minority members into he carpenter's union, but have also been able to keep them employed within the territories of our 43 carpenters local in the metropolitan area. I and all of our members, regardless of color or creed, look with hope that the outstanding leader Pete Brennan will be confirmed and become the Secretary of Labor of this great Nation.

STATEMENT OF CHESTER BROWN, VICE PRESIDENT, LOCAL 32J OF THE SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION, NEW YORK, N.Y.

Mr. BROWN. I am Chester Brown, vice president, Local 32J of the Service Employees International Union, which is located in New York City.

I would like to say right off that I am here on behalf of being a member of the Black Trade Unionists Committee under the auspices of the Central Labor Council of New York City, first. And, second, because my organiaztion and myself personally, are, and have been, a friend of Mr. Brennan for many years.

I would like to say in support of that that any problems, advicewise, which we needed, Mr. Brennan was there without fail, whether it was 5 or 6 o'clock in the morning, or whether it was 1 or 2 o'clock in the early morning.

As a member of the Black Trade Unionists Committee, on behalf of my colleagues, I, for one, cannot understand why anyone cannot understand that a man such as Peter Brennan coming from the field of labor would not make the finest Secretary of Labor that this country has ever known. I support his nomination wholeheartedly.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Brown. When did the city of New York withdraw from the so-called New York Plan? That was rather recent, was it not?

Mr. BURNELL. I understand it was last week.

The CHAIRMAN. I just read the press announcement of it. As I recall it, Mayor Lindsay's statement was equivocal and did not single out Mr. Brennan for condemnation. Do you recall the specific wording?

Mr. BURNELL. Not exactly. I understand a statement was made by him and maybe some of his supporters that it did not live up to expectation-I do not know-expectations that he thought it would, that is what I gathered.

I think the inference was from my recollection that it did not do the job that he thought it was going to do. Also the amount of money which the city was supposed to contribute to the plan never came out to much anyway. This was my thinking.

The CHAIRMAN. One of its failures was that it did not have the resources to do the job. You mentioned Federal money.

Mr. BURNELL. Federal money was one, and there was so much financial input they were supposed to put into it, and what I gather from the information I got, that is what the facts were.

The CHAIRMAN. What were these Federal and city moneys; were they for training programs? You mentioned a training center. Mr. BURNELL. If I am correct, this money was for some sort of a training program for those who lived in the neighborhood, actually

who had maybe some experience, maybe electrical or plumbing. Those who had minor experience, who could be trained over the years to become full journeymen, and from what I gather actually they were thinking about working this out, so that as a carpenter, plumber or electrician they would work on a certain site. I assume that the areas of opportunities there--in construction-maybe an electrician will be there 6 weeks, a carpenter will be there another 8 weeks, whatever it is, after they get finished with that they would shift them back to a center where they could pick up not only the motivation, maybe education, and get some of the tools they may need to move up from the apprenticeship level to become journeymen. I do not think money came forth. The Federal Government at one time I know turned them down. The CHAIRMAN. How long ago was that?

Mr. BURNELL. I think this is when it first started. Originally, the Federal Government turned them down or it started basically with New York State and started with the city combined to do this. I think the State held up their end-I know this-and they made an additional request for appropriations from the Federal Government. This is when it first started, maybe 1 or 2 years ago, and they were turned down by the Federal Government. I think the reason was that it was an institution or something like that. They went on with the participation, mostly I understand by the State, but the city did not participate, did not put in their full share as they were supposed to, and this is why this folded. I understand the city pulled out. Where it is now, I think, is just in flux. What makes it so important is you have about 480 men there now, and if they do not go through the training and you cannot train a journeyman 6 months or 8 months or 10 months-actually it takes a while to become a full-fledged journeyman-to do the things one has to do particularly in building construction trades, and I do not think these fellows have been there long enough.

I think by knocking out this sort of training, and the training really increases minority group participation; these fellows for one reason or another never had an opportunity to do this. It takes a while to become a full-fledged journeyman.

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Ealy, you are a carpenter.

Mr. EALY. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. What was your experience in getting into the carpenter's union?

Mr. EALY. Well, it was not easy getting into the carpenter's union, but I worked hard and I fought for it. In 1960 I was appointed for an unexpired term by the president of my local, and when the term was up I was elected, which was 12 years ago, and since then I have been elected constantly because I believe in helping people. I have had the cooperation of Mr. Brennan. I have gone to him on many occasions, and he has come to me on many occassions and said, "Get these people out and get them on jobs." I said, "Where is the job?" He said, "find some." I said, "you help me." I have worked very closely with him.

The CHAIRMAN. How many carpenters' locals are there in New York?

Mr. EALY. Approximately 43.

The CHAIRMAN. Where is yours located?

Mr. EALY. Well, I have a shop local, and I cover the five boroughs. I do not have any specific territory. I also have outside construction carpenters, too.

The CHAIRMAN. How large a local is it?

Mr. EALY. Approximately 600 members.

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Schweiker, do you have questions of these gentlemen?

Senator SCHWEIKER. No, Mr. Chairman, I do not. Thank you very much.

The CHAIRMAN. This testimony has been addressed to the situation of minority employment in construction trades in New York City. These men all have official positions, and they are union members,

local officers.

Thank you very much.

Our next witness is Clinton Deveaux, Americans for Democratic Action.

STATEMENT OF CLINTON DEVEAUX, VICE CHAIRMAN, AMERICANS FOR DEMOCRATIC ACTION, ACCOMPANIED BY LYNN PEARL,

LEGISLATIVE AIDE

Mr. DEVEAUX. My name is Clinton Deveaux. I am vice chairman of the Americans for Democratic Action, for whom I am testifying today. Seated beside me is Ms. Lynn Pearl, legislative aide of ADA.

Americans for Democratic Action recognizes the very real difference between Senate approval of a Supreme Court nominee and a Cabinet officer-designate. We recognize that the standards by which the Senate must judge these appointments differ widely, and ADA has rarely opposed a Cabinet nominee.

Furthermore, ADA would not oppose the confirmation of Mr. Peter Brennan if he were to be simply an adviser to the President. But as Secretary of Labor, Mr. Brennan would be more than an adviserthe responsibility for enforcing an Executive order which prohibits discrimination in minority hiring and the responsibility for enforcing a Federal statute which prohibits corruption in labor unions would be his.

In this capacity, ADA believes that Mr. Brennan is not qualified, on the merits of his past record, to be the enforcer of Federal law and we therefore oppose his Senate confirmation.

I would like to explore Mr. Brennan's past record as president of the Building and Construction Trades Council and as business agent for local 1456 of the painters union. The two areas which I shall discuss are minority discrimination within the construction industry and corruption within the construction industry.

The construction industry in New York long has been recognized as closed-not accessible to nonwhites.

The CHAIRMAN. May I ask you a question? When you say construction industry, do you refer to all of the trades that go into the construction industry?

Mr. DEVEAUX. I refer to the trades that would be included.

The CHAIRMAN. What are the trades that you include? Carpenters? Mr. DEVEAUX. There is a long list, yes; carpenters.

The CHAIRMAN. You know you are running directly counter to the last witness?

Mr. DEVEAUX. I recognize certain conflicts.

The CHAIRMAN. Your first statement says that these unions are not accessible. We have just had living proof that, as a broad statement, it is not supported by the facts.

Mr. DEVEAUX. I disagree, and I think the facts bear me out, and bear ADA out that when we talk about inaccessibility

The CHAIRMAN. If you are talking in relative terms, that is one thing. But you have just said absolutely they are not accessible to nonwhites. That is your overall statement. Would you care to clarify it?

Mr. DEVEAUX. I do not believe on the record it is an overstatement. I hope the rest of my testimony will bear me out.

At a time when minority unemployment equals that of the white. rate during the depression, at a time when minorities comprise 30 percent of the city population, members of minority groups constitute only about 10 percent of union membership in the skilled trades.

The workings of discrimination are often subtle, but as inexorable as any openhanded exclusion of minorities. Mr. Brennan began his service as president of the Building Trades Council in 1957; throughout the 1960's, locals under his leadership continued to establish arbitrary standards for entry into the skilled trades, standards clearly not based on objective criteria, which maintained a prior bias against blacks and Puerto Ricans. Whites, incidentally, had little to worry about. The majority of white journeymen gain entry to unions by what is commonly known as the "backdoor method"; sponsored by a friend or relative, these new members are not required to pass any tests or go through any programs.

Aptitude tests which were administered during Mr. Brennan's tenure were often discriminatory in effect because of cultural bias. In 1964, when a large percentage of blacks passed a test for prospective members of the Sheetmetal Workers Union, they were disqualified because their scores were deemed "improbable." The Civil Rights Bureau and the Division of Human Rights in the city succeeded in enjoining invalidation of these scores.

A flurry of antidiscrimination protest at this time caused Brennan to devise a "Referral Committee," which conceivably could have brought more minorities into the building trades. It interviewed several thousand men and the net result was almost negligible: 15 referrals.

Cases of legally defined discrimination during the 1960's were numerous. Mr. Brennan must have been aware that each local under his leadership which practiced a pattern of exclusion toward minorities was breaking not only Federal law, but also the city's administrative code, which prohibits any company doing business with the city from refusing to employ or to keep employed any person on account of race, creed, or color. I would like to cite just a few examples of action taken against locals within Brennan's industry during his tenure as president of the Building and Construction Trades Council:

In 1967, the State's Commission for Human Rights found two labor unions guilty of illegal discriminatory practice against blacks. It also stated that bias in the building industry itself was unchecked,

citing a persistent pattern of exclusion in a substantial portion of the industry.

If Mr. Brennan permitted a "pattern of exclusion" in his own industry to remain "unchecked," what will he do as Secretary of Labor?

In 1968, 26 city contracts and five public housing projects were held up by the city's contract compliance division and the city housing authority because there were no nonwhite journeymen in the Sheetmetal Workers Union. The union was brought to court and forced to accept blacks who had previously passed tests for apprenticeship programs with extremely high grades.

Should Mr. Brennan be confirmed, will gains in job equality be made only after bitter legal battles?

In November 1970, the Federal Government charged that Local 46 of the Wood, Wire and Metal Lathers International Union was making it difficult for black workers to get good jobs or good pay. Mr. Brennan was required to file a deposition with the U.S. district attorney. His response to charges of discrimination was evasive. Suggesting that one could not claim that a union was discriminating even though it had 100 percent white membership, he went on to say, "As far as I know, there has [sic] never been any charges proven against Local 46 for discriminating so I would assume I have to go on the basis they are not discriminating."

As Secretary of Labor, will Mr. Brennan affect the same lackadaisical attitude toward illegal discrimination?

While groups like the NAACP and others were launching an attack through the courts, public opinion against discrimination in the construction trades grew. Several ad hoc groups developed direct-action techniques, and more than one building site was closed temporarily by citizens in surrounding neighborhoods who became irate at the absence of blacks and Puerto Ricans in the building crews. Their logic was simple: They paid taxes on an equal footing and expected equality in employment opportunities. The record indicates that the only progress made in hiring minorities in the construction trades during the 1960's was a result of legal and extralegal confrontation, sometimes to the brink of open conflict.

I would like to read two quotes from human rights organizations, one from 1960, one from 1967:

In 1960, the New York State Division of Human Rights stated: "Both historically and currently Negroes have not been utilized by the industry in the skilled craft component of the labor force."

Seven years under Mr. Brennan's leadership produced the following statement from the New York City Commission on Human Rights: In 1967: "The statistics clearly indicate that since 1963 very little progress has been made in the admission of nonwhites to the different unions."

The participation of nonwhites in the skilled craft unions was about 3 percent as recently as 1968. In 1969, the Federal Government criticized the building industry for complete failure to integrate. The Government stated that President Johnson's Executive Order 11246 had not been implemented, illustrating its charge with statistics which showed the phenomenal growth of the building industry and a concomitant lack of minority representation.