employment. The movement of blacks into skilled production work was particularly encouraging, but they continued to be excluded from the skilled trades: in 1971, none were employed among the respondent's 223 skilled craftsmen. The respondent's continued reliance on community training sources, most of which excluded blacks, effectively barred them from these classifications. Between 1969 and 1971 12 charges of discrimination based on race were filed against the respondent. promotion to supervisor: others challenged the use of a high school education requirement for nonproduction employment. Four of the 12 cases failed in pre-decision settlement efforts. The remainder were distributed among "no cause" findings, issuance of right-to-sue letters, and assign ment of settlement. In a 1971 evaluation of the conciliation and of the effectiveness of the Commission, the plant manager stated that .. the people down there [EEOC] have improved their approach. They have lost some of their arrogance. I have objected to the number of investigations with repeated requests for the same information. Of late there seems to be some preparation by the EEOC and effort to screen troublemaker cases. Investigators have handled specific cases without going into a prolonged investigation. I think the EEOC has matured. The respondent's efforts to improve minority employment, which began as early as 1958 when it opened all production jobs to bid, based on plant seniority, without regard to race, creed, or color, suggest that this firm valued its stance as an equal opportunity employer. Its participation in community programs designed to employ the disadvantaged and its efforts Successful to expand salaried employment of blacks reinforce this notion. conciliation merely resolved a personal issue and formalized an EEO program. Its direct effect upon black employment must be considered small. Some Perspectives on the Outcome of Conciliation The outcome of conciliation and its ability to alter employment opportunities of those whose choices have been limited by acts of discrimination is the product of a complex set of complementary and conflicting forces. The measures associated with success or failure of voluntary compliance efforts are often joined by an even larger set of factors in determining the impact of conciliation on minority employment where such The evidence presented in this chapter does not efforts are successful. carry the weight of scientifically designed samples or the specification of elaborate econometric models. Nevertheless, its findings, which provide insight and understanding of the compliance procedure, are supported by further analysis in the following chapter. The behavior of respondents strongly supports the proposition that settlement costs--monetary and nonmonetary--were important variables in determining the outcome of conciliation. Moreover, during the term of this study, the Commission and charging parties were usually unable to offset these costs with penalties for settlement failure. Economic Growth One cannot fail to be impressed, and still distressed, by the impact of aggregate economic policy on minority employment. Aggregate policy ultimately affects firms, and the firms in this study present distressing evidence of the sensitivity of minority employment to oscillation between goals of national growth and full employment on the one hand and price stability on the other. Even when strong counter measures could have resolved this conflict through comprehensive manpower programs to facilitate the development and flow of human resources between and within markets, it has failed to do so, at least to the point where the effect is demonstrable. Evidence is offered that the downturn of the national economy after 1969 enlarged the cost of settlement to respondents and thereby increased the resistance to settlement. The evidence is not overpowering, but it does show a decline in the relative number of successful conciliations during and after 1970 (Chapter 2). Diminishing growth of employment in this period opened fewer jobs to minority groups and enlarged the resistance of white incumbents to expanded employment and upgrading of minorities. Moreover, cost consciousness in periods of declining economic activity, particularly of smaller firms and larger firms in more competitive markets, prejudiced the attitude of these respondents toward settlement. Whatever net impact successful conciliation might have had on minority employment was systematically dissipated by a slackening economy. Agreements calling for expanded employment and upgrading of minorities were nullified by the lack of jobs during the downturn. In interview after interview (summer of 1971), respondents cited little hiring of any employees in the previous 12 months, and the number of positions created through turnover also diminished. The data from respondents speak for themselves in this respect. Where longitudinal case data were available in the rubber industry and in aerospace, the expansion of minority employment in toto and in salaried white-collar occupations was reduced sharply after 1969. However, a number of other variables of consequence emerge from case studies. Not the least of these are the expanding legal structure of Title VII and the administrative policies of the Commission as they |