Bing

Detroit’s largest union, Michigan Council 25 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), has withdrawn its endorsement of Mayor David Bing for reelection. The organization will be supporting Tom Barrow, an accountant, instead.

“This decision is not based exclusively on the position the city has taken at the bargaining table,” said Albert Garrett, president of Michigan Council 25 of AFSCME, at a news conference Friday. “He promised to citizens that he was going to bring change and real solutions to real problems, but we have yet to see any instance where he brought an innovative approach.”

Garrett also noted Bing’s plans to decrease bus routes, privatize tax collections, and contract out the city’s payroll.

CEO of The Bing Group (No. 33 on the B.E. Industrial/Service Companies list with $130 million in revenues), Bing has been battling with the union over his plans to balance the city’s $300 million deficit by laying off more than 1,000 city workers. Bing also is asking workers to accept a 10% pay cut and give up benefits.

Michigan Council 25 represents more than 90,000 public workers across the state. AFSCME International represents 1.4 million public workers nationwide.

A retired NBA player, Bing came into office after defeating interim Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr. in May. He now holds court in a city where the local economy is reeling from the struggles of a fallen auto industry, with an unemployment rate at 17.7% in July. He is completing the remainder of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s term after a sex scandal and perjury trial led to Kilpatrick’s resignation.

Along with Barrow, Bing faces write-in candidate Jerroll Sanders, in the Nov. 3 election.

–Janell Hazelwood

Black/White Wage Gap Shrinks, But Remains High

The black/white wage gap shrank by 10.8% in the first two quarters of 2009 compared with a decade ago, according to a new report.

“When the employment market is really good then the wage gaps narrow, but when we’ve had a very bad labor market like in the last years, then it is not as good for those groups that are disadvantaged,” says David Finegold, dean of the Rutgers’ University’s School of Management and Labor Relations, which released the report Monday.

As of August 2009, the current unemployment rate stands at 9.7% nationally and full-time black and Hispanic workers earn 21.5% and 27.5% less than white workers, respectively. However, the respective gaps were 24.1% and 34.1% a decade ago.

In addition, while the black/white wage gap has increased by 7.9% in the past year, the Hispanic/white wage gap grew by only 0.8%.

“A rise in the real level of the minimum wage—which has been fairly robust over the last few years– can be a big benefit in closing the gap at the lower end of the earnings distribution,” says Finegold. The current federal minimum wage is now $7.25 an hour, or 9% percent higher than in 1999 after adjusting for inflation. Finegold added that enforcement of laws against unfair labor practices, like the Lilly Ledbetter Act of 2009, which fights pay discrimination, will have a beneficial effect on the wage gap for women and minorities.

The report also tracked inflation-adjusted earnings for all wage and salary workers, and included information about worker access to employment-sponsored retirement plans, health insurance, and bonus and performance related pay.

–Marcia Wade Talbert

Ross Flags Inks Deal to Distribute MLK Flags

King

Dwayne and Maria Ross have successfully accomplished a task few businesses have been able to do: The couple has inked a deal with Intellectual Properties Management Inc., the exclusive licensor of the Martin Luther King Jr. estate, to manufacture and distribute a flag that carries the slain civil rights leader’s image.

“We’re only a handful of organizations licensed to use King’s image,” said Lori Ross, the couple’s sister-in-law and chief operations officer at Ross Flags and Design L.L.C.

The company initially applied for and was granted a temporary license in 2008, after being rejected years earlier. Having generated $63,000 in revenue after selling 2,000 flags, “IPM extended the licensing agreement for five years because we exceeded expectations,” Lori said.

The company projects revenue to reach $179,000 for its 2009-2010 fiscal year. Flag prices range between $34.99 and $139.99.

While the Rosses are working to get the flags distributed in retailers nationwide, they’ve found success selling the product at African American museums, and historically black colleges and universities, including Howard University and Florida A&M University.

“This flag is a constant visual reminder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision,” said company president, Maria Ross.  If we are to continue moving forward, we must go back and rediscover that Dr. King’s dedication to justice, peace, and brotherhood lies within each of us.”

The company is also looking into inking licensing deals to distribute flags with civil rights leaders of different ethnicities.

– Renita Burns

As the African American unemployment rate hovers significantly higher than that of whites, a study released by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) indicates a reversal of fortune when it comes to economic gains made by African Americans in the early 2000s.

From the first quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2009, black workers 25 to 54 years old experienced a 3.7% decline, or a $23 drop, in median weekly wages. Conversely, whites and Latinos experienced increases, with Asians seeing the largest gains, 5.5%, in median weekly wages over the same period.

“One factor that’s probably at work is a significant decline in the amount of hours blacks are working,” says Algernon Austin, a sociologist at the EPI who conducted the research. Austin says that while all racial groups may experience a reduction in hours worked, blacks may be affected disproportionately. “Across many industries we see job losses, and across all education levels we see high rates of job losses. Even blacks who are relatively high earners are probably seeing a reduction in the number of hours worked.”

The decline in wages and ultimately wealth does not bode well as blacks seek to grapple with consequences of the current recession. Jobs and wage losses are leading causes of poverty which can impact communities for generations.

“Children who are raised in poverty are more likely to do poorly in school and more likely to be involved in crime,” Austin says. “Over the long run they’re much less productive in society as a whole.”

While there is no quick fix, Austin says a rapid creation of jobs is likely to help reverse the trend. “If we can reverse the unemployment trend rapidly for blacks, there’s a chance you would also reverse the wage trend.”

– Renita Burns

McDonald’s Honors Exemplary Leaders at 365Black Awards

Graves

Among the honorees were Black Enterprise publisher Earl G. Graves Sr.; CNN journalist Soledad O’Brien; NBA veteran and philanthropist Alonzo Mourning; House Majority Whip and Congressman James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.); and McDonald’s owner and operator, Frank E. Mason.

“This year’s McDonald’s 365Black Awards recipients are revolutionizing what it means to be a leader in America. They are accomplished people of tremendous influence, committed to community service, and they have a vision that transcends this current generation,” said Neil Golden, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at McDonald’s USA. “They inspire all of us with their leadership in areas that touch our lives.”

Celebrities and dignitaries from across the country joined event’s host Tom Joyner, nationally syndicated radio personality and one of the first recipients of the 365Black Award, to recognize the accomplishments of the honorees.

The 365Black Awards were launched in 2002 and are part of McDonald’s 365Black initiative, created to celebrate the pride, heritage, and achievements of African Americans. McDonald’s outreach under the 365Black platform includes its Website, as well as partnerships with organizations that provide opportunities for African Americans’ success.

–Janell Hazelwood

The United Negro College Fund and drug company Merck & Co. announced fellowship and scholarship awards that will be offered African American science students.

UNCF/Merck Initiative Awards More Fellowships, Scholarships

Taking a significant step to help increase the number of African Americans represented in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, the United Negro College Fund and pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. announced 37 fellowship and scholarship awards that will be offered African American science students.

Under the UNCF/Merck Science Initiative, 2009 fellows may receive awards ranging up to $25,000 for undergraduate scholarship recipients and up to $85,000 for post doctoral fellowships. The program also includes funding for the science departments at the fellows’ colleges and universities.

“What the Merck program demonstrates is that when a long-term investment is made and when an innovative program pursues young people vigorously,” said Michael L. Lomax, UNCF president and chief executive. “The results are remarkable.”

Minority and low-income students remain significantly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics–the STEM fields of study. Merck awarded UNCF a 10-year, $20 million grant in 1995, targeting students pursuing careers in biomedical research at the undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels. The initiative was renewed in 2006 to provide more than $13 million in additional funding through 2010.

The 15-year partnership has helped 516 minority students pursue careers in a wide range of disciplines, from biochemistry and microbiology, to pharmacology, neuroscience, biophysics, chemistry, and bioengineering.

“The experience in general was priceless. It was a critical component of my graduate studies,” says Marcus Jones, a 2003 graduate fellow in microbiology, who received his undergraduate degree from Southern University, an HBCU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. “It made me a higher caliber graduate student because I had my own funding and could control my research more by doing experiments I normally wouldn’t be able to do.”

Undergraduate fellows receive summer research internships at Merck Research Laboratories, where each fellow is paired with a mentor. Life and physical science students at all four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. are eligible to apply for the scholarship.

–Marcia A. Wade