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Burlington Commission on Human Rights, 1964-1965

At Work in Industry Today Page 1

THIS IS A BOOKLET about some of the men and women who work for the General Electric Company. 
They have jobs in sales, as secretaries, as engineers, as factory workers, as managers. 
Some work with familiar products like electric irons and refrigerators and radios. Others work in strange new fields like nuclear electronics, outer space projects, and supersonic jet engines. 
Some have worked for General Electric for many years. Some are just starting their careers in industry. 
Some work in the older General Electric plants in the northeast where General Electric began in the 19th century - in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York. Others work in states in which General Electric plants are relatively new - in California, Kentucky, Georgia, Virginia, Arizona, etc.
Some are high school graduates. Some are graduates of top-flight colleges and universities. Some dropped out of school too soon--and have had a hard time overcoming their lack of formal education. 
All have one thing in common. They are Negroes. 
We are telling you about their jobs and their backgrounds to show you the kinds of jobs that capable Negro men and women can hold in General Electric and in industry. We are talking about today. As these words are written, each of these men and women is at work--designing, typing, drafting, repairing, managing, planning, selling, working standard machinery, or operating some of the most complex equipment the world has ever known. 
It has been thus for many, many years. Back in 1935, the man who was then president of General Electric, Gerard Swope, wrote:
"There shall be no discrimination by foreman, superintendents, or other executives of the Company against any employee because of race or creed, or because of an employee's membership in any fraternity, society, labor organization, or other lawful organization."
These, of course, are the words and the spirit that General Electric people try to live by. 
This doesn't mean that General Electric is perfect. Even today we sometimes find the cobwebs of old worn-out antagonisms. What it means is that we have been trying for a good many years to live up to high standards of fairness in hiring and in employee progress. If we're not perfect -- we're certainly not complacent. We're still trying to make progress -- and complacency is the enemy of progress. 
That's the main reason for this booklet. 
Many white and Negro educators have told us that years of hopelessness about the future have produced a "don't care" attitude toward good grades among many Negro young people. "It isn't enough for us to tell them about good job opportunities," we've been told. "You will have to show them." Maybe this booklet will help. 
Some of the men and women in this booklet did drop out of school. Each has regretted it. One (who now holds a well-paying, high-skill job) told us: "I've spent 15 years just trying to catch up. I put in seven years in night school, and that's not easy when you've got a full-time job and a family to raise. And even now I ask myself 'How far would I have gone if I'd stuck to the books 15 years ago?'" The progress road has been rocky for the man or woman who dropped out of school too soon -- and because jobs are getting more complicated all the time, the way is getting even rougher for any school dropout -- white or Negro. To the dropout we can only say: Try to go back, or try for night school, or try the many industrial training centers which are doing a good job in many cities. The sooner the better!
And how about the Negro youth who does care, who does well in high school and earns his diploma? The Negro men and women who have made the greatest progress with General Electric are those who have looked on graduation from high school as a milestone in education -- but not the end. They've gone on to secretarial schools, to trade schools, business schools. They've taken advantage of training offered by large companies and the Armed Services. 
And, of course, some have gone on to college. However, college deans tell us that many outstanding Negro students shy away from courses which would lead to careers in industry. "They're uncertain about their chances in industry, so they tend to move into such fields as medicine, law, the ministry, dentistry, and teaching," we're told. America needs outstanding doctors, lawyers, clergymen, dentists, and teachers, of course. But this industrial nation also needs young people--white and Negro--who can become outstanding economists, factory supervisors, scientists, advertising writers, product designers, sales representatives, auditors, and electrical engineers. Maybe this booklet will help here, too. 
To the young Negro, we say this: Can you find your own "success image?" Can you put yourself on one of these pages? Do you have the desire? The willingness to bring out the best in yourself? The determination to get the essential education and training? Yes? Then we at General Electric believe that you can look forward to a career in industry -- a career in which success is not based on race, but on your own ability, education, and ambition.

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THIS IS A BOOKLET about some of the men and women who work for the General Electric Company. They have jobs in sales, as secretaries, as engineers, as factory workers, as managers. Some work with familiar products like electric irons and refrigerators and radios. Others work in strange new fields like nuclear electronics, outer space projects, and supersonic jet engines. Some have worked for General Electric for many years. Some are just starting their careers in industry. Some work in the older General Electric plants in the northeast where General Electric began in the 19th century - in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York. Others work in states in which General Electric plants are relatively new - in California, Kentucky, Georgia, Virginia, Arizona, etc. Some are high school graduates. Some are graduates of top-flight colleges and universities. Some dropped out of school too soon--and have had a hard time overcoming their lack of formal education. All have one thing in common. They are Negroes. We are telling you about their jobs and their backgrounds to show you the kinds of jobs that capable Negro men and women can hold in General Electric and in industry. We are talking about today. As these words are written, each of these men and women is at work--designing, typing, drafting, repairing, managing, planning, selling, working standard machinery, or operating some of the most complex equipment the world has ever known. It has been thus for many, many years. Back in 1935, the man who was then president of General Electric, Gerard Swope, wrote: "There shall be no discrimination by foreman, superintendents, or other executives of the Company against any employee because of race or creed, or because of an employee's membership in any fraternity, society, labor organization, or other lawful organization." These, of course, are the words and the spirit that General Electric people try to live by. This doesn't mean that General Electric is perfect. Even today we sometimes find the cobwebs of old worn-out antagonisms. What it means is that we have been trying for a good many years to live up to high standards of fairness in hiring and in employee progress. If we're not perfect -- we're certainly not complacent. We're still trying to make progress -- and complacency is the enemy of progress. That's the main reason for this booklet. Many white and Negro educators have told us that years of hopelessness about the future have produced a "don't care" attitude toward good grades among many Negro young people. "It isn't enough for us to tell them about good job opportunities," we've been told. "You will have to show them." Maybe this booklet will help. Some of the men and women in this booklet did drop out of school. Each has regretted it. One (who now holds a well-paying, high-skill job) told us: "I've spent 15 years just trying to catch up. I put in seven years in night school, and that's not easy when you've got a full-time job and a family to raise. And even now I ask myself 'How far would I have gone if I'd stuck to the books 15 years ago?'" The progress road has been rocky for the man or woman who dropped out of school too soon -- and because jobs are getting more complicated all the time, the way is getting even rougher for any school dropout -- white or Negro. To the dropout we can only say: Try to go back, or try for night school, or try the many industrial training centers which are doing a good job in many cities. The sooner the better! And how about the Negro youth who does care, who does well in high school and earns his diploma? The Negro men and women who have made the greatest progress with General Electric are those who have looked on graduation from high school as a milestone in education -- but not the end. They've gone on to secretarial schools, to trade schools, business schools. They've taken advantage of training offered by large companies and the Armed Services. And, of course, some have gone on to college. However, college deans tell us that many outstanding Negro students shy away from courses which would lead to careers in industry. "They're uncertain about their chances in industry, so they tend to move into such fields as medicine, law, the ministry, dentistry, and teaching," we're told. America needs outstanding doctors, lawyers, clergymen, dentists, and teachers, of course. But this industrial nation also needs young people--white and Negro--who can become outstanding economists, factory supervisors, scientists, advertising writers, product designers, sales representatives, auditors, and electrical engineers. Maybe this booklet will help here, too. To the young Negro, we say this: Can you find your own "success image?" Can you put yourself on one of these pages? Do you have the desire? The willingness to bring out the best in yourself? The determination to get the essential education and training? Yes? Then we at General Electric believe that you can look forward to a career in industry -- a career in which success is not based on race, but on your own ability, education, and ambition.