A Narrow Victory for Blacks

As part of its effort to lift the economic status of blacks, the Nixon Administration has sponsored a controversial program to help them obtain more well-paid jobs in construction. Last week the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and a coalition of legislative conservatives fought and lost a hypocrisy-laden battle in Congress to scuttle the scheme in its infancy.

Under the "Philadelphia Plan," so called because it was first tried in that city, contractors bidding on federally aided projects costing $500,000 or more must make a serious effort to increase the number of blacks among their new employees from about 5% now to 25% in five years. Since the plan was put into effect last August by Labor Secretary George Shultz, union leaders and other opponents have attacked it on somewhat ironic grounds. They argue that it violates the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits racial quotas in hiring.

Though Attorney General John Mitchell ruled last summer that the Philadelphia Plan's "goals" did not amount to illegal job quotas, Comptroller General Elmer Staats issued a contrary opinion. Taking advantage of that split, the Senate two weeks ago added to an appropriations bill an amendment that would forbid the Government to make payments on any contract the Comptroller General holds to be against the law.

Last Chance. The Administration put considerable muscle--including a threatened presidential veto of the appropriations measure--into its fight to persuade Congress to reverse itself. Nixon himself branded the addition of the rider as "dirty pool." Labor Secretary Shultz publicly scolded the A.F.L.-C.I.O. for its opposition to the Philadelphia Plan. Assistant Secretary Arthur A. Fletcher called the plan "our last chance to narrow the income-distribution gap between whites and blacks." As Congress raced toward adjournment, the House went along with the Administration and finally rejected the crippling amendment, 208-156, and the Senate concurred in a midnight vote, 39-29.

Despite the furor it has raised, the Philadelphia Plan has really had little impact so far. The first real test of the plan's effectiveness will come next spring after contracts are awarded on three federal projects around Philadelphia, where the Labor Department is aiming at 1,000 more construction jobs for blacks within four years. The department hopes to expand the plan soon to Pittsburgh, Boston, Seattle and Chicago.

Discrimination Strongholds. By almost any standard, most of the 18 major A.F.L.-C.I.O. construction-trades unions are among the nation's most important remaining strongholds of racial discrimination. Among the construction unions' 1,300,000 members, about 106,000, or 8.4%, are blacks. The overall figures are misleading; 81,000 of the blacks belong to the lowest-paid laborers' union, where they form 30% of the membership. The latest compilation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shows that only 1.6% of union carpenters are blacks; among electricians the figure is 0.6%, among plumbers 0.2%.

The unions have considerable power to thwart the Philadelphia Plan, because builders in most big cities must hire only union labor (unless the unions fail to provide manpower when requested). Lengthy apprenticeship programs and outmoded qualifying examinations also make it difficult for blacks to become journeymen workers. Under union-imposed standards, it takes four years (8,000 hours) to train a carpenter; by contrast, an air-traffic controller receives 1 1/2 years of training.

Last summer, angry blacks, frustrated by unkept promises to open up the building trade unions, staged tense demonstrations at construction sites in Chicago, Pittsburgh and Seattle. These flare-ups add urgency to the development of the Philadelphia Plan. More Negroes in construction would also ease the labor shortages that have bloated building costs by helping the unions to win huge and inflationary pay boosts. During 1969, construction unions won average wage gains of 15% per year for two or three years, and some settlements have run as high as 30% per year.

Despite its reprieve in Congress, the Philadelphia Plan is by no means out of danger. It still must face a court test of its legality. That will come when a contractor believes that he has been illegally shut out of a Government contract for failure to comply with the plan's provisions.

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