Wages, Race, Skills and Space: Lessons from Employers in Detroit's Auto Industry: Lessons from Employers in Detroit's Auto Industry (Contemporary Urban Affairs)

Susan Turner Meiklejohn's Wages, Race, Skills and Space: Lessons from Employers in Detroit's Auto Industry is an important study of wage and employment differences between blacks and whites in an urban economy. The book presents the results of a Detroit-based research endeavor which sought to understand the role of employer practices, geography, job skills, and the characteristics of workers in explaining economic disparities between black and white workers. Book Cover......Page 1 Half-Title......Page 2 Title......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Dedication......Page 6 Contents......Page 7 Series Editor’s Foreword......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 9 List of Tables......Page 10 Introduction......Page 11 CHAPTER 1 Study Rationale and Methodology......Page 18 THE AUTO PARTS SUPPLY INDUSTRY IN THE CITY OF DETROIT......Page 20 RELATION OF THIS STUDY TO THE WORK OF OTHER SIMILAR RESEARCH PROJECTS......Page 22 Number of Firms and Interviews......Page 23 THE SURVEY INSTRUMENT AND THE INTERVIEW PROCESS......Page 26 NOTES......Page 30 CHAPTER 2 Racial Segregation in the Detroit Metropolitan Area......Page 32 WHITE-OWNED DETROIT FIRMS: RATIONALE FOR THEIR CURRENT LOCATION......Page 38 DIRTY INDUSTRIES (TOXIC MATERIALS AND PROCESSES)......Page 39 WHITE-OWNED FIRMS: CONCERNS ABOUT IMAGE AND SAFETY......Page 41 Opportunities for Black Entrepreneurship: Decreased Land and Operating Costs......Page 45 What Respondents in Black-Owned Firms Think about Detroit......Page 46 esire to Leave Detroit .........Page 48 NOTES......Page 49 A SHIFT FROM MANUFACTURING TO SERVICE JOBS......Page 52 INCREASING RETURNS TO SKILL......Page 53 WAGES AND WORK EFFORT: EMPLOYMENT TRENDS AND DIFFERENTIALS......Page 54 How These Trends May Affect Black/White Economic Differentials......Page 55 STUDY FINDINGS: WAGES AND RACE IN DETROIT......Page 57 WHY WAGES MAY BE LOWER IN BLACK-OWNED FIRMS AND IN FIRMS THAT EMPLOY A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF BLACK WORKERS......Page 59 A Situation of Unequal Competition Among Black-Owned Firms......Page 60 The Context of Lower Wages in the City of Detroit......Page 61 A Surplus of African-American Workers in the City of Detroit and a Shortage of Jobs......Page 62 NOTES......Page 66 CHAPTER 5 Wages and Space......Page 68 SPATIAL MISMATCH THEORY......Page 69 Findings of Early Studies......Page 70 Later Findings......Page 71 Interview studies......Page 74 Conclusion: The Literature......Page 75 Employer Interview Findings: Spatial Factors......Page 76 Respondents’ Perceptions about the Treatment of African Americans in Detroit’s Suburbs......Page 77 White Employer’s Stories about Discrimination in the Suburbs of Detroit......Page 80 The Increased Cost of Car Ownership......Page 81 Poor Public Transportation Options......Page 82 Employer Views about Public Transportation......Page 83 SUBURBAN EMPLOYERS, TRANSPORTATION, AND DISCRIMINATORY HIRING PRACTICES......Page 85 Mash Inc. and Twain Industries......Page 87 Mushroom Plastics and Elizabeth Plastic Products......Page 89 Janis Snap and Tool and Lionel Plastics......Page 90 The Firm in Its Setting: Warren......Page 93 Relationships Between Black and White Employees......Page 94 Wages, Skills, and Worker Attitudes......Page 96 A 25 Percent Minority Workforce......Page 97 Recruitment and Minority Worker Representation......Page 98 Maintaining an Integrated Workforce......Page 99 Hammers and Crockett: Waterford......Page 100 Hammers and Crockett: Livonia......Page 102 Varying Employer Attitudes......Page 104 CONCLUSION: RACE AND SPACE......Page 105 NOTES......Page 106 CHAPTER 6 Race and Skills......Page 108 THE PROBLEM AS STATED IN THE LITERATURE: A SKILLS MISMATCH......Page 109 Demand-side Skill Changes: Are Skill Needs Increasing?......Page 111 The Inclusion of Floor Supervisors into the Interview Process......Page 114 Fewer Firms Report Changing Skill Requirements than Found in Previous Survey Efforts......Page 115 A Note About SPC and Other Quality Processes......Page 116 TELLITE FASTENERS, AND MORGAN STAMPING .........Page 118 Spatial Differences......Page 123 Black Respondents......Page 124 White Respondents......Page 128 Black-owned Firms......Page 131 White Respondents......Page 134 Conclusion: Perceived Racial and Locational Skill Differences between Blacks and Whites......Page 136 Lackawanna Chemical and Cannon Chemical......Page 138 Janis and Lionel......Page 142 Elizabeth Plastic Products and Mushroom Plastics......Page 147 Summary: Three High-paying Firms and Their Low-paying Matches......Page 151 CONCLUSION: RACE, LOCATION, AND SKILLS......Page 152 NOTES......Page 154 CHAPTER 7 The Persistence of Discrimination and Policy Recommendations......Page 158 EXISTING ANTIDISCRIMINATION POLICY AND ITS LIMITATIONS......Page 160 AN AUDIT METHODOLOGY TO ADDRESS HIRING DISCRIMINATION......Page 162 SKILLS......Page 163 NOTES......Page 164 APPENDIX A Sample Job Wages and Benefits......Page 166 APPENDIX B Perceived Skill Differences Between Black and White and City and Suburban Workers......Page 170 APPENDIX C Sample Job and Worker Skill Characteristics......Page 178 Bibliography......Page 186 Index......Page 196 This book describes findings of a survey-based qualitative research study conducted among Detroit employers in the auto industry to evaluate explanations for why blacks are no longer catching up with whites in terms of wages, income and employment. A key finding is the fact that black employers were more likely to hire black workers, but both black and white employers with largely black workforces pay significantly lower wages than employers with largely white workforces. This wage difference is the organizing element of subsequent study chapters that address locational considerations, differences in recruitment and hiring practices among firms and possible differences in skill requirements among black and white-owned firms, and/or differences in skill-related worker characteristics among employees. Annotation This qualitative study of wage and employment differences between blacks and whites seeks to explain the role of employer practices, geography, job skills, and characteristics of workers in producing economic disparities. Meiklejohn (no credentials noted) compares 13 black-owned firms and 13 white-owned firms, with similarities in technology, location, size, and products. She conducted 52 interviews at these companies, with CEOs and floor supervisors in contact with entry-level workers. She compares the hiring practices, wages, and levels of harassment that exist at the various companies. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Three decades after the enactment of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, racial discrimination in both housing and employment continues to be a major problem in the Unites States.