Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1999 15:30:01 -0600 (CST) From: Jayson P Harsin <jph419 at casbah.acns.nwu.edu>
Rakesh writes:>
> What are we to make of Arthur Fletcher and Nixon's attempt via the
> Philadelphia Plan to challenge the monopolisation of the labor market by
> building trade unions through control of apprenticeship programs (esp.
> electricians, plumbers, carpenters)? Nixon seems to have given up on a
> serious effort but why was he motivated in the first place? Linder raises
> the possibilities: Anti racism (ha!ha!)? To take the attention off racist
> Southern textile companies? To lower wages in the face of labor shortage?
> To split the Democratic constituencies? To try to appear middle of the road
> after his opposition to busing?
>
How about this? It was a clever strategy to put the affirmative action
onus on labor, thus further splitting it, and transferring civil rights
attention from government and management/capital to labor itself.
AS for the wider arena of business opening its doors to non-required a.a., there was a decent Harper's survey of this a few years back, which argued that the business world had largely taken on a.a. of its own initiative, to better its p.r. face. I'll look for the cite. best, Jayson