by Eric Ture Muhammad
Staff Writer

Black unemployment in America is double the national average and signs of higher numbers loom ominous. The more than 100,000 jobs sacrificed through layoffs, mergers and closings between December 2000 and January 2001 have analysts, activists and heads of households pondering the future.

On Jan. 29, DaimlerChrysler threw more anxiety over the labor market when the company announced the cutting of 26,000 jobs. In the previous week, Lucent Technologies, Inc., revealed plans to layoff up to 16,000 workers. WorldCom, Inc., announced the loss of 11,550 jobs. Food, underwear and household conglomerate Sara Lee Corp. cut its workforce by 7,000 employees, and Xerox, Inc., announced the elimination of 4,000 workers.

In addition, Motorola plans to eliminate 2,500 jobs and multimedia giants Time-Warner and America Online (AOL) celebrated their merger by cutting 2,400 jobs, primarily in its film, Internet, publishing and music divisions and intend to sell or close 130 Warner Bros. Studio stores.

Analysts are concerned about the impact the California energy crisis will have on the economy and job market if it persists. And thousands more jobs are in jeopardy as threats of union walkouts increase across America. Unionized labor is protesting proposed cuts and lost employee benefits.

"Americans are preparing to go into recessionary times," said Rev. Mark Whitlock, executive director of Fame Renaissance and Business Resource Center, a provider of small business loans and counseling to Blacks and minorities. "If you are armed with the knowledge that the company is laying off, then you must be able to develop your resume and look for similar industries for hiring, making sure you don�t send out two resumes a week, but 200 resumes a week," he advised. The objective should be getting as many interviews as possible, he said.

Blacks comprise nearly 12 percent of the nation�s civilian work force, totaling roughly 16 million jobs, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies (JCPES). Black women, JCPES says, comprise 53.4 percent of that work force. As the sun sets on America�s celebrated economic boom of the 1990s, the familiar pattern of last hired, first fired now becomes the norm as white-owned corporations and employers play the race card and look to other whites to hire or spare from cutbacks.

"At the end of most (employment) cycles what tends to happen is that the workforce does become Blacker," economist Dr. William Spriggs told The Final Call. "But what becomes more evident is the pattern of discrimination. The relative ratio of Black to white unemployment tends to actually get worse as you go into a recession. Part of that is the way labor markets appear to work. Employers suddenly see more white applicants. And because they favor white applicants, they grab the white workers first," he said.

When the employment cycle reverses, Dr. Spriggs continued, "it takes a while for the Black unemployment rate to come down because the employers are still thinking that they are going to find a lot of white workers."

Manufacturing jobs, where Blacks tend to hold positions, declined for the fifth straight month, shedding 62,000 jobs in December, after losing 15,000 jobs a month earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"This economy is being balanced on the backs of U.S. manufacturing workers and their families," commented an angry Tom Buffenbarger, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). "The sharp decline in industrial production and continued increases in manufacturing bankruptcies and layoffs are a direct reflection of last year�s interest rate manipulations," he told reporters during a Jan. 17 press conference.

"The Federal Reserve Bank�s policy of turning the interest screws to slow production and reduce employment levels shows a cold disregard for the real-world effect on working families. If the economy cannot be made to work for working Americans, then we need to fix the way the economy works," he said. IAM is the second largest industrial union in North America, representing more than 730,000 active and retired members in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Panama Canal Zone.

Because of a lesser dependency on manufacturing, New York City is not immediately affected through those cuts. However, in the areas of health care and education, downsizing has produced some overwhelming effects.

Dozens of unionized health care workers picketed outside Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City in January, in a weeklong protest against the layoff of approximately 70 long-term employees. New York�s health and human service union 1199/SEIU accused the hospital of laying off the workers without the required 30-day notice, and of laying off long- term employees before probationary workers. In a statement, Mount Sinai said it regretted the layoffs, saying they were imposed to hold down costs.

School District 15 in Brooklyn, N.Y., parents, students and faculty demonstrated against fiscal cuts that eliminated scores of jobs in an already troubled educational system. The district�s board members said they were over budget. The truth, according to a recent New York Times article, alleges that the superintendent misappropriated $57,000 in private use. The much-needed teachers and school workers were sacrificed. The superintendent will be allowed to resign with pension and remains on salary through June of this year.

The proposed $1.3 billion tax cut by President George W. Bush Jr. and the tax-cut endorsement from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, economists contend, will do very little to stop the downward spiral of the economy and even less for Blacks.

"The Federal Reserve tries to contain inflation through pre-emptive strikes against it," said economist Seth Carpenter, meaning raising and lowering interest rates.

He explained that the Federal Reserve bases its economic formulas on a generic consumer, which would be that white, middle class individual. So they produce their remedies based on who they see being affected, but those affected represent more than that representative model, he said.

Mr. Carpenter told The Final Call that implementation of these models only produce higher unemployment rates for Black adults and youth for longer periods of time.

"There are a series of opportunity gaps that separate the Black community from mainstream America," National Urban League President Hugh Price told The Final Call. Mr. Price recently presented NUL�s Growth Opportunity proposal to the Bush administration and addressed the cyclical nature of economic downturn.

"If you look at why Black folks vote as we do, it�s because we vote economics, we vote our pocketbook. It is not a matter of emotion, appeal or singing from the same hymnbook. It�s about dealing with pocketbook issues. This (Growth and Opportunity) agenda is a set of pocketbook issues and if he (Pres. Bush) wants to be the president of all of the people, then he needs to take on these issues and try to close these gaps," he said.

Many corporations benefited tremendously during the economic boom, however, to maintain or increase profits, they began to look toward reducing their workforce.

For example, General Electric (G.E.), owner of National Broadcasting Company (NBC), announced Jan. 17 that fourth quarter earnings rose 16 percent to $3.59 billion compared to $3 billion a year earlier. Yet, they felt the need to invoke layoffs as "elective surgery." G.E. plans to eliminate as many as 600 jobs at NBC and close the Montgomery Ward department store chain, costing 28,000 more jobs.

"G.E. is using the economy as an excuse to reduce head count," said Timothy Ghriskey, a senior portfolio manager at the Dreyfus Corporation, whose firm is responsible for millions of G.E.�s stock shares.

But Gary Sheffer, a G.E. spokesman, argues in a New York Times report that G.E. actually will need fewer workers because the company will use Internet technology to streamline operations. The acquisition of Honeywell International and the closing of Montgomery Ward will assist in their downsizing objectives, he said.

The psychological impact this crisis holds for families, the Black family in particular, is of major proportions. The majority of Blacks who suffer temporary or permanent layoffs are in fact heads of households. Benefits such as medical, childcare, investment packages, etc., are lost generally after 90 days. The process of starting over after investing sometimes years in one company can be mentally overwhelming. Others approach the job market not looking for that type of security, noting that with the advent of technology, today�s jobs may have a maximum life-span of three to five years.