Magazine Picks 35 Best Workplaces for Blacks

AT&T;, Exxon Corp., General Motors Corp. and the U.S. armed forces are among the best places for blacks to work, Black Enterprise magazine said Tuesday in a report based on the employers’ commitment to affirmative action and minority recruitment.

Earl G. Graves, the magazine’s editor and publisher, said the recent waves of corporate downsizing, takeovers and restructuring “have significantly impacted on the numbers of black employees and advancement opportunities for blacks in some companies.”

But, he added: “Our survey clearly indicates there are still many in the corporate community strongly committed to the creation of a workplace in which minorities can make solid professional contributions and gain positions of power and influence.

270 Employers Surveyed

“Our report also shows the impetus for strong affirmative action in corporate policy must come from the top down and be based on bottom-line incentives for managers to support these efforts,” Graves said.

To compile the list of 35 companies with the best affirmative action records, Black Enterprise said, it surveyed 270 employers on the number of minority professional and non-professional employees, compensation, minority recruitment, management training and employee development programs, minority vending opportunities and contributions to black organizations.

Others on the list include International Business Machines Corp., Avon Products Inc., Eastman Kodak Co., Ford Motor Co., Gannett Co., McDonald’s Corp. and Amtrak.

Role in Future

The magazine cited IBM because blacks make up 12.3% of its 3,850 managers; Avon for an in-house management training program; Kodak for its aggressive minority recruiting and minority scholarships; Ford for its leadership in the number of black-owned car dealerships; Gannett for rewarding managers for meeting affirmative action goals; McDonald’s for its career-development and training programs, and Amtrak for the “sharp teeth” of its affirmative action program.

Graves said minorities are expected to fill the employment rolls as the nation’s labor force shrinks.

“Companies that are now creating corporate cultures which include minorities will be better positioned to meet the challenges of domestic and international markets in the not-too-distant future,” he said.

The list is contained in the magazine’s February issue.

BEST FOR BLACKS

Listed alphabetically are the companies and government agencies where affirmative action and minority recruitment efforts are considered strongest by Black Enterprise magazine:

AT&T;, New York Amtrak, Washington Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis Atlantic Richfield, Los Angeles Avon Products, New York Chase Manhattan, New York Chrysler, Detroit Coca-Cola, Atlanta Adolph Coors, Golden, Colo. Eastman Kodak, Rochester, N.Y. Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, New York Exxon, New York Federal Express, Memphis, Tenn. Ford Motor, Detroit Gannett, Arlington, Va. General Mills, Minneapolis General Motors, Detroit Hallmark, Kansas City IBM, Armonk, N.Y. Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, N.J. Kellogg, Battle Creek, Mich. Kraft, Glenview, Ill. McDonald’s, Oak Brook, Ill. Merck, Rahway, N.J. North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance, Durham, N.C. J. C. Penney, Plano, Tex. Pepsico, Purchase, N.Y. Philip Morris, New York Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New York Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati Ryder System, Miami Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, New York Soft Sheen Products, Chicago U.S. armed forces, Washington Xerox, Stamford, Conn. Source: Associated Press