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By Gribben
Capital News Service
LA SING - Michigan
workers are in the midst of a
change.
They are changing from
"rowers" to sailors", and how
cast they make the switch will
determine what course
Michigan's economic future will
take.
Michigan's manufacturing
industry has been likened to a
galley ship, where workers were
brought in just for their strong
backs to row, while those above
decided where the ship was to
1 go.
According to Doug Ross,
director of Michigan's Com­
rce Department, in order to
compete with Far Eastem and
Third World businesses, the
1
placements in gifted and
talented classes, while they are
more often classified as learning
disabled
The findings are based on
analysis of bi-annual data that
was published in 1986 by the
U.S. Department of
Education's Office for Civil
Rights.
The Coalition's study repor­
tedly projected the rates at
new economic Vessel must be a which students of different
sailboat races suffered various school
"Sailing involves a Crew, a penalties and received special
bunch of equals, who have a education referra I
clear idea of where they are These occurrences are star­
going. They have to understand tling considering that the 6.6
how the technology interacts mill' n Black students in public
with the environment; they have schools comprise only 16 per­
to be ... able to make decisions cent of the overall enrollment
as conditions chaage," he said Yet they receive 31 percent of
In an economy such as the corporal punishment. By
Michigan's where half a million contrast, white students, who -
workers are employed in ' makeup 70 percent of students, By Do Henze
manufacturing firms.ofbetween receive only 60 percent of the Capisal News Service
220 and 500 emp yees, com- corporal punishment. l.A SING - Secretary of
petition is the key to survival. this world that is as basic as State' Richard Austin thinks
And to remain competitive in going from an agr cultural s �ty belts are important - so
the new global market, finding society to a manufacturing much so that he wants to start
newer, cheaper ways of doing .society, Ross said pulling motorists over for not
things isessential, wearing them.
"We ,are going through a A REVOLUTIO Austin is not tisfied with
basic economic revolution in "We are going from an in- the current law, which lets
15 du trial ty 0' . forma- . -police offi rs c e be less
dJiivers who have been pulled
over for some other offense.
Instead, he . calling upon
the Legislature to make the of­
fense a "primary" one - mean­
ing drivers without seatbelts
could be ticketed for that of­
fens alone.
"I'm not certain that we could
get it through the Legislature at
,COD� P 15
counterparts, according to a
report released by the National
Coalition of Advocates for Stu­
dents (NCAS), a Boston-based
student advocacy organization.
The report also revealed that
Black youths account for fewer
ByS' Reed· II
NNPA Conupondmt
African American students
are more than twice as likely to
be disciplined in public schools
and subjected to harsher
punishment that their white
\ ---'----------------------
tion society.
has begun to e the tad to a
new economic course, Ross
contends tha the biggest
obstacle facing ufacturers is
not one of capita or technology,
but in the psy ology f the
worker.
"We are s pe ding cl se to
half-a-billion d Uars a year
helping people adjust and
adapt, " he said '
Ross said that Michigan
companies produce as m ch in
the way of �ufactuied goods
as they did in 1979, but they do
, it with 200,000 fewer workers.
"We have been substituting
new equipment and more
skilled jobs for the unskilled
ones," he aid "Because if you
do it with unskilled peop , you
can't do it competitively -
there's someone in Brazil who
will do it for a buck.
'Education and increased
employee involvement in busi­
ness ventures are as equally im­
portant as capital investment,
Ross said
"The only competitive ad­
vantage w have in an advanced
economy is to do things that can
Continued 0 P 15
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