Guest Worker Plan Slap In the Face to Black Unemployed

Editor's Note: The commentator takes issue with the proposed guest worker plan as black unemployment continues to soar.


Plenty of media and political attention has been placed on Americas current shortage of skilled workers. According to USA Today, utility companies are especially in need of staff. This includes welders, plant operators and engineers. If staffing needs arent met, sections of the country may be prone to blackouts and electricity shortages. Several law makers have suggested that an immigrant guest worker program could help with the worker shortages and help the country control illegal immigration.

While illegal immigration is a pressing issue, it is not the only issue this country is grappling with. America is also dealing with -- or should be dealing with -- rising unemployment rates in the African-American community. Our people want work. Too bad the opportunities arent always open to us.

Eight percent of African-Americans are unemployed, twice the rate of whites. More African Americans are unemployed than any other ethnic group. Gone are the days when the majority of workers could find a blue collar job -- at an auto plant, for example.

In Chicago, for example, the number of manufacturing jobs decreased by 49 percent between 1991 and 2006. The remaining jobs are more complex than those of years past, often requiring much technological skill and experience. Add to that drastic cuts in trade and job training programs, and it has been difficult for blacks to get the training they need to access these types of jobs, despite the desire and the will to work.