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IIP^I JEHE CHARLOTTE POST fain®
--1 “ChnriotteV Fastest Growing Community Weekly’1_Bi.ArK consi mers
ATTRACTIVE CYNTHIA COLE
...Likes to play chess
Cynthia Cole Is
Beauty Of Week
by Sherleen McKoy
Post Staff Writer
Cynthia Cole is our beauty
for this week.
A native of Greensboro, 26
year old Cynthia was trans
ferred to Charlotte almost a
year ago to work with the
criminal Justice system here.
In August, she plans to
attend the University of North
Carolina at Charlotte to com
plete her degree 'V criminal
justice. She lacks "J; hours.
Cynthia describe^T^^lf as
* a person who is “pleasant, but
very frank. I speak what’s on
my mind,” she explained.
Her hobbies are playing
chess, gardening (she has a lot
of flowers), and writing poems
and short stories. She has, on
occasion, written invita
tions and speeches for others.
There are two persons for
whom Cynthia has great
admiration. One is Barhara
Jordan.
“I eventually want to be a
politician,” Cynthia said,
“and she (Jordan) strikes me
as being very good in her
profession.”
The other person is James
“Jimmie” McKee, owner of
the Excelsior Club. "When
the going got rough and I
thought about giving up, he
was there to lend his support,”
she recalled.
One very exciting incident
in her life that Cynthia
remembers was when she met
Martin Luther King, Jr.
“That was about 15 years
ago when I got to meet and
talk to Dr. King,” she reminis
ced. “It was during the time
they marched from Montgo
mery to the Coliseum in
Greensboro. It was very
exciting,” she added.
The daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Willie Surgeon of Pen
nsylvania, Cynthia, who is
divorced, has an 11 year old
daughter.
For whatever life presents
to her, Cynthia wants "to be
the best that I can in every
thing that I do.”
Demand Increases For
Food Convenience
Special to the Post
WASHINGTON-A number
of trends are contributing to
an increased demand for con
venience in eating. It costs
more but people seem willing
to pay the price.
There’s an increased de
mand for eating out, for con
venience stores and for added
convenience in foods people
buy to serve at home. De
mand is building for labor
saving equipment for home
cooking, too. Hot dog and
hamburger cookers, slow
cookers and food processors
are in bigger demand now.
Microwave ovens are expect
ed to be In 17 percent of all
households by I960.
What’s causing the change?
Rising incomes, an increased
educational level, increasing
numbers of one-person house
\t holds and more females enter
•» iy. . *
Your troubles are probably
behind you that is, if you’re a
SCHOOL BUS DRIVER
ing the work force.
“Assuming average gross
profit margins of 18 percent in
supermarkets, 28 percent in
convenience stores and 59 per
cent in food service establish
ments, food in public eating
places would cost an average
of two times more than if
bought in supermarkets and
food bought in convenience
stores about 14 percent
more," said economist Tho
mas Stafford of the U.S. De
partment of Agriculture.
Eating meals away from
home, said Stafford, has in
creased so dramatically over
the past 20 years that away
from-home food expenditures
now account for about 35
percent of total food expendi
tures.
“Elating out may not always
save time but it does eliminate
time spent preparing meals
and cleaning up afterwards
It also provides leisure and
recreation,” he said.
This increase in “conven
ience” usually costs more
than if the food was prepared
and eaten at home since the
consumer not only pays for the
food ingredients but also for
preparation, cleanup, rent,
supplies and entertainment.
But despite the higher cost,
the trend toward eating out
continues, Stafford said.
Supermarkets want to slow
this trend toward eating out or
at least capture a share of the
growing market, said Staf
ford.
Income And Food Gaps Continue
To Grow Between Rich And Poor
Food Stamp
Participation
Increases
Special to the Post
RALEIGH-Elimination of
the purchase requirement for
food stamps which became
effective on January l, 1979,
resulted in a 19.5 percent
increase in the number of low
income North Carolinians par
ticipating in the program in
January compared to Decem
ber. During December, there
were 382,862 participants.
This number climbed to
457,577 in January.
The elimination of the re
quirement that people have to
pay a certain amount for food
stamps in order to receive
additional bonus stamps was
one of several major changes
in the program adopted by
Congress. Another major
change was lowering the in
come level for eligibility to the
federal poverty level. Hus
change 4id not become effec
tive until March 1,1979.
“We are not sure how many
participants will no longer be
eligible for food stamps be
cause of the new income limit
ation. It will take several
months to determine this,”
said John Kerr, chief of the
Food Assistance Section of the
Division of Social Services of
the N. C. Department of
Human Resources.
He said North Carolina’s
increased participation of 19.5
percent was higher than the
national increase of approxi
mately 10 percent. Nation
wide, some 17.8 million people
participated in the program
during January compared to
only 16.1 million in December.
In December, participants
in North Carolina purchased a
total of $16,625,061 worth of
food stamps. They paid
$5,148,052 and received
$11,103,021 in bonus stamps.
In January, $14,076,022 in food
stamps were issued at no
charge to the participants.
“One of the major reasons
Congress eliminated the pur
chase requirement was to
allow more of the really poor
to participate, especially the
elderly.
Members of the Meatcutters Union Local 525
negotiating committee are demanding that
Harris Teeter pay its employees 5500,000 in
back wages Pictured 1-r are James Mobley,
Carol Stoeckel, Margie Kiser, Richard Burch,
J.B. Grier, union representative Manny
Coutlakis, Steve Cole, Charles Treese, Bren
da Fowler, Ken Bailey, Arthur O'Shields,
Frank Sullivan and John LeGrand. ( photo by
Eileen Hanson).
Hams Teeter Employees
Demand $500,000 In Back Wages
oy iLiieen Hanson
Special to the Post
The employees at Harris
Teeter warehouse are angry.
They say the Charlotte-based
supermarket chain owes them
$500,000 in back wages, steal
ing from a 2V4 year old labor
dispute. On April 18 employ
ees and employer will again
meet in union negotiations to
try to resolve their differ
ences.
Last December the National
Labor Relations Board ruled
in favor of the employees, re
presented by the Amalgamat
ed Meatcutters and Butcher
Workmen Local Nbr. 525
(AFL-CIO), upholding union
charges that Harris Teeter
Company violated the labor
law during and after the
union’s successful election at
the warehouse in August 1976.
According to the ruling the
company threatened, coerced
and intimidated employees for
union activity. The ruling also
said union supporters William
Huntley, James Wright,
Jerome Laiue, Jimmy Martin
and Earl Nixon were illegally
fired in 1976. The union also
charged surveillance of its
members.
These unfair labor practices
sparked a 4-month strike at
the warehouse at 4017 Chesa
peake Drive from Nov 17,1976
to Feb. 27, 1977. Pickets were
set up at many Charlotte-area
Harris Teeter stores.
When the NLRB upheld the
union’s charges, it ordered the
company to reinstate the fired
workers with back pay and
benefits, and to pay wages to
130 strikers from the end of the
strike to when they were
rehired to their old positions.
“We estimate they owe us at
least a half million dollars,”
said John LeGrand, a ware
house worker and union
member.
The union claims the com
pany has not remedied past
unfair labor practices, has not
reinstated all strikers to their
former or comparable jobs,
has not paid back pay to
strilrprc anH that tho nnmnonn
continues to disregard
employees’ rights by their
unfair labor practices.
Last summer the union dis
tributed handbills at selected
stores. “Our best response
was in the black neighbor
hoods like at Freedom Mall,”
said one union member.
“Most of our workers are
black and the community
quickly understands that they
shouldn’t patronize a store
where there’s a labor
struggle.”
The union is again consider
ing how to gain community
support and what other
actions it should take.
“Give me my $9,000 (in back
wages) or I’m walking
again," said one employee
who spent four months on the
picketline in 1976-77.
Another angry employee
compared Harris Teeter to J.
P. Stevens, a large textile firm
that has been opposing union
activities in its 63 Carolinas
plants.
“Harris Teeter even hired
the same anti-union law firm,
Blakeney and Alexander, that
represents J P. Stevens,”
said Ken Bailey, a leader of
me union movement at the
warehouse
(Stevens has been found
guilty of numerous labor law
violations and has paid thou
sands of dollars in back wages
and fines, but still refuses to
sign a labor contract at its
Roanoke Rapids, N.C. plant
where the union won an elec
tion in 1974.)
Local Number 525 union
president Tony Muncus said,
"Harris Teeter and Winn
Dixie are the J. P. Stevens of
the food industry, guilty of
flagrant labor law violations "
Winn Dixie is the target of a
national AFL-CIO boycott
because of its refusal to recog
niie union representation.
Bailey claims that Harris
Teeter management illegally
put him under surveillance by
fixing a TV camera on his
work area.
"They said the TV wasn’t
working, but I found out it was
and it seems to be fixed on
me," said Bailey
The December NLRB ruling
ordered the company to “stop
creating the impression of
surveillance of union
activists.” The union has filed
new charges on Bailey’s com
plaints
See HARRIS on page 3
Equal Rights Council To
Meet Here Tuesday Night
by Eileen Hanson
The Charlotte Equal Rights
Council will meet Tuesday,
April 17 to discuss building
community support for the
City workers’ union organiz
ing drive. The meeting will
begin at 7 p m at the Main
Ubrary, 310 N. Tryon.
Also on the agenda will be
Southern ERC coordinator,
Ted Quant of New Orleans!
who will speak about efforts to
oppose the Ku Klux Klan in
other parts of the South.
Members of the Laborers’
International Union (AFL
CIO), which is trying to organ
ize Charlotte’s 1,000 blue
collar workers, will present
their campaign for better
wages and working condi
tions.
“We need to have public
opinion with us,” safe! union
organizer Wadel Johnson, who
was recently appointed busi
ness manager for the new
I-ocal Number M
Ted Quant
. Regional coordinator
The Equal Right* Council*
in Mississippi, Alabama and
Louisiana have been active in
opposing renewed Klan acti
vity in their areas. According
to Quant, "Crosses have been
burned all over South Missi
ssippi The Klan led a riotous
group of whites in North
Alabama They shot into the
homes of NAACP members
They held a white supremacy
march in New Orleans.”
Quant said, "The ERC calls
on all working people - black
and white - to forge a unity
based on equality and econo
mic justice as the best way to
fight the Klan.”
During the last month con
cerned Charlotte organiza
tions have been meeting to
consider possible strategies to
oppose the Klan's announced
plans to organize in the
Charlotte area Apiong the
organizations involved are the
Equal Rights Council, the
NAACP, the Black Political
Caucus, People United for
Justice, National Conference
of Christians and Jews, the
Human Relations Committee,
Residents' Advisory Council,
the Jewish Federation of
Charities and several
churches.
For more information about
the Equal Rights Council con
tact Carrie Graves, 374-08S7
Poor Spends Larger Share
Of Their Income On Food
Special to the Post
WASHINGTON-The in
come gap between rich and
poor widened between 1960
and 1973, with the poor spend
ing a proportionately larger
share of their income on food
than higher income families.
Between 1960 and 1973 dis
posable personal income
increased nationally, accord
ing to economists Anthony
Gallo and William Boehm of
the U S. Department of Agri
culture, who researched the
subject. “Dollar income for
all families rose about 83
percent on the average,” said
Gallo and Boehm “but the
increases varied by family
income group, with the lowest
group showing the least gain
and the group already earning
the highest income showing
the greatest gain.
“The lowest income group's
average income rose 40 per
cent, while that of the highest
group doubled and the three
groups between rose 66, 86 and
96 percent respectively.”
While their incomes rose
significantly less, lower in
come families increased their
food expenditures faster than
wealthier ones, Gallo and
Boehm said In 1960-61. the
lowest group spent about one
third of its income on food. By
1973, this percentage had risen
slightly. The highest income
group spent 17 percent of its
income for food in 1960 That
percentage declined to 10 per
cent by 1973.
Family income increased
more for higher than for lower
income groups during the
1960’s, but retail food prices
rose equally for all five in
come groups. As a result, the
gap in the percent of income
spent on food by each income
group widened
“Food expenditures in
creased 72 percent nationally
between 1960 and 1973. About
half that gain reflected in
creased expenditures for food
away from home, which rose
from 20 to almost 30 percent.
Food-at-home expenditures
increased about 50 percent, '
Gallo said.
In 1960-61, per capita yearly
income for the highest group
was four times greater than
for the lowest In 1973 it was
nearly four and one-half times
greater, Gallo said
Between the two consumer
expenditure surveys, made by
the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
earned income-mainly wages
and salaries-declined slightly
as a percent of total income,
from about 86 percent to 82'*
percent, Gallo said This gap
was absorbed by an increase
in Social Security and private
pensions, which rose from
about 9 percent to 12 percent
About 40 percent of the income
of the lowest income group
wan ueriveu irum oucibi secu
rity payments
Social Security payments,
public assistance and the
value of federal food pro
grams advanced sharply be
tween the two periods, 1960
and 1974 “Despite an expan
sion In public welfare pay
menu sources of family in
come showed little change
Public welfare, excluding food
stamps, which accounted for
about of 1 percent of income
in 1960-61, rose to about 1
percent in 1972-74," Gallo said
"Public assistance accounted
for about 'a of the income of
the lowest income group "
Family sire, racial composi
tion and other demographic
factors changed also, Gallo
and Boehm said. Family
size fell from 3.2 persons to 2.9
during the period surveyed.
The number of single family
households increased from
one out of seven to one out of
five The average age of the
population increased but the
average age of the family
head declined, Gallo and
Boehm said
Dick Gregory
Human rights activist
Dick Gregory
Will Speak
Here April 25
by Sherleen McKoy
Post Staff Writer
“There is a great social -
revolution going on in
America today, and the won
derful thing about this revolu
tion is that it is not black
against white It is simply
right against wrong The
number one problem in Amer
ica today is not air and water
pollution It is moral pollu
tion. The same moral pollu
tion which keeps the smoke up
in the air also keep6 the Indian
up on the reservation."
So says Dick Gregory, a
recording artist, author, lec
turer, actor, human rights
activist, social satirist, critic,
philosopher and political
analyst, who combines all of
these roles to serve the cause
of human liberation and to
alleviate human suffering
brought on by ignorance and
apathy.
Gregory will be aDDearintr
on the campus of Johnson C.
Smith University on Wednes
day, April 25 at 8:15 p.m in
the Jack S. Brayboy Gymna
sium. Admission for the
general public is $2, Smith
students, I D. This event is
being sponsored by the
Lyceum Committee of Smith.
Dick Gregory was bom in
the black ghetto of St. Louis,
Missouri While in high
school, he became a state
champion in track and field
and later expanded his honors
on the track at Southern Uliois
University in Carbondale, Illi
nois He entered the enter
tainment field and rose quick
ly to the top. But he soon
realized society's definition of
success conflicted with his
moral passion, ‘singular and
complete devotion to serving
one’s fellow man " Gregory
relinquished the night club life
because he felt the late hours
interfered with his potential
for human service.
During the civil rights
movement of the ‘60’s,
Gregory participated in every
major demonstration for
human rights in America.