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Blacks Are Twice As Likely As Whites to Be Unemployed By Michael A. Giarnisso PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The decrease in the unemployment rate among blacks in Pennsylvania last year isn’t necessarily good news, a federal economist said. "I think that could be a little bit misleading," said Alan Paisner, regional director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. "The rate among blacks did decline, but they did not get more jobs. Ihey just stopped looking for jobs." The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released a break down of 1993 unemployment fig ures Friday. The unemployment rate for women, men and blacks in Pennsylvania fell, while the rate among teen-agers increased a small amount. It was the first time since 1990 that the unemployment rate for any of the groups fell. The statewide unemployment rate of 7.0 percent had been released earlier. It was a .5 percent decrease from 1992. The rate among whites was 6.0 percent, down from 6.5 percent in 1992. The rate among blacks was 14.1 percent, down from 17.2 per cent the year before. The number of employed blacks in the state was virtually un changed, from 354,000 in 1992 to 351,000. "Some blacks dropped out of the labor force," Paisner said. The black unemployment rate for the state was 1.2 percent higher than the national rate of 12,9 per cent. "Most of the black population in Pennsylvania is in Philadelphia, and in the urban areas blacks have not done very well," Paisner said, "They have not made much of a recovery since 1991." The unem ployment rate among women in Pennsylvania was 6.4 percent, while it was 7.5 percent for men. Those numbers were similar to the cational rates of 7.1 percent for nten and 6.5 percent for women. The rate among teens increased from 18.5 percent in 1992 to 18.9 percent. "The changes among teens were not really significant," Paisner said. "They have not fared real well looking for jobs and they’ve really SATURDAY. OCTOBER 8,1994_THE CAROLINA TIMES-11 Immigrants and welfare A look at the growth of the'U.S. immigrant population and percent receiving public assistance. More immigrants in L^al and Illegal Immigrants, and farm workers In millions, bydecado . 12 8 6 4 ^ 2 ■ 1920s 40s 80s ...but foreign-bom are smaH part of population Percent of total U.S, population : i4% 1920 1990 Who’s getting welfare A slightly larger share of legal immigrants receive welfare than the general population. Legal U.S. Immigrants population On welfare On welfare Not on welfare Not on welfare > 95.3% 96.3% not made much progress." Overall, Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 17th highest in the nation. The percentage of the Pennsylvania population in the work force was 63.5 percent, 41st out of 50 states and the District of Columbia. ■Alaska and Minnesota had the best rates, with 73.6 percent of the pop ulation in the work force. Although Pennsylvania’s rate did not change much in 1993, Paisner said he saw encouraging signs. "I think what we have to say is things pretty much stayed the same from 1991 to 1993," he said. "There’s always a little bit of en couragement when the rate goes down. "I think any good news is that there may be some further im provement in 1994." First Black Woman to Head Major Auto Assembly Plant Begins By Lisa Cornwell AVON LAKE, Ohio (AP) - The first black woman to head a Big Three auto assembly plant describes herself as a participating manager who listens to employees’ ideas and tries to use them as much as possible. "People don’t work for the, they work with me," Deborah Kent said Monday, her first day as manager of Ford Motor Co.’s Ohio Assemblv Plant. ^ She said one of her biggest challenges will be getting to know the people at the plant and setting priorities after reviewing quality, safety, cost and personnel there. Ms. Kent said she expects her management performance to be judged on the basis of ability and not on gender. "If gender has been an issue, I have not felt repercussions from it," she said at a news conference in this northeast Ohio city about 25 miles west of Cleveland. Ms. Kent, 41, has been with Ford since 1987 when she became an area manager at the assembly plant in Wixom, Mich. She credited her father with teaching her and eight brothers and sisters that there were no limitations on what they could accomplish in life. "My father taught us we could be anything we wanted to be," she said. This was a man who taught us that people were people - some of them just happened to be women, some of them just happened to be men. There are no bamers, other than maybe physical limitations, on what you can do in life." The new manager said that belief directly relates to her philosophy of focusing on "opporlunities rather than inhibitors." "I have a tendency not to, try to recreate history in terms of why things hap pened, but I want to understand what the present demands are and what is needed to go forward," she said. Union representatives have met with Ms. Kent and believe they can work well with her. "What we wapt is a plant manager who is knowledgeable and who will listen to our concerns, and from our meetings so far, Ms, Kent seems to be that type of person," said John Hatcher, president of United Auto Workers Local 2000. Ron Virgin, a member of the local’s bargaining committee, said Ms. Kent’s philosophies impressed him and other union members. "In all our meetings with her, she seemed to really go to the heart of matters," he said. Ms. Kent, who was appointed manufacturing manager at the Wixom plant in February, replaces David Porter, who was manager at the Avon Lake plant for six years. Porter has been named director of manufacturing operations for Ford’s China operations. Tiiene s a difference between hav- .. ; Toney and fceing successful. You ' V in the lottery and have a lot of iiey But if you want success, the e s no substitute for hard work. Those who believe everything they bear can count a lot of liars as friends. American Policy in Haiti Contradictory and Tentative By Jeffrey Ulbrich . PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - The actions of the 20,000-member American military force in Haiti in the face of rising violence have been subdued and the policy behind that force tentative and contradictory. The U.S. Embassy here encourages Haitians to demonstrate on behalf of democracy, yet when they do the United States disclaims responsibili ty for protecting them against pro-military auxiliaries such as the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti, or FRAPH. These paramilitary organizations now are being emboldened by the United States’ hesitancy to get directly involved in the street. And ordinary Haitians are losing respect for the American forces. The situation in the capital bodes ill for Washington’s plans to reinstall elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in mid-October, FRAPH has vowed to resist Aristide’s return. The rules of engagement under which the U.S. forces came to this troubled Caribbean nation of 7 million people allow the Americans to in tervene in Haitian-on-Haitian violence, but they are not doing it. This is sending a very dangerous message to organizations like FRAPH - that they can literally get away with murder. U.S, Embassy spokesman Stanley Schrager has been one of the main articulators of American policy in Haiti, to the point where pro-military forces have asked for his expulsion. After a renewal of violence during a demonstration on Friday, Schrager said: "It is unfortunate that inadequate Haitian police protection on the street permitted anti-democratic ele ments, in particular FRAPH, to attack marchers and disrupt a peaceful demonstration, resulting in several deaths and a number of injuries. This behavior is unacceptable." The fact that it is "unacceptable" implies something must or should be done about it. So far, there is no evidence the United States is willing to exert the force allowed under the rules of engagement. For its part, the U.S. military insists that the primary responsibility for dealing with violence is the Haitian police force, which is a branch of the army that overthrew Aristide three years ago. The Haitian army, police and the paramilitary auxiliaries have been blamed by human rights organizations for most of the repression and bloodshed over the past three years, so it is very difficult to understand how they now can be viewed as the agents of peace and order. Following the American logic, the very people responsible for the repression are the ones now responsible for the peaceful transition of power to the pro-democracy forces. It is clear we are going to have to do something about it," Schrager said of the numerous outbreaks of violence last week. What we are going to do about it is under discussion at the highest level." He did not elaborate. Loss of respect among people in the street for the American force al ready IS evident. One example occurred at a food warehouse near the capital’s port on Friday. As more than 1,000 hungry Haitians looted the warehouse, carrying away thousands of dollars worth of food, an American military policeman outside the building fired an M-60 machine gun in the air. At the first burst, people halted momentarily, then resumed looting. A second burst was fired. Hardly a person flinched. Some time later - two blue-uniformed Haitian policemen with clubs ar rived at the scene and 1,000 people disappeared within minutes. It was clear which force was respected. The return of Aristide requires a peaceful, relatively stable environ ment. The Americans are trying to maintain the fiction that all is well and that the Haitians can take care of security themselves. This is far from the case and the situation very likely will get worse in the coming days. The other side of the policy coin is not much more attractive. ^ If Washington does throw U.S. troops into the fray to maintain order, it s virtually certain there will be civilian casualties. That would allow the pro-military forces to whip up anti-American sentiment and call for revenge, which could in turn lead to American casualties. American deaths in what appears to be a no-win situation would make Haiti look more and more like Somalia, where U.S. forces involuntary slid into full policing operations. That would put extreme pressure on Washington. It’s better to have common sense without an education than an educa tion without common sense. Those who take sides in arguments fare better than those who stay in the middle. Setting high principles is easy; it’s keeping them ^ere that’s the prob lem. If you have money to bum, you’ll soon meet your match. Make a Joyful Noise. And your church could win $15,000 in cash and scholarships in The Quaker Oats Company Voices of Tomorrow Youth Gospel Choir Competition. If you live in Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, Philadelphia, Raleigh/Durham or Washington, D.C., do not pass up this chance. Your church could win a Grand Prize of $15,000 in cash and scholarships, or one of nine other prizes. $29,000 in prizes will be awarded in each city! 1st place: SIO.OOO cash / $5,000 scholarship 2nd place: $5,000 cash / $2,500 scholarship 3rd place: $2,000 cash / $1,000 scholarship 4th through 10th place: $500 each For more information, ask your pastor for details or have your choir director call 1-800-939-SING. Entry deadline is December 31, 1994. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Enter The Quaker Oats Company Voices of Tomorrow Youth Gospel Choir Competition today! OICES OF TOMORROW Quaker
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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Oct. 8, 1994, edition 1
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