Chitlin' Jobs - Black Folks Get Diminishing Scraps

http://www.blackcommentator.com/174/174_chitlin_jobs_guest_lui.html



Since George Bush became President in 2001, the country has lost over 2.7 million well-paying manufacturing jobs, most in core urban areas. But these are not short-term trends tied to partisan politics. The decline of manufacturing as a share of the economy has worsened for the last four decades. In 1965, the share of the economy that was linked to manufacturing was 53 percent. By 1988, it was 39 percent, and by 2004 it had plummeted to 9 percent.

Blacks suffer disproportionately from this trend. Even though they constitute 11 percent of the workforce, they are 15 percent of those receiving pink slips in the manufacturing sector. For example, two of the biggest announced Ford plant shutdowns are the Hapeville plant, employing 2,100 workers largely from Atlanta's south side Black neighborhoods -and the Hazelwood plant, employing 1,445 St. Louis employees.

While we used to make planes, steel and cars, now we make burgers and fries, and we make beds. Laid off auto workers, for the most part, will not find comparable jobs. National averages show that 57 percent of laid off workers make less in their next job -and a third of those make a full 20 percent less, with substantially less benefits. The median manufacturing wage is about $51,000 a year, plus benefits. Jobs in the growing hospitality sector pay median wages of $16,000; in health services, a median of $33,000. The decline of manufacturing will only worsen the racial disparity in health care coverage. Over 28 percent of Blacks have no health insurance, compared to 33 percent of Latinos and 11 percent of whites.

When times were good, the scraps used to get better. But now, all the gravy is flowing to those with the most pork, while Blacks are back to chitlin’ jobs.

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9% in 2004. I guess we're probably down to 5% by now. I miss the country I grew up in.

30% of the workers who lose jobs to outsourcing and free trade take over two years to find another job. Some of those never find another job. Of the 70% who do find jobs, almost 60% of those workers accept much lower pay and fewer benefits.