York November