Written by William Reed
*Excerpted*
“In 1914, Henry Ford paid workers $5 per day and prompted the movement of millions of blacks to the urban north.AsA As America’s first major “equal opportunity employer, Ford reached out to African American communities, churches and newspapers to find factory workers. Automobile industry wages enabled black workers to buy homes, own cars, save money and send their children to college. In metropolitan areas with big auto plants, black auto workers were the most visible leaders of labor organizations, churches, and civil rights groups.
Auto work provided blacks with resources that few other jobs did, in turn they invested their resources back into community organizations and projects. As late as 1970 one in every five Big Three workers was black. By the turn of the 21st Century, auto work became less a source of employment for blacks. As Chrysler, Ford and GM lost market share, the industry workforce has shrunk to drastic lows.
These days America’s car manufacturers, and workers, are experiencing a bumpy ride. Car sales are still at historically high levels; but the Big Three’s share of sales has slumped. Each year in the U.S. more than 16 million new cars (and 40 million used cars) are sold. African Americans buy 1 in every 8 vehicles sold here and factor into the Big Three’s marketplace predicament. The reason Chrysler, Ford and GM are closing factories and cutting jobs is that they are losing U.S. market share to foreign competitors. Last year import car makers: Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Jaguar, Saab, Audi, Volvo, Toyota, Volkswagen and Honda commanded 36 percent of the $1.5 trillion US auto market. Nearly half of import buyers were African Americans, who bought luxury models in particular.” (more…)
Man, I would love to have a historical discussion on this (especially during the Henry Ford years). There is a lot of information here I think that had a direct effect on the Black economy for years (and still does to a certain extent). If I come across any related links on this, I will try to link it to this post.
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March 2nd, 2007 at 7:38 am
The quote:
“Nearly half of import buyers were African Americans, who bought luxury models in particular,”
sounds like the kind of thing someone would pull out of the air, but I found the article from Black Enterprise, and they cited JD Power.
The actual amount they cited was 46%.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1365/is_11_29/ai_54783803
That fact amazes me. It speaks to the value we place on appearances. Does it mean that we appreciate quality, or that we want to portray success at the expense of our other financial needs?
Rough question.
May 12th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
I am a white American and went to college, completed a General Motors internship and later and worked for GM for almost 10 years. I have NO sympathy for the American Car industry. I hope it goes out of business and they stop taking my tax dollars to subsidize crappy Obamamobiles. They lied to me, broke union contracts for new younger workers. Implemented “tier based” wage systems. They discriminated against me with diversity, multi-culturalism and affirmative action programs so I could not get promotions based upon my higher skill levels. **** GM, Ford and Chrysler. And best yet **** Obama! When America falls like every other socialist country I will move to the orient and live like a king with capitalism!
(edited by siteowner)