Black Leaders Convene Economic Summit

Roughly 50 senior black labor leaders, intellectuals and policy experts from Harvard and across the nation will convene beginning today for the African American can Labor Leaders' Economic Summit.

The conference, which will focus primarily on economic issues facing the nation's minority community, is hosted by the Harvard Trade Union program, and will run through Saturday.

"It will be a big a success, I think, if everyone goes away with just one new idea--if we come away thinking [the labor leaders] have ideas and knowledge and can contribute, and they go away thinking that we are not all a bunch of ivory tower characters," said Ascherman Professor of Economics Richard B. Freeman, one of the summit's organizers.

Harvard's Afro-American studies department, the Institute of Politics, and two organization of black trade unionists--the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) and the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI)--are co-sponsoring the event.

The summit opens tonight with a welcome dinner at the Faculty Club. Conferences begin tomorrow.

The centerpiece of the summit, a debate open to the public entitled "Has Globalization Gone Too Far?" will begin tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. in the Weiner Auditorium at the Kennedy School.

Hariri Professor of International Political Economy Dani Rodrik '79 said he was looking for "balance" in the debates.

"I hope that we will go beyond the extremes and be constructive in ways that we can improve the international economic system to benefit labor as well as other groups," said Rodrik, who has authored the book Has Globalization Gone TooFar?.

Throughout the conference academics and laborleaders will present their positions on the stateof the economy.

Elaine Bernard, executive director of HTUP,emphasized the importance of such a dialogue.

"Labor leaders have real knowledge tocontribute," Bernard said. "They should be part ofthe discussion on public policy."

"[Labor leaders] also recognize thatinstitutions of higher learning like Harvard playan important part in public policy analysis andidea generation. And so the labor leaders see itas an opportunity to bring some of their ideas andinsights and to broaden the discussion of publicpolicy at this institution," she said.

The majority of academics speaking during thesummit are from Harvard's economics andAfro-American studies departments. They includeGeyser University Professor William Julius Wilson,Freeman and Fletcher University Professor CornelR. West '74.

Labor leaders in attendance include WilliamLucy, President of CBTU and Secretary Treasurer ofthe American Federation of State, County andMunicipal Employees (AFSCME) and Norman S. Hill,president of APRI.

Both academics and labor leaders say they areeager to have a dialogue with one another.

"We hope there will be nice intellectualdiscourse between two groups of people. [The laborleaders] want an open dialogue with theintellectual or academic community, and theintellectual community--no offense tostudents--wants to meet with the real world,"Freeman said.

The conference will focus on economic issuesbecause "the major issues facing the AfricanAmerican community and the union movement todayare economic," Hill and Lucy said, noting that fewblack leaders outside the labor community havefocused on the realities of economic issues facingthe black community.

"As a result, we as a people continue on thesidelines in the debates on economic insecurity,the low wage economy, and international tradeissues," Hill and Lucy said.

Of the above issues, Lucy said he thinks "acentral thing in this conference is a focus on thelow wage workers" who are subject to unintendedconsequences of economic policy

Throughout the conference academics and laborleaders will present their positions on the stateof the economy.

Elaine Bernard, executive director of HTUP,emphasized the importance of such a dialogue.

"Labor leaders have real knowledge tocontribute," Bernard said. "They should be part ofthe discussion on public policy."

"[Labor leaders] also recognize thatinstitutions of higher learning like Harvard playan important part in public policy analysis andidea generation. And so the labor leaders see itas an opportunity to bring some of their ideas andinsights and to broaden the discussion of publicpolicy at this institution," she said.

The majority of academics speaking during thesummit are from Harvard's economics andAfro-American studies departments. They includeGeyser University Professor William Julius Wilson,Freeman and Fletcher University Professor CornelR. West '74.

Labor leaders in attendance include WilliamLucy, President of CBTU and Secretary Treasurer ofthe American Federation of State, County andMunicipal Employees (AFSCME) and Norman S. Hill,president of APRI.

Both academics and labor leaders say they areeager to have a dialogue with one another.

"We hope there will be nice intellectualdiscourse between two groups of people. [The laborleaders] want an open dialogue with theintellectual or academic community, and theintellectual community--no offense tostudents--wants to meet with the real world,"Freeman said.

The conference will focus on economic issuesbecause "the major issues facing the AfricanAmerican community and the union movement todayare economic," Hill and Lucy said, noting that fewblack leaders outside the labor community havefocused on the realities of economic issues facingthe black community.

"As a result, we as a people continue on thesidelines in the debates on economic insecurity,the low wage economy, and international tradeissues," Hill and Lucy said.

Of the above issues, Lucy said he thinks "acentral thing in this conference is a focus on thelow wage workers" who are subject to unintendedconsequences of economic policy