HE THE. CHARLOTTE P( 1ST B
— ___ “CJiarlotte’s Fastest Growing Community Weekly” -
Vol. A No. 43 1 _ _
^^^THE CHARLO'lTfc; POST ■ Thursday, June 28. 1979 1 ■'
- . _ . ^^—— Price 30 Cents
NAACP Orders Legal Defense
Fund To Stop Using Its Name
Labor Unity
Rally Set For
Saturday
The Charlotte Central Labor
Council will sponsor a Labor
Unity Rally, Saturday June
30th beginning at 4 p m. at
Marshall Park in Charlotte
(McDowell between 2nd and
3rd streets). The Rally will
include a bring-your-own
picnic supper, music and
speakers.
Jon Mullis will lead labor
songs and Ronald Cornelius,
the Disco Wizard, will provide
Disco music.
The speakers will begin at 5
p.m. and will include an offi
cer of the Laborers Union
Local64 (City Workers now on
strike); Wilbur Hobby, State
President AFL-CIO; Alfredo
DeAvila, Texas Farmworkers
Union (TFWU); Harold
Mclver, Industrial Union
Department AFL-CIO. Repre
sentatives will also speak
from Meatcutters Local 525
from the Harris Teeter Ware
house, United Rubberworkers
Union at General Tire, and
Amalgamated Clothing and
Textile Workers Union from
Woonsocket Spinning Co.
Central Labor Council Presi
dent Bill Brawley will moder
ate.
Because of the growing
economic crisis in this country
working people, organized and
unorganized, are coming
under attack by both business
and government. Guest
speaker Alfredo DeAvila from
the TFWU will talk about the
recent strike in Raymondville,
Texas where agri-business,
the police, courts and govern
ment officials are out to
destroy the union and the
farmworkers struggle for col
lective bargaining rights.
In Charlotte, City Workers
are also denied collective bar
gaining rights because of the
State’s anti-labor laws pre
venting City Governments
from negotiating contracts.
The basis for these attacks on
labor is the Taft-Hartley Act
and the "Right to work” law.
The rally will begin to unite
local unions and workers to
fight to repeal these anti-labor
laws.
City sanitation workers George Day, James
T Watson and Walter Jones are among the
450 striking city workers demanding a better
grievance procedure. A representative of
their Laborers' International Union Local 64
wiD speak at a Labor Unity Rally scheduled
for Saturday, June 30 in Marshall Park from
4-8 p.m. The rally will bring together
members from many different local unions
(Photo by Eileen Hanson)
right tor Equality
City Workers Want Respect
uy c,iieen nanson
Special to the Post
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
was assassinated 11 years ago
during his efforts to help
Memphis (Tenn ) sanitation
workers in their fight for union
recognition.
Last Monday some 450 Char
lotte blue collar city
employees, led by the sanita
tion workers, walked off the
job in their struggle to get City
Council to recognize their
right to have a labor union.
About 95 percent of the sani
tation workers are black.
The struggle for equal rights
in the South is no longer over
whether or not blacks can sit
at the lunch counter or attend
integrated schools or exercise
their vote. These legal rights
were won after the bitter
struggles of the 1960's
“But what good is it to sit in
a restaurant if I can’t afford to
pay for the meal?” asked one
sanitation worker The
struggle now is for economic
equality, which means the
right to have some say in one's
working conditions and
wages.
By focusing on the demand
for a new grievance proce
dure, the city workers,
through their Laborers’ Inter
national Union Local 64, are
hitting head-on against North
Carolina's anti-labor law that
prohibits city governments
from signing collective bar
gaining agreements with
employees.
However, according to
union lawyers, it would not be
against the law for the city to
agree to submit grievances to
binding arbitration in the final
step
"We are not talking about a
contract here,” said organizer
Frank Mason "What we want
is a new grievance procedure
so that the final decision is not
coming from city manage
ment but from an impartial
third party.” According to
Mason, other city workers in
the state, including firemen
and bus drivers, have such a
grievance procedure
Striking city workers think
if they win this battle, they
will have an easier time with
other work-related problems
"The main thing is that we
want to be recognized as
human beings,” said Willie
Byrd as he walked the picket
line in front of the idled
garbage trucks Monday morn
ing "We need better working
conditions.”
"That's right," chimed in
Raymond Scott, who has been
collecting city garbage for
only 7 months. "There ain't
anybody else going to do this
dirty job. ”
In large northern cities,
where sanitation workers
have been organized for many
years, the job has more recog
nition, higher pay, and
attracts more white workers.
However, in the unorganized
South, garbage collection has
traditionally been a low-pay
ing job for blacks with little or
no education Without a col
lective bargaining voice, these
workers have not been able to
improve their living stand
ards.
"It takes every penny I have
just to survive,” said Jacob
Freeman, who says he takes
home $127 a week "Blacks
with no education can't get
another job. This is a very
physical job, very hard
work."
.-larmauon workers earn
about J4.50 an hour, about a
dollar an hour less than city
bus drivers who have been
unionized for 40 years
Allen Dixon, a 29-year
veteran of the sanitation de
partment, remembers two
earlier strikes
“In the 1940's 200 of us
marched uptown because
blacks were getting only one
week vacations while whites
got two weeks," said Dixon
They won their strike demand
Dixon walked the picket line
again during the 1970 strike,
which had a less successful
ending. Over 250 sanitation
workers were fired.
According to union organi
zer Connie Ellis, city workers
in North Carolina are not
covered by provisions of the
National Labor Relations
Board Workers in private
industry cannot be fired while
on strike over unfair labor
practices. However, since
city workers are prohibited
from having union contracts,
they are not protected by the
NLRB
Dixon echoed other city
workers in saying, “We want
to be treated ..ght We also
want more money and a
change of w,.rk rules
Action Termed
“Mindless,
Destructive’*
by Milton Jordan
Special to the Post
Louisville, Kentucky- --
NAACP wants the Legal
Defense and Educational
Fund to stop using the civil
rights organization's name
In a move not totally unex
pected Monday, delegates at
the NAACP's 70th annual con
vention here passed a resolo
tion that directs the NAACP s
national board of directors to
order the Defense Fund to
immediately stop using the
NAACP designation. The re
solution received only token
opposition and passed over
whelmingly on a voice vote
Jack Greenberg, the
Defense Fund’s Executive
Director, said in a telephone
interview from New York that
"the action was mindless and
destructive.
"The NAACP Legfll Defense
and Educational Fund is on
name and has been for 40
years." Greenberg said "it
has our name as well as their
name."
The disagreement over
names is expected to result in
a long and costly court fight
Julius Chambers, president
of the Legal Defense Fund was
unavailable for comment at
press time.
Monday s action widened
the gap that has been develop
ing between the two organiza
tions for several years, begin
ning shortly after Thurgood
Marshall resigned as Defense
Fund Director to take a seat
on the U S Supreme Court.
Differences escalated in
May when the Defense ®'und,
in the words of NAACP i ,xecu
tive Director Benjamin
Hooks, "laboriously moved to
revise history , and claimed a
large share of the credit in
bringing about the historic
1954 U S decision that outlaw
ed school desegregation.”
The Monday resolution
charged that the Defense
Fund runs an independent
course," in the name of the
NAACP, but without consulta
tion with the NAACP as to
either policy or program
"It disclaims any relation
ship with the NAACP but
solicits funds in the name of
the NAACP Legal Defense
IT*_J ••
The I>egal Defense and Edu
cational Fund was launched in
1935 as the civil rights organi
zation’s legal department. It
was founded by Howard Uni
versity law school dean,
Charlie Houston The legal
department was incorporated
under its present name in 1940
Under Marshall's direction
the organization spearheaded
the NAACP's legal battles to
destroy desegregation in
schools, public accomoda
tions, employment and hous
ing Cases won by the legal
arm under Marshall’s leader
ship included Smith vs. All
wright, which gave blacks the
right to vote in democratic
party primaries; Morgan vs
Virginia, that outlawed aegre
gation in interstate travel,
and McGhee vs. Sites one of
the cases that ended restric
tive housing covenants
- the two organizations
were forced to separate by the
U S Internal Revenue Service
in 1967 after seven congress
men, aligned over the organi
"ffinNAA<»*i w'T"
Ohoto by Jbrry Curry
ENGAGING JACQUELINE RENEE WESTMORELAND
—To Attend Virginia State University
Jacqueline Westmoreland
Is “Beauty Of The Week”
by Sherleen McKoy
Post Staff Writer
Jacqueline Kenee
Westmoreland, a recent gra
duate of West Charlotte High
School, is our beauty for this
week.
Jackie, as she is called, is
presently working this
summer as a cashier at
Service Merchandise in the
sporting goods department.
This Fall, she will be attend
ing Virginia State University
in St. Petersburg to major in
Accounting. Her goal is to
become a Certified Public
Accountant at one of the big
accounting firms up north.
Jackie left for St. Peters
burg on Monday for a week of
Ron Leeper Announces
V
Candidacy For Reelection
by SusanTJIIsworth
Post Staff Writer
Ron Leeper announced his
candidacy Thursday for the
Democratic nomination to
City Council.
Leeper, presently a council
member from District 3, is
seeking his second term in
office*
A strong advocate of the
November parks bond issue,
Leeper supported measures to
build parks in areas where
none existed, mostly in black
neighborhoods
I-eeper worked for affirma
tive action for minority con
tractors. Douglas Municipal
Airport will award IS percent
of its construction contracts to
minority contractors.
l<eeper supported reduced
bus fares for senior citizens
and the construction of low
income housing throughout
the city
Among the awards he has
received. Leeper was present
ed the following in liT8: Char
lotte Post Man of uie Year
Award, Senior Citizens United
Award for service, and the
Afro-American Cultural Cen
ter Award for fostering unity
in the community.
Lee per was selected as one
of the ten most outstanding
young men in America by the
National Organization of JCs.
He was honored by Clinton
Park and St Mark’s United
Methodist Church, where he is
a member, for outstanding
service to the community.
'Jfceper founded the Voter
Task Force designed to
encourage citizens to vote.
Although originally from,
^BelmonL^epe^ia^lve<nn‘
narOMN*
\
A handful of good life is
better than a bush-1 of learn
ing
I>eami(ig makes a good man
better and an ill ma.,
4
...District 3 representative
Charlotte fur the last ten
years.
He is assistant manager of B
& B Supplies in Charlotte.
Leeper is married to the
former Phyllis Mack of Mt.
Holly. They have a five year
old son, Atiba, and a daughter,
Ronda, who is one year old.
President To
Nominate Black
To Treasury Post
Washington- President
Jimmy Carter has announc
ed he will nominate Walter J
McDonald, of Washington,
D.C., to be an assistant secre
tary of the Treasury. His area
of responsibility would be
administration.
McDonald has been with the
Treasury Department for 14
years, and is currently serv
ing as acting assistant secre
tary.
He was bom December 21,
1926, in Staten Island, New
York He holds a degree in
business administration from
New York University and a
master s degree in business
from Southeastern University.
He served in the U S. Army
during World War H and the
Korean War.
Prior to Joining the Trea
sury Department, McDonald
•vas the deputy comptroller at
Port Irwin, California, for four
years and served in a similar
position with the Army in
Purope for six years.
freshman orientation.
Jackie’s hobbies are model
ing, writing poetry, bike-rid
ing and conversing with
people.
She describes herself as a
person who is “easy to get
along with, soft-hearted and a
little selfish.”
Jackie credits her parents
as being a great help in her
life. “My parents give me
encouragement to go on and
seek new things and try new
adventures,” she said.
Eighteen-year-old Jackie is
also in the summer Upward
Bound Program at Johnson C.
Smith University. She is one
of two persons in the Bridge
Program, specifically design
ed for students who have
graduated from high school.
"It’sa very good program,"
Jackie noted. “It recognizes
students in academic areas
which high school does not.”
The students in the program
will participate in the Upward
Bound Olympics, present a
fashion show, spend a week
end at the University of N.C.
at Charlotte and a weekend in
Washington, D.C. Jackie was
“Miss Upward Bound” for
1978
A fashion-conscious person,
Jackie said that someday she
would like to travel to Paris,
noted for its high fashions.
“It would be exciting just to
look," she said.
Jackie’s daily memo in life
is that in order to gain respect
from others, one must first
respect himself.
'Hie daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Harold Westmoreland,
Jackie is the third oldest of
five girls.
by Eileen Hanson
Special to the Post
Spirit Square will feature an
exhibit of new paintings by
Charlotte’s well-known black
poet-painter T.J. Reddy from
June 28 through July 28.
Entitled “Ventures”, the
exhibit is Reddy’s effort to get
back to what’s responsible for
our lives. The dozen paint
ings, inspired from African
landscapes, will be on display
at Spirit Square (110 E. 7th
Street) daily from 9 a m. to 11
p.m. (1 tofl p.m. on Sundays).
Admission is free. All of the
paintings are for sale.
A special reception to open
the show will be held Friday,
July 6 at 8 p.m. in the lobby.
The Performing Arts Guild
Ensemble (PAGE) will per
form poetry and music.
Reddy is one of the founders of
PAGE, which began last year
as a collective of writers,
poets, actors, musicians and
dancers PAGE has won wide
acclaim for its lively perform
4
*
Spirit Square Will Feature An
Exhibit Of T J. Reddy’s Paintings
tic." "I want to go back to
what’s responsible for our
lives, beyond Duke Power and
General Electric," he said
“I’m concerned that we are
destroying everything with
our 'progress is our most
important product' attitude."
Reddy uses his paint brush
to bring us back to what's real
The theme, “Ventures", has
a double meaning for him.
“First I immersed myself in
studying about Africa, the
land, its people, its geography
and its history," said Reddy,
currently cultural director at
the Afro-American Cultural
Center He spent weeks look
ing at slides of African land
scapes and reading history
But the paintings are also a
venture into the realm of
color "My understanding of
color is self-taught." said
Reddy "I want to understand
color and express it for
others "
Reddy, 34, is a native of
Savannah, Georgia, and came
to Charlotte in 1964 to study at
Johnson C. Smith. He is a
graduate of UNCC with a
Bachelor of Arts in History
and a Master of Arts in
Education
He has worked in Char
lotte's black community with
various youth programs, wel
fare organizations and cultur
al groups
He has exhibited paintings
with the United Negro College
Fund, the N.C. Black Arts
Festival, Kuumba Nia (an
Afro-American Arts Festival)
and the N C. Cultural Arts
Coalition. •
Reddy is also a nationally
published poet whose works
have appeared in many poetry
magazines His first collec
tion, "Less Than a Score, But
a Point", was published in
1974 by Random House His
second volume, "Poems In
One Part Harmony ", will soon
be published by Carolina Wren
Press
T J Roddy
Well-known poet painter
ancee at art festivals through
out the state. Through per
forming rather than reading
poetry. PAGE draws its
audiences inside the poetry,
making them participant* and
not just spectators
Reddy describes the paint
ings as "semi-impresAionis