The mailing inviting more people to endorse the statement "THE SULLIVAN PRINCIPLES: NO CURE FOR APARTHEID," which is to be released in January. Within the last month, the Ford Motor Co. plant in Port Elizabeth, whose parent body is a signer of the Sullivan code of conduct, has fired virtually all of its black employees for going on strike, in spite of their union membership. Negotiations with the United Automobile, Rubber and Allied Workers never really occurred. Trade union recognition is one of the points emphasized in an amplification of the Principles issued by Rev. Sullivan last year. The fact that Ford took this action and then replaced the fired workers by drawing upon the vast pool of...
The mailing inviting more people to endorse the statement "THE SULLIVAN PRINCIPLES: NO CURE FOR APARTHEID," which is to be released in January. Within the last month, the Ford Motor Co. plant in Port Elizabeth, whose parent body is a signer of the Sullivan code of conduct, has fired virtually all of its black employees for going on strike, in spite of their union membership. Negotiations with the United Automobile, Rubber and Allied Workers never really occurred. Trade union recognition is one of the points emphasized in an amplification of the Principles issued by Rev. Sullivan last year. The fact that Ford took this action and then replaced the fired workers by drawing upon the vast pool of black unemployed in South Africa illustrates how companies which take advantage of the widescale repression and intimidation of black workers cannot be relied upon to encourage fair working conditions in South Africa. A code of conduct which allows a company to tout its endorsement of the principles after taking such action is certainly meaningless, even on its own terms. Initial signers of the statement are: Representative John Conyers, Jr.; Wyatt Tee Walker, Secretary-General International Freedom Mobilization; Frederick O'Neal, President, Associated Actors and Artists of America. M. William Howard, President, National Council of Churches; George M. Houser, American Committee on Africa; Randall Robinson, Executive Director, TransAfrica. Other endorses to date include: Mia Adjali, Women's Division, United Methodist Church; Isaac H. Bivens, Assistant General Secretary, African/European Affairs, Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church; Julian Bond, State Senator; Ramsey Clark, lawyer; Ruby Dee, Actress; James Farmer, Executive Director, Coalition of American Public Employees; Moe Foner, Executive Secretary, District 1199, National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees; Carlton B. Goodlett, National Black United Fund; Dick Gregory, Activist, Entertainer, Author; Donald Harrington, Senior Minister, The Community Church of New York; Charles R. Lawrence, President, House of Deputies, The General Convention, The Episcopal Church; Tilden J. LeMelle, Professor, Hunter College; William Lucy, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists; Canon Robert C.S. Powell, Director, African Office, National Council of Churches; William F. Schulz, Executive V.P., Unitarian Universalist Association; Ann Seidman, Professor, Clark University; Jacob Sheinkman, Secretary-Treasurer Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union; Leon Shull, Americans for Democratic Action; Hope R. Stevens, Co-Chairperson, National Conference of Black Lawyers; Percy E. Sutton, Chairman, Inner City Broadcasting Corp.; and Richard E. Ullrich, Coordinator, Office of Justice and Peace, The Marianists (New York Province). [Note: The three-page document, with all signatures, is on this website.]
