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~ ,., . ---- -·---- - - ···· ------··· -- --------3 - '1.si11es§ to Sotve r ties~ 1·1s:, (~;, 200 11siness1111e11 Hea1~ k!.- ; 1 '· 0 ,, e By ALEX COFFIN More tha n 200 top businessmen . most of them from the Soulh casl, gath ered i11 Atl,mta \\'edr.esday and generally agreed that it's simply good business to expand job oppor unities and help soi·,e urban problems. . The rc·gional conference- busi·11 e:ss . rnU er th an "soci al wcJfore' ' or ienled- wns held at the American Motor Hotel by the Nation al lJrh:in Coali tion in coopc rali on with the At l anta C 1amb~r of Commerce and city government. A slide presentation, speeches a:-od vorks 10µ di scussion cen;('red on the words of the keynote speaker , Gerald L. Phil;ippr. cha irman of the board of General -E! ectric Co., who sa id: ' 'Wh :, t th i.s situation boi ls down to is that at a tim e when '.n :si ne~s sees a wide need for a

n.ore effective lnbor force , the

urbnn labor market will provide us with less than ever in te1111s of quality and quantity." "The cities are going to be his principal market plac e, and, more importantly, the prime source of his labor supply." Rod ney Austin , personnel man;:iger for Reynolds 'l'ob acco Co., sa id. "'l'he point of the Urban Coalition is that you can ch ange thin gs." But, Austin, warned . business should "clea n up, el im ina te dtipl icat.ion, then fill lhe gaps." in the fielcl of employment. Austi n, who headed one of l~e works liop discussions. told of Winston-Salem , N.C. Mayor M. C. Benton's w:ging the bu siness -comm unity to be informed real istically concerned. commi tted ::i nd massive ly involved. Phi l! ippe said it this way : The Urban Coalition " is tryi;1g to see if it can generate more act ion at all levels of the business· community - some- thing tantamount to a national head of steam - to try and turn this ghetto situation around. "If we businessmen are not goi ng to take major role in tackli ng, and eventually solving, -the problems in our cities, then who will? The freq uently hea rd problem of gelling the jobs and t he people together got a full airi ng. Also, the problem of the underemployed. Phillippe said th at effective program must be geared lo the ghetto, even the neighborhood in the ghett.o. And, he said, re;il work opportunities mus.t be provided. "What we should offer is a ha nd-up, not a hand-out," he said. New hiring techniques and practices must be used-taking into consideration the prior experiences and present a t.Litudes of t.he urb an dweller of today, Phillippe said. Dr. Lawrence D. Reddick, executive directo r of Opportunities Industria lization Center Institute in Philadelphia, sa id earlier in the day that employers must be concerned w it h .those unemployed who have given up looki ng, those who work full lime for part-time pay ·and those who work parttime but want to work full time. , Skills that are marketable · must be provided, Reddick said. In some cases, James J. Forti1 of General Electric, said, 1 fL11ns can lessen skill requirements bec ause of recent technological advances. "Also, the Some 2.50 business leaders are Gerald L. Phillippe, chairman skill of the worker can be inexpected at a regional National of the board of General E lectric creased," he added. Urban Coalition job conference Co., at the luncheon. The morning workshops feaon various ph asos nt the Americ::,n Motor Hotel of Workshops lurcr! a fil m prepared by I.he Atemployment opportunity will lanta Chamber of Commerce, Wednesday. be held at morning and afterAtlnnta city government, the The major address will be by noon sessions. Community Council of the Atlanta Area and Economic Opportunity Allanta. The film poi nted lo the paradox of the existence here of "jobs needing p e op I e" and "people needing jobs." . And while while-collar jobs will increase greatly in the years to come, the ·great in- ' crease in the central city popula tion will be among lhe unqualified. "Unemployment can s top growth in its tr a c ks" and 1 "strengthen the market by de- I creasing the tax drain" were · other poi nts made by th e film. ! Severa l expressed concern that not enoug h businessmen involved th emse lves in the operation of the schools-who supply the "most important raw material. accord ing to Eugene Rowen, adm ini strative director of Pla ns for Progress. "They (businessmen) r emain aloof and allow what they wouldn't from other suppliers." Association of JVfanufacturers, r "Alte_nding conferences is not William Flynn, director of t.he warned those in attendance a substitute fo r action followmg STEP program of the Natioilal earlier in the day: . · the conference." Urban Tall{s to ra v ( 1 .- · 25 r/ , / -- / ·/ The National Urban Coalition was formed last fa ll to serve as a sl1pcr lobby fot w·1, a11 tire:.is and to inform 1.hc pub! ic ;ihou,1 w·ban problems. Mayor Ivan Allen fo rmed a local coalition a few weeks ago. I I �