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ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY ATLANTA, INC. 101 MARIETTA STREET BLDG. ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30303 525-4262 C, 0, EMMERICH A0MINl5TRATOR December 30, 1966 CONFIDENTIAL Honorable Ivan Allen, Jr. Mayor of the City of Atlanta City Hall Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Dear Mayor Allen: As we reach the close of 1966, I would like to take this means of expressing my appreciation for the leadership you are giving to Atlanta and for the help and encouragement you have extended to EOA in its effort to fight poverty. I sometimes feel that you have a thankless and lonely job, but when you measure the effect in making Atlantg a great city, I am sure that you are pleased. Please permit me to point out a real problem which might be better solved without fund allocations. We have noticed many ads in our local papers seeking employees and at the same time, the city does have a small degree of unemployment and perhaps a large degree of under employment. Much is being done to correct this problem and for this we are all grateful. However, I would like to encourage you to call on your staff and department heads to help offer part of the solution to the real problem. I believe it could be done b y presenting four suggestions for their review and action. Satisfactory employment is considered by many as the best tool in fighting poverty. "The United States must learn to make better use of (1) unskilled workers, (2) older persons, (3) women, and (4) the mentally retarded, if economic growth is to continue;" says Commerce Secretary John T . Connor . �Mayor Allen - 2 - December 30, 1966 If the City Administration (the department heads and personnel officer) could keep in mind the employment facet of our local problem, much might be accomplished. As an e x ample, you might wish to suggest four avenues or approaches which the department heads could consider: Number 1. A greater use of Negro employees in all levels of each of the cities services. Statistics show that Atlanta cannot erase its poverty until the manpower pool of Negro men and women can share equal employment opportunities in both private and Federal agencies. I am aware much h a s already been done by some of the departments; however, this is not enough, if we are going to erase poverty in our city. According to the 1966 Human Resources Survey in Atlanta's low income areas, 83% of the available labor force are Negroes; 65% of the , labor force are Negro Women. Number 2 . The lowering of job qualifications in at leas t six percent of the jobs in most of the city departments would allow many presently unqualified individuals to enter the city services. In order to insure success, department heads would most likely find it necessary to provide on-the- job training or some form of in-service train ing for this group of employ ees . Continued success would demand that these jobs not be dead end jobs . 1. Based on the recent Human Resources Survey 25% of Negro males and 26% of Negro females h a v e le s s than a Gramma r Sch ool Edu cation. 2. 64% or 2/3 of the Negroes su r vey ed h a d n ot c omp le t e d High School. Numbe r 3. A gr e a t u s e of n o npro f e ssio n al s as assistants to pro fessi o na l s in all areas o f the city s e r vice wo uld certainly h e lp us to place many d e servi ng Atlantans in our city emp l oyme nt . While this is not a new c onc e pt, since it has b een tried by both private �Mayor Allen - 3 - December 30, 1966 and by city departments, it has not yet been accepted to the point which we can expect the desired results. EOA has employed over 300 such workers, and we are happy to report that our results have been most gratifying, and we think most successful. 1. 83% of Negro females who reported earnings in the Human Resources Survey earned less than $3,000.00. 2. 56% of Negro men who reported earnings earned less than $3,000.00. Number 4. A greater employment of women, especially Negro women, would be most helpful to Atlanta's War on Poverty. Without this effort, Atlanta's program will be unsuccessful. 1. 2/3 of all applicants visiting the Neighborhood Centers for employment assistance were females. 2. Of those surveyed in the Atlanta Human Resources Survey, women made up 89"/4 of the available labor market. Negro women made up 65% of this available work force. Frankly, I cannot tell you how to get these four things done , but I feel certain if top administration of the city will support these four suggestions , they will be agreeably surprised h ow middle management will be able to augment these ideas and mak e them wor k. Th e reason EOA would lik e to see these ide as put i nto p r act i c e is b eca use i t does n ot add to our cost of fig h ting pov e rty, b ut i t offers a r eal s olution to many of our disadv antaged . I f EOA c an be o f h e lp in ref er ring ind i v i d uals t o th e empl oy ment o ffic e , we will b e glad t o ass i st . S i nce r e ly y o urs , C . O. Emmerich COE/np �