Making a Precious Commitment
General Motors, Hughes and others get in the Rebuild L.A. spirit
These have not been the best of times for General Motors Corp. and its Hughes Aircraft subsidiary. Yet despite serious economic declines in the auto and defense industries, the two corporations this week made a significant, long-term commitment to help rebuild Los Angeles’ riot zones.
GM and Hughes promise to spend $18 million in and around the impacted areas over the next five years. Hughes will boost to $15 million its purchases of goods and services from minority suppliers or subcontractors in and around depressed inner-city areas. That commitment should translate into jobs, the key to revitalization.
Hughes also plans to relocate a business unit to the riot area. Although corporate executives have not identified which unit will be moved, they have determined that the relocation will result in 50 permanent jobs in the inner city. That is not many, but this major company’s action offers hope that other companies will follow suit.
Other corporate good citizens also are making long-term commitments by depositing money in three black-owned financial institutions--Founders National Bank, Family Savings Bank and Broadway Federal Savings & Loan. Personal commitment too has made a difference: Churches in the black community and African-American professionals are kicking in with large deposits. In June, deposits at the three financial institutions totaled more than $5 million, five times higher than the monthly average.
The growth in deposits could lead to more business development and real estate purchases in minority neighborhoods; it could translate into more loans for minority entrepreneurs, which in turn would mean work for people whose jobs were burned out from under them.
Decent jobs encourage stable families and homeownership and offer a greater stake in the community. Thousands of work opportunities are needed in a time when economic uncertainty is erecting barriers to employment growth. But even in the face of these barriers, Rebuild L.A., under the leadership of Peter V. Ueberroth, is nurturing financial deals that promise to contribute to the rebirth of Los Angeles.
