Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009

S.C. Black Caucus has questions for Boeing

South Carolina's Legislative Black Caucus wants to make sure that minorities have a fair and equal shot at the new jobs Boeing Co. is bringing to the Lowcountry, according to letter obtained by The Post and Courier on Monday.

Sen. Robert Ford, a Charleston Democrat and chairman of the caucus' Civil Rights and Affirmative Action Committee, wrote Boeing president Jim McNerney on Oct. 30 to ask for information about the company's hiring practices.

Ford, who is running for governor, represents Senate District 42, where Boeing's newly announced Dreamliner assembly line will be located. He included in the letter the racial makeup of his district and the greater Charleston area, which is 55 percent and 40 percent African-American, respectively, according to Ford. The overall black population statewide is 31 percent, Ford said.

"The African-American community has borne the brunt of the job displacement and as a result has been disproportionately affected," Ford wrote to McNerney about the recession's toll in South Carolina.

The caucus is requesting information about Boeing's job creation plans for the North Charleston facility, employment statistics company-wide for minorities and the breakdown of men and women employed at all Boeing facilities. The caucus also asked for Boeing's minorities contractor politics and procedures and requested meetings with Boeing leadership.

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