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VOLUME 16 N 0.803
Migfest Lelehritionis Fimily Afdiv
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VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE SHAKES HANDS WITH ALEXIS HE after Herman was in
as secretary of labor during a re-enactment Friday, May 9, 1997, in Washington. Herman’s
nieces, Angelica Broads, left, and Chioma (Chi-Chi) lwuoha, look on. (AP Photo/Reggie Pearman) .
Herman learned honor,
BY Kevin Galvin
ASSOCIATED PRESS Writer
WASHINGTON
(AP) Anyone who thought the
bruising confirmation process
would discourage Alexis Herman
from becoming labor secretary
knew nothing about the lessons
of honor and perseverance she
learned from her father. :
They forgot that he sued to
integrate the Democratic Party
in Alabama, and later became the
state’s first black ward leader.
They never heard about the
night he put a pistol in his young
daughter’shands and stepped out
of the car to confront the Ku Klux
Klan.
“He taught me that you have to
face adversity. He taught me to
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ngh\eflopnfim Augusta, South Carolina and the Central Savannah River Area
stand by my principles,” Herman
said. “He also taught me how to
work within the system for
change.”
After four months of political
obstacles and questions about her
professional conduct at the White
House, Herman handily won Sen
ate confirmation last month.
Now the 49-year-old Herman is
not just working within the sys
tem; she has the corner office.
“There’san old saying that man
agersdothingsright and that lead
ers do the right thing,” Vice Presi
dent Al Gore said at Herman’s
swearing in ceremony today. “It is
a distinct honor and wonderful
privilege to be able to administer
the oath of office to a woman who
for her entire life has done both.”
The nation’s new labor secre
Sales growth of top
black businessesslows
B The pullback of
affirmative action and
minority set-asides
created hostile business
1 environment for black
‘'owned companies.
By Maggie jackson
AP BUSINESS Writer
NEW YORK
The pace of growth for top black
owned W slowed ooq;id
enbly a anmuad a
tion and economic difficulties,
Black Enterprise magazine re-
Sales for the top g;hck-ownad
companies .75 percent to
$14.1 bmio;ol.n::_t year —b. fifth
straight f growth but
capuselon rate that fel short of
m-w annual listing of the top
MAY 15-21, 1997
tary was praised by business lead
ers for her efforts on behalf of
free trade and has won support
from union chiefswho had backed
another candidate for the job.
She is a former civil rights ac
tivist who served in the Carter
administration, and a skilled po
litical operative who was deputy |
to the late Ron Brown at the
Democratic National Committee.
As a former business owner, she
knows what it takes to meet a
payroll. :
“Herein the jabor department,
I’'mable to bring to bear my work
on the inside and my work on the
outside,” she said. “In this job, it
all comes together, and that’s why
I'm really excited.”
See HERMAN, page 5
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100 black-owned industrial and
service firms and top 100 auto
dealerships.
“A lot of the hostile business
environment we're seeing is due
to the pullback of affirmative ac
tion and minority set-aside pro
grams, which affect ma?er busi
nesses to a larger extent,” manag
ing editor Matthew Scott said in
an interview. S
Downsizing other cost-cut
ting efforts by Fortune 500 firms
also “means less opportunity for
School planner
has sweet deal
Bl Doing business with the Richmond County School
System has netted system planner Kelley Carey some
$82,000 so far in the first four months of the year. Can
other professionals get in on the cash grab? No way. Year
in and year out, the service is not up for bid.
By Miranda Gastiabure
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
Have you ever pondered what
kind of job it would take to get rich
in a year? Working as a part of the
Board of Education paid profes
sional staff seems to be the ticket.
Kelley Carey, system planner for
the Richmond County Board of
Education, has already been paid
over $82,000 since January of 1997.
As a paid professional position,
however, the job is not bid out
each year to give other qualified
Federal toxic-waste experts
conduct tests in Hyde Park area
By Tawana lee
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
ditches and digging in road em
bankments in the area near the
beleaguered Hyde Park subdivi
sion this week were collecting
samples to test for hazardous
wastes in the soil and water. Resi
dents and community activists are
hoping the samples, once tested,
will reveal the level of toxicity
needed to classify the area as a
national hazard.
The residents are used to this
type of activity. This is the first
See POLLUTION, page 3
smaller businesses,” he said. Most
of the country’s 621,000 black
ownedbusinesses, includingmany
on the Black Enterprise list, are
small.
But Scott said the magazine is
optimistic. “We fully expect that
the firms will find new ways to
increase their revenues” he said.
Companies on Fortune and
Forbes magazines’ annual lists also
showed aslowingin sales last year,
but the change was less than at
black-owned businesses.
Fortune 500 and Forbes 500
companies had an 8.3 percent rise
in sales last year, down from the
9.9 percent growth of Fortune com
panies and 10 percent growth reg
istered by Forbes companiesayear
earlier.
Black business leaders share
considerable concern about the
national backlash against affirma
tive action and set-aside programs,
in which a certain portion of a
contract is given to a minority
"z an African-American
businessperson who believesit’s a
See BLACK BUSINESS, page 2
individuals a chance at the high
income earned by Carey. Accord
ing to School Board superinten
dent Charles Larke, “Professional
services are not bid out. The only
time there would be a change in
the professional ‘staff” is if the
board was no longer satisfied with
a person’s performance. Then we
would terminate that person and
interview new professionals to fill
the position.”
Over the past ten years, Carey
has made nearly $1 million.(For
See SCHOOL, page 3
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EPA agents John McKeown (L) and John Nolen (R) review
neighborhood map with resident Arthur Smith. Photo by Tawana Lee
THE LOCAL ECONOMY
4
SRS job cuts;
500 face the axe
B The first of a
planned 1,500-
worker reduction
begins this week.
Affected workers
will be let go on
July 19.
AINEN, S.C.
Beginning Thursday
(May 15), some 500 Sa
vannah River Site em
ployees will begin receiv
ing 60-day involuntary
Thew’initintuthafim
phase’ of the revised
workforce restructuring
that féur days would be
Westinghouse Savannah
River Company and its
partners affected by the
reduction in force would
continued to be employed
Fiscal Year
1989 $ 76,697.00
1990 101,120.13
1991 75,257.00
1992 6848347 Source:
1993 89,625.97 Richmond
1994 64,95124 Countyßoard
1995 100,132.86 of Education
1996 89,478.65
1997 82,836.83 -
Total: $745,583.15
Yearly Avg: 82,000.00 -
until about July 19.
Terminated employees
will have access to the
SRS Resource Center in
Aiken where they can
have immediate assis
tance in seeking new em
ployment. Affected em
ployees are to receive 60-
days pay (providing they
are not re-employed dur
ingthat time) and the sev
erance pay and benefits
for which they are quali
fied.
In all, some 1,500 posi
tions through the end of
FY 1998, will be elimi
nated by the end of the
third phase. Positions af
fected in the first phase
were determined by effi
ciency initiatives and job
scope reductions. :
Notifications for Phase
two and three are ex
pected later this year, ac
cording to Site officials.
Up to an additional 500
employees could be as-
See SRS, page 2
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