Preview

Exploitation Within the Us

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
913 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Exploitation Within the Us
In the case of Duke Power and Co. there is much evidence of biased exploitation in the workplace. Duke Power and Co, through various efforts infringed on the rights of its African American employees and persisted in using unfair practices to limit their ability to advance within the company. The act of paying African Americans significantly lower wages than their Caucasian counterparts in attempts to confine them to the labor department as well as administering exams which had no correlation to their job, reinforces the notion of exploitation . In which one party benefits over another by using an individual for selfish gain. Through the practices of acquity exams, and unfair wages, Duke Power and Co. exceeded in exploiting its African American workers.
Several arguments elaborate over the exploitative nature of Duke Power and Co. Throughout the 1960s-1970s; Duke Power and Co. led unfair labor practices. Duke Power significantly underpaid its African Americans employees and persisted in utilizing other modes in efforts to continue its actions. In the 1960’s, “the highest-paid worker in the labor department earned less than the lowest-paid employee in the four other departments where only whites worked ” Illustrating an obvious disadvantage, for African American employees. Not only where they making significantly less than Caucasian workers but, they were confined to the labor department, which had the most arduous tasks. Similarly, Duke Power and Co. administered exams in which had no bearing on the ability for its workers to perform tasks efficiently . The exams, measured workers intelligence and did not have questions which pertained to doing their jobs. The exam in itself was an exploitative measure since, at that time most African Americans did not have access to forms of higher education due to the discrimination and segregation practices within the Nation. Duke Power and Co. knowing that African Americans would fail at a much higher rate than Caucasians

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the Supreme Court case, Griggs v. Duke Power Company (Duke), it was decided that Duke used a selection process which had a disparate impact on the employment opportunities of members of a race, color, religion, sex, or national origin group. Disparate impact is sometimes confusing and tricky. In the case of the Albemarle Paper Company (Albemarle) v. Moody, proved just how tricky disparate impact is. Albemarle administered tests without validating them before they were administered because it was too expensive. However, Albemarle did attempt to prove their case through a private company before their court date. Subsequently, Albemarle were not able to…

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    For starters, when it came to the interviewing process, there were 5 white officials and 1 black which showed that the room was not balance. Next, when it came to the scoring, he received lower scores than the whites. The next issue that showed discrimination was when it came to the attendance record of the workers. Two of the workers who were Caucasian, had the same attendance as Dunlap, and they received a better ranking. Also, Dunlap had a perfect safety record and received a score of a 4; while a white applicant who was at the job for eleven, had 2 accidents within those years and received a score of…

    • 1228 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Griggs v. Duke Power Company was a landmark case regarding discrimination in the workplace. Duke Power Company was known for discriminating against blacks during the hiring process by only allowing them to work in it’s labor department which was the lowest paying position. After the Civil Rights Act was passed, obviously the company was no longer allowed to discriminate legally based on race. However, the company became sneaky and required a high school diploma for employment. This, in turn eliminated a lot of potential black employees because a majority of them did not have high school diplomas. This really became an issue when Griggs applied for a position, but it was denied because he did not…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The population of cities in the north such as Detroit grew dramatically as black people migrated during the war. Although there was a lot more availability of employment for African American’s, they would often find they were discriminated against, for instance not receiving equal pay to white workers. Employers would usually use the principle ‘Last to be hired, first to be fired.’ It was a rarity for African Americans to be promoted as when they it would follow with walk outs and riots from white workers.…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Human resource director of Food Chain Supermarkets, Inc., Thomas L. Rutherford was disturbed by a conversation he had with Walter Jackson, an employee in the company’s distribution warehouse. Jackson complained that black employees were being passed over for promotions in favor of white employees who had less experience and seniority. Jackson explains that he had resigned his position in the meat department of the warehouse because he felt left he would not get promoted despite his experience and job performance. Jackson was passed over for promotion three times since he started working for the company (Mathis & Nikomo, 2008).…

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Employers must understand that the persons who evaluate and decide the outcome of employment discrimination cases (the EEOC investigator, federal or state judge, and/or jury) have keen senses of fairness and expect that employees will be treated in a fair manner. As a result, employers are exposed to substantial liability for any acts, including perceived acts, of discrimination in the workplace. Employers should take any charge of discrimination seriously and the employer must keep in mind that, at a minimum, it needs to have a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for taking the action in question. In addition, an employer's response will be evaluated by persons who have a different perspective than the employer. What…

    • 964 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Duke Power Co. African American employees challenged Duke Power's policies requiring a high school diploma or passing of intelligence tests as a condition of employment in or transfer to jobs at the plant. These requirements went into effect right after the passage of Title VII. Before Title VII, all non-white employees worked in the Labor Department at a much lower pay than the lowest paid white worker did. These requirements were not directed at or intended to measure one's ability to learn to perform a particular job or category of jobs. It was a well-known fact that whites had more opportunity to finish high school in the 1960s and 1970s. White employees were grand fathered in under the new policy. The U.S. Supreme Court held that the act dictated that job requirements which have a disproportionate impact on groups protected by Title VII be shown to be job related. (Bennett-Alexander and Hartman, 101). Congress requires the removal of barriers to employment when the barriers discriminate based on racial or other impermissible classifications. If the employment practice cannot be shown to be job related then the practice is prohibited under Title…

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Eeoc Paper

    • 1043 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The purpose of this paper is to go over a lawsuit that was filled by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The paper will cover who the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) is and their role in the lawsuit. It will go over whether or not the lawsuit promotes social change. The paper will also go over how the EEOC as well as other news groups released information about the case to the public. I will then give my take on how I would implement new strategies to make sure the problem does not come up in the workplace again.…

    • 1043 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    "Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the single most important piece of legislation that has helped to shape and define employment law rights in this country (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2001)". Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, gender, disability, religion and national origin. However, it was racial discrimination that was the moving force of the law that created a whirlwind of a variety of discriminations to be amended into Title VII. Title VII was a striving section of legislation, an effort which had never been tried which made the passage of the law an extremely uneasy task. This paper will discuss the evolution of Title VII as well as the impact Title VII has had in the workforce.…

    • 1093 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Cival Rights Act 1964

    • 2048 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Cited: Ash, Philip. "The Implications of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 For Psychological Assessment in Industry." American-Psychologist 6 (1966): 797-803. Ginsberg, Benjamin, and Theodore J. Lowi, eds. American Government-Freedom and Power. New York: W.W. Norton, 1998. Mooney, Chase C. "Civil Rights Movement." Encyclopedia Americana. 1996 ed. Shipler, David K. "The Marshall Plan." The New York Times Book Review 1 June 1998: 12-13 Watters, Pat. "The Spring Offensive." The Nation 3 February 1964: 117-120…

    • 2048 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    1960s Racial Inequality

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “The jobless rate among black males has increased sharply since 1969 in the large central cities of the Northeast and Midwest,” affirms William Julius Wilson in the article, “The Truly Disadvantage: The Inner City, the Underclass, and Public Policy.” Even when blacks find jobs, racial discrimination is visible because they don’t have the equal opportunity to succeed within the area they are in, as whites do. Racial discrimination has created a segment of labor market where whites are more likely to be promoted and…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racism and Justice System

    • 718 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The book talks about how law institutionalizes the American ideal of equality, and this may be true but there are always people that are in these positions that corrupt and contaminate the entire system. Things have changed from the past form how racial discrimination was. It’s just done now through actions more so now than verbalizing. You can’t really verbalize your hatred for another race such as Texaco’s executives because you run the risk of people not bringing their business to you and now you can end up in civil court. The Supreme courts have made it even harder for one to make a discrimination suit against a company or employer because the evidence has to be so strong that it leaves no room for doubt in anyone’s mind in fact that was the case. Blacks are constantly stereotyped because of another black person’s action. Many white people have the perception that black people are lazy because we as a people seek more government help such as housing, food programs and even the low end jobs that some blacks have. They say that education rules out discrimination and employers rationally hire and promote people on the basis of their education and job skills. This is true to a certain extent; they won’t give the entire truth. They will hire African American based on…

    • 718 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lilly Ledbetter was one of the very few female supervisors at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plant in Gadsden, Alabama, and she worked at that plant for nineteen years, from 1979 till her retirement in 1998. Initially, when she started working for the company, her pay was equal to that of the other male supervisors. However, as time passed the pay discrepancy between Ledbetter and her 15 male counterparts was stark: the lowest she received was $3,727 per month, while the lowest paid male received $4,286. Thus, after realizing this Mrs. Ledbetter filed an official complaint before the EEOC in March 1998, stating that Goodyear violated the Title VII as they paid her a discriminatory low salary due to her sex. After she filed an official complaint, her case went to trial, and the jury concluded that the pay disparity was due to intentional discrimination. However, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed the jury verdict, as it claimed Mrs. Ledbetter’s’ case was not filed in time, as the original discriminatory pay decision occurred before the statutory limitations of 180 days.…

    • 751 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Arguing a Position Essay

    • 2252 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Inequalities towards the African American population appear to be bias and at times racially motivated. This is not a new epidemic of racial injustice plaguing society. Since the beginning of established settlements there has always been some type of superior and inferior race issues ( ). Historically, this race has endured such punishments as, lynchings…

    • 2252 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    The disparate impact theory requires a plaintiff to demonstrate that an apparently neutral employment practice affects one group more harshly than another and that the practice is not justified by business necessity. Under this theory, proof of discriminatory intent is not required. Although the district court concluded that TVA’s interview process had been manipulated to exclude African-American candidates in general, the court of appeals disagreed, citing the lack of statistical proof demonstrating that a protected group was adversely affected thus establishing a “prima facie” case. Mr. Dunlap couldn’t prove his claim by only challenging the process used in his own interview, thus…

    • 1050 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays