photo by steed media service

It’s not that the 3,000 employees whose jobs were saved should perform cartwheels and throw a ticker-tape parade for Rainbow/PUSH. However, those 3,000 employees, who work for eight minority suppliers, should be profusely thankful that the Rev. Jesse Jackson helped to save their livelihoods, the result of intense and meticulous negotiations. Their job security is one of the more visible and positive examples of why the Detroit Automotive Symposium exists.

“Just this past year, eight of our suppliers — who employ over 3,000 people that were on their way out — were able to stay in business. We were able to negotiate with GM and save each of those businesses and employees with jobs,” Jackson stated at the eighth annual conference in Detroit. “With equal access to capital and technology, we have shown that we are able. It has never been a talent deficit. [It] was, and is, an opportunity deficit. So if we fight together, we will prevail.”

The Detroit Automotive Symposium convenes annually at the Detroit Yacht Club for an exchange of ideas between car manufacturers, minority dealers, suppliers, employees and industry experts. Attendees say its existence has been particularly meaningful in light of the storm clouds of uncertainty hovering over the auto industry. Jackson said African Americans can help stave off further economic and job market deterioration by patronizing our own — much the way other ethnicities have always done.

“We can go out of our way to buy cars from each other and fight to supply for each other. And then we can use our own lawyers and ad agencies. We can coordinate our efforts. And when we cross-fertilize, we can build the foundation for an economic rebirth. And when we do, we have the multiplier effect,” says Jackson. Learn more about the Symposium by logging onto www.rainbowpush.org. - terry shropshire

Learn more about the Symposium by logging onto www.rainbowpush.org.

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