ED 054 264

TITLEINSTITUTION

PUB DATENOTE

EDRS PRICEDESCRIPTORS

IDENTIFIERS

ABSTRACT

DOCUMENT RESUME

UD 011 749

1970 External Summer Youth Opportunity Campaign.Federal Highway Administration (Dept. ofTransportation), Washington, D.C.7124p.

EDRS Price MF-$0.65 HC-$3.29*Disadvantaged Youth, *Employment Opportunities,Equal Opportunities (Jobs), Job Development, JobTraining, Minority Groups, *Summer Programs, YouthEmployment, *Youth Opportunities, Youth ProgramsFederal Highway Administration

The Federal Highway Administration exceeded its goalof 50,000 jobs in its 1970 External Summer Youth Opportunity Campaignby providing 57,646 jobs. Of the jobs available, a large majoritywere filled by disadvantaged youth. Various Federal and privateagencies were involved in makirg the program work. This pamphletdescribes the national youth program and highlights itsaccomplishments. At the end, it is concluded that the program was anapparent success from the standpoint of exceeding the goal for thenumber of youths hired and the number of disadvantaged youths hired.In addition, several unique approaches have been tried this year toincrease the opportunity of meaningful employment and to provide abetter future for the disadvantaged and minority groups. (Author/JW)

1 70ExternalSummerYouthOpportunityCampaignA. D. GAITHER, DIRECTOROFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTSFEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION

JOHN Y. YOSHINOCIVIL RIGHTS SPECIALISTSYOC COORDINATOR

...I FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION

Secretarial Assistance:Miss Jewell Reaves

U.S. DEPARTMENT (.,:c HEALTH,EDUCATIDN & WELFAREOFFICE OF EDUCATION

THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO-DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROMTHE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIG-INATING IT. POINTS OF VIEW OR OPIN-IONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILYREPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDU-CATION POSITION OR POLICY.

Statement by the Administrator

As the Department of Transportation'sFederal Highway Administration con-cludes the fifth year of its External Sum-mer Youth Opportunity Campaign, I ammindful of the many people who havehelped in making this worthwhile pro-gram a success.

We, as a Nation, are going through arough time in our national life. Promot-ing equal job opportunities and trainingeven during times of relatively high em-ployment is not a simple matter. There-fore, when we review the accomplish-ments of the State highway departmentsand the thousands of contractorsthroughout the Nation who are provid-ing job and training opportunities forthe minorities and disadvantaged youths,there is reason to be thankful that prog-ress was made in this program.I want to thank the members of theAssociated General Contractors of Amer-ica, Incorporated, the American RoadBuilders' Association and the State high-way departments, including the Districtof Columbia and Puerto Rico, for help-ing us in another successful effort.

Francis C. TurnerAdministrator

1

1. FHWA, ARBA Officials Dis-cuss 1970 External SummerYouth Opportunity Campaign(From left to right) John Y.Yoshino, Youth OpportunityCoordinator, External Program;Ralph E. Heffner, President,American Road Builders' Asso-ciation (ARBA) and President,Heffner Construction Company,Celina, Ohio; Federal HighwayAdministrator Francis C.Turner; Burton F. Miller, ARBAExecutive Vice President;Alexander D. Gaither, Directorof Civil Rights, and standing,Eugene W. Robbins, Assistantto ARBA Executive Vice Presi-dent and Managing Directorof its Contractors Division.

2. National President of Asso-ciated General Contractors,Inc., Meets with FHWA Offi-cials in Support of U.S. De-partment of Transportation'sYouth Opportunity Program.(Left to right) A. D. Gaither,Director, Office of Civil Rights,FHWA; L. P. Gilvin, Amarillo,Texas, National President of,Associated General Contrac-tors of America, Inc.; F. C.Turner, Administrator, FHWA;John Y. Yoshino, Civil RightsSpecialist, FHWA, Coordinatorof Youth Opportunity Program.

"MI

,1

The Department of Transportation'sFederal Highway Administration ex-ceeded its goal of 50,000 jobs in its 1970External Summer Youth OpportunityCampaign. The program, which endedon September 15, provided 57,646 jobs.

The program was coordinated by theOffice of Civil Rights, Federal HighwayAdministration, through the RegionalAdministrators. Federal Highway Admin-istration guidelines, spelling out detailedinstructions, were provided to the fieldpersonnel. The Regional and DivisionOffices worked closely with the Statehighway departments and contractors.

When the campaign was launchedearlier in the year, Federal Highway Ad-ministrator Francis C. Turner expresseda hope that many of the jobs that wouldbe available be filled with disadvantagedyouths, ages 16 through 21. Of the 57,-646 jobs, more than 31,000 were filledby disadvantaged youths. Also includedin the total figures are 7,423 jobs sep-arately reported to the Department ofTransportation by the National HighwaySafety Bureau, which until July 1, 1970,was a part of the Federal Highway Ad-ministration.

In declaring his strong personal sup-port of the Departmentwide Youth Op-portunity Campaign, Secretary of Trans-portation John A. Volpe asked that theresources of the entire transportationindustry be used in promoting this im-

3

3. Ricky Brackett, who is one-half Choctaw Indian, is acrane operator trainee withR.R. Tway, Inc.

4. Nathan Dick is assisting ona survey team.

5. David Hays, a senior atBasic High School, SouthernNevada, is working on a truckengine.

6. Dave LaRocca and BruceBernardi are checking steelplacements on a paving proj-ect for the Illinois Division ofHighways.

5MM111

6

portant program. To strengthen the pro-gram, he established a DepartmentalYouth Opportunity Committee.

Although Mr. Volpe commented fa-vorably on results achieved in 1969, heindicated that he desired an even betterperformance this year by the OperatingAdministrations. In 1969, the FederalHighway Administration reported that44,596 youths were hired in jobs madeavailable by the State highway depart-ments and private contractors engagedin work on federally assisted road proj-ects.

The Federal Highway Administration'sExternal Summer Youth OpportunityProgram, now in its fifth year, receivedthe full cooperation of the State high-way departments and the contractorsworking on Federal-aid road projects.The Associated General Contractors ofAmerica, Inc., and the American RoadBuilders' Association supported this pro-gram in promotion campaigns, using thetrade association newsletters, generalnews media, radio and television.

Economic Factors Affect YouthEmployment

The general tightening of the economy.and rising unemployment, have hadserious impact on diminishing job op-portunities for the youths, The Depart-ment of Labor reported that thousandsof teenagers and college students were

7

7. Carl Campo is doing a sandcone test to check embank-ment compaction.

8. Juan Morrison is doing acrushing strength test on glassbeads.

9. David Havey, Larry Markos,and Roger Veach are checkingaggregate grades. All of thesepeople are working for theIllinois Division of Highways.

4115474:7Z,t1.57Ta&N.VO4,4,;

err

x

unable to find jobs this summer andcould not earn tuition money for school.Particularly hard hit have been the dis-advantaged and minority youthstradi-tionally last hired and first fired. Withskilled adults being idled, employersand unions were hard-pressed to providesummer jobs for the disadvantagedyouths.

The critical nature of youth unemploy-ment was underscored when Congressvoted to appropriate an additional $50million, requested by the President, tohire 100,000 young people for theNeighborhood Youth Corps.

The Neighborhood Youth Corps wasestablished in 1964 by the Federal Gov-ernment as a means to provide job op-portunities to students of low incomefamilies to enable them to earn sufficientfunds to remain in school while receiv-ing useful work experience. Through theNeighborhood Youth Corps, the Sum-mer Youth Opportunity Program of theFederal Highway Administration couldbe enhanced by providing more jobs,using the Corps funds.

The State Employment Service

The single most effective administra-tive machinery for placing the disadvan-taged youth in summer jobs in mostStates is the local office of the State Em-ployment Service. There are several rea-sons why the Federal Highway Adminis-

10

10. Juan Morrison and GaryRittenhouse are conductingchemical tests for the IllinoisDivision of Highways.

11. Laurel Spencer is ajournalism student aid.

12. Summer trainee pruningfoliage along U.S. 131 nearKalamazoo.

11

AI FO -

9

12

IL

5

L

tration recommended in its guidelinesthe use of the State Employment Serv-ices. There are 2,200 local State Employ-ment Service offices around the country.They use the public media which is themost important method of disseminatinginformation about the Federal HighwayAdministration Summer Youth Oppor-tunity Campaign. The radio, televisionand the newspapers are always inter-ested in well-prepared publicity mate-rial. The Apprenticeship InformationCenters that are operated by the StateEmployment Services have well-trainedstaffs that can be of help to both the job-seeker and the employer.

The State Employment Services arebest able to apply the "disadvantaged"criteria to job applicants and refer theneedy. The U.S. Department of Laborand the Office of Economic Opportunitydetermines a "poor" family on the basisof income levels. Income is used in com-bination with other criteria to establisha jobless person's need for assistance inthe manpower programs. The Labor De-partment defines a disadvantaged indi-vidual as one .who is poor, does nothave suitable employment, and who iseither (1) a school dropout, (2) aminority member, or (3) is under 22years of age.

t

fr

Variety of Job Assignments

9

The youths were assigned a wide

13

13. Electronic data processingstudent at work in the Infor-mation Systems Center of thePuerto Rico Highway Authority.

14. Francisco P. Castillo isassisting a survey teem.

15. Supervisor and eight often Jefferson Seniors in thepilot engineering-aid traineeprogram at the base ofFremont Bridge pier in Oregon.

14

158

variety of jobs during the summer. Theseincluded landscape work, clearing sitesfor scenic vistas, rest area construction,working on road inventories, as well asbeing employed as construction-siteflagmen, tree-nursery attendants, com-puter technicians and clerks.

Federal Highway Administration offi-cials believe that these types of jobs aresuitable for the Summer Youth Oppor-tunity Program because they can be per-formed with very little advance trainingor preparation. For many youths thework experience this summer can leadto permanent jobs in the highway con-struction field.

Highlights

The Oregon State Highway Division,in cooperation with Jefferson HighSchool in Portland, established an engi-neering aid training program forminority students. Ten minority groupsenior boys with some background inmathematics and an interest in the engi-neering field were selected. The goalwas to introduce these young people tohighway engineering technology throughactual work experience with engineeringcrews. The program included observanceand actual work throughout the schoolyear. The schedule called for two stu-dents to work in the field (or office)each day and spend four days in theirregular high school curriculum. The pro-

11

16

16. Frances L. Rigby, a seniorin a Dover, Del. high school,won an award this summer forher outstanding work in thepersonnel department.

17. Richard Hurd, Jr., is takingcore samples for the VermontDepartment of Highways.

17

gram also included some classroom ori-entation in engineering fundamentals.The work assignments covered soils andmaterials testing, surveying, office com-putations, and inspection duties on con-struction projects. Work experience onactive contracts in the Portland metro-politan area included several of thelarge freeway projects.

The student trainees were paid hourlywages for an 8-hour day. Supervisionwas provided by the crews and supervi-sors for whom the trainees were work-ing. Constant liaison between the train-ees and the Highway Division was han-dled by a minority employee in themetropolitan division office.

Near the end of the school year, thetrainees were coached in representativetype problems which could be expectedin the Oregon State Civil Service exami-nation for the position of EngineeringAide. The trainees were advised thatthose interested in continuing as full-time employees of the Highway Divisionwould be appointed as EngineeringAides upon receiving a passing score inthe Civil Service Examination. In May,two of the trainees passed this examand were appointed to crews in thePortland metropolitan area as Engineer-ing Aides. The others were offered workon a full-time work-study basis for thesummer as engineering laborers on otherengineering crews in the metropolitanarea. They accepted the positions and

13

18

18. Dennis Sugihara andMichael Willis, winners of anEqual Opportunity postercontest in Oregon, were"awarded" jobs as caretakersof a sidewalk superintendentssite.

19. Sijitredo Gomez, Jr., ex-plaining sewer backfill require-ments to the contractor'sforeman.

20. Migdalia Torres, one of150 students finishing hersummer employment with thePuerto Rico Highway Author-ity, receives her final paycheckfrom Joaquin Martinez Andino.

21. Workmen widening astreet.

rr

20

19 21

...1111

ANL

t

will be rescheduled to take the Engi-neering Aide examination at a later date.The Highway Division plans to continuethis program in an effort to give dis-advantaged minority youths an oppor-tunity in the engineering field.

The Oregon Columbia Chapter of TheAssociated General Contractors cameup with an interesting and creative proj-ect when it co-sponsored with H. A. An-derson Company, Hannon Brothers Con-struction Company, Donald M. DrakeCompany and Williamette Western Cor-poration on an Equal Opportunity postercontest. All are Portland firms. Studentsfrom eight grade schools participated inthe contest. Two students, Dennis Sugi-hara, age 14, who graduated from Irv-ington School, and Michael Willis, age13, who finished the eighth grade atMartin Luther School, emerged as win-ners from among 60 entries in PortlandSchool District Number 1. Thirty of theposters were shown in an exhibit at theAlbina Art Center.

Because School District rules prohibitgiving individual prizes, the two winnerswere offered jobs as caretakers of asidewalk superintendents site overlook-ing a pair of construction projects. Inaddition, Mike and Dennis distributedapprenticeship information and job de-scription literature, and also assisted theAssociated General Contractors' staff andProject Out-Reach personnel in answer-

15

22

22. Bruce Bernardi and DaveLaRocca are making an airtest on Portland cement con-crete while assigned on apaving project.

23. Highway markers arepressed and straightened byKen Date, a summer employeein Nevada.

24. Chris Williams has learnedto weld, while a summeremployee in Nevada.

413 -169 0 - '71 - 3

23

9

ing questions about projects and jobopportunities in construction.

The Delaware Division reports im-provement in performance this year, andt1-.ose summer employees who workedas supervisors were cited. It was sug-gested that next year all youths work thesame hours as regular employees andthe summer youths be counseled at thebeginning of their employment in wisespending and saving. One female em-ployee was retained on a temporary,part-time basis while she is in school.

In North Carolina the results of the1970 campaign exceeded the 1969 fig-ures by 65 percent. Of even more inter-est is the fact that the total disadvan-taged youths employed in 1970 ex-ceeded that of 1969 by 92 percent.Comments of contractors who took partin this year's program disclosed manywere greatly pleased with results ob-tained.

Region 4 reported that although bothtotal hires and total disadvantaged fig-ures for the Region are down from lastyear, there has been an increase in dis-advantaged hires in four of the fiveStates in the Region. Many youths haveno idea at all about opportunities thatare available for interested job appli-cants. Young people performing variedand interesting assignments will encour-age others to seek similar opportunities.

The Nebraska Division wrote to 130contractors and 25 service and employ-

25

25. Two student aids assignedto the accounting department,Area of Finance, in the PuertoRico Highway Authority.

26. Pat Phillips typing a reportduring her summer employ-ment.

27. George Green is operatingthe Marshall compactor in theBituminous Lab. for the IllinoisDivision of Highways.

26, 27

a-

10

n

r

ment agencies in the Lincoln-Omahaarea, enclosing a copy of the FederalHighway Administration's 1969 SummerYouth Opportunity Camp.Jign report. Asa result of the promotional effort, Ne-braska showed up well in this year'sfinal tabulation.

In Region 7, although the anticipatedgoal with respect to the number of dis-advantaged youths hired was not fullyrealized, the overall program wasdeemed to be highly successful whenthe results of this year's campaign arecompared with the 1969 effort in thetotal number of jobs as well as per-centage of disadvantaged youths hired.In the promotion of this program, Re-gional Office Civil Rights personnelmade visits to all of the States in theRegion except Hawaii. Although nospecific visit was made to Hawaii, theprogram was discussed with Divisionpersonnel and State highway depart-ment representatives at the same timethe civil rights staff was in Hawaii oncontract compliance matters. The situa-tion in Hawaii is unique in that minori-ties are not as clearly identified as theyare in the continental United States.

The Virginia Road Builders' Associa-tion indicated that many jobs went un-filled for lack of candidates. Possiblereasons included transportation difficultyand lack of interest in the jobs availableat the time. The Virginia Department ofHighways used certain college students

19

vt7..,

, ;

by States

ftegion',1

New- lampsh

MassachilisetConnecticutRhode: slanNewIorNev, *iseeuertogic,TOTAL

West irginia

, "

.otypTOTAL:."

Number

Pr601401kn Total Hired Disadvantak.!il . Percent4.10.01." , 1969 790".- 1969 ,19/0 1969 1970

139 487 28 443. . 20.1. 90..

- 582 959- 263 496. 45.1 51.7ut 'euota:: 593 : : 501 1221' 84.4' 100.,

378' , '54.5abama . 1613 .......... 1293 888 79.- 70.84Sig P111 621, 550-768, 88: 82.4 ,

326 -= 962 326 , 962 100. 56.3 1

3874. 6507 2961 5156

, '-,--.... -',. .....'104;;',! 113

'92' ',,-. 384151;';',..:1088

:;,1000r.l.i.,...,:227

.

.

:

76.4 .

.. ,

152 .46.

100.51.7

100.

79.2

23.64100:

74.8858.82'72.9

,!.,.2812 69.. 64.

, 100. 77.2100. 61.4'

Breakclowq,

- -Mtnnesot

,Nebiaska.-3:-lowKapsas:

TOTAL

-,Arkansa

Cahforniaç

uzaHaJaui

t rr

dliegion!

-N,ekada;;-;;;,,,,

::(6

`3-,,TOTA

;-

IP

28

28. Jim Sam, a full-bloodedChoctaw Indian, is a heavyequipment operator with AmisConstruction Company.

29. Summer aid students,under the surveillance of MissRosa Castro, work in the Infor-mation and Systems Center ofthe Puerto Rico HighwayAuthority.

30. Robert Dunn (right) isassisting Russel Jacob (left)checking crown on 1-11resurfacing project.

FTM

29

Vtir977710ait'.

30

13

all year round on a part-time basis forlaboratory work. The Virginia RoadBuilders' Association does not feel it ispractical to use summer help all yearround because of transportation prob-lems, seasonal nature of the work andmany contractors prefer to concentrateon on-the-job training programs yearround.

In Pennsylvania no determination ondisadvantaged youths was made by theState highway department due to in-sufficient information regarding youthshired. In-house training programs withinthe State highway department are con-tinuously available. Forty-two contrac-tors reported over 50 percent of theirsummer hires as disadvantaged.

In Alabama, it was noted that the suc-cessful campaign was made possible be-cause of the Neighborhood Youth Corpsprogram sponsored through the U.S.Department of Labor. It was suggestedthat if the Neighborhood Youth Corpsprogram could be expanded to includethe contractors, an even more successfulcampaign might result from it.

The Louisiana Associated GeneralContractors disseminated informationabout the Summer Youth OpportunityCampaign through its newsletter andannounced that the contractors em-ployed 324 youths.

The Arkansas State Highway Depart-ment hired 300 youths this year, 70 lessthan last year, because of the general

23

31

31. Steve Stewart, working forthe Illinois Division of High-ways, is operating a transit onsurvey.

32. Larrell Saunders and RaulMateo pore over reports forthe Wisconsin Department ofTransportation.

33. P. Jeffrey Lodd makesnuclear relative compactiontest to measure compactionand moisture of fill materialfor the Vermont Departmentof Highways.

tr., I Et1 45. I

1.r

,4,411

11,

4°.:ka.7may* 7 40

I 1 r;07.,

rtit

33

4.

14

1,4=et.1

reduction in the highway program.The Colorado State Highway Depart-

ment advised that the majority of theyouths hired fell into the category ofunder 22 years of age and needed em-ployment to finance their continuing ed-ucation. Colorado also reported thatmany youths from the disadvantagedgroup could not afford to pay full unionmembership dues; hence, the unions didnot refer applicants.

In the Summer Youth OpportunityCampaign, one of the contractors re-ported that rather than employ theyouths in the company, the firm con-tributed funds toward their employmentin less hazardous work. The Chambersof Commerce of Norfolk and VirginiaBeach have established programs forthis purpose and they solicited fundsfrom private business.

Statistical Analysis

The table reflects the external employ-ment by the State highway departmentsand contractors in this year's SummerYouth Opportunity Campaign. It clearlyshows an increase in the overall accom-plishment this year over last year'sefforts.

Six of the 10 Regions showed an in-crease in youths hired over the 1969total hires. Thirty-eight States and PuertoRico this year surpassed last year's goals,with 12 States and the District of Colum-

25

34

34. Line painting on 1-89 north-bound lane near Randolph,Vermont.

35. Conrad M. Dick works witha survey team for the Wiscon-sin Department of Transporta-tion.

36. Deep concentration showson the face of Maurice Ebenas he welds a pole.

35

11:

36

15

bia falling short of their goals. States inRegion 3 showed a marked increase thisyear over last year in both total hiresand disadvantaged youths hired.

A remarkable showing was made byGeorgia, Nebraska and Arizona this yearas compared with the figures of lastyear.

Of the Federal Highway Administra-tion total jobs, 61 percent went to thedisadvantaged, with the minority distri-bution as follows:

NegroSpanish AmericanAmerican IndianOrientalOther

14 percent3 percent1 percent.3 percent

44 percent

Contractors accounted for 43 percentof the total jobs and the State highwaydepartments 57 percent. There has alsobeen a 14 percent increase in the num-ber of disadvantaged hired this year overthe 1969 figures.

This year's goal of 50,000 jobs wasexceeded, in spite of the disappointingshowing of some of the larger Stateswho received greater sums of Federal-aid dollars in the road construction pro-gram. Many of the smaller States had avery good showing because of theirefforts in promoting this year's SummerYouth Opportunity Campaign.

27

37

37. Surveying on 1-91 nearBarton-1 rasburg, Vermont.

38. Summer students lookingover their applications beforeinterviews for employment.

39. Corry Rindner at work on asurvey team for the WisconsinDepartment of Transportation.

38 39 16

Year-Round Program

Now that the Youth Opportunity Pro-gram is set upon a year round basis, theprogram involves planning and imple-menting policies relating to summer em-ployment opportunities and some kindof part-time work during the schoolyear. This also requires a greater degreeof appropriate coordination involvingemployers, schools and the community.

The year-round program is aimed atbroader job potential for the disadvan-taged youthful females as well as themales who are, for all intents and pur-poses, a segment of the hardcore un-employed youth group of school drop-outs and those over the age of 18. Moreattempts such as is being done in Ore-gon should be made to encourage thedisadvantaged and minority groups tostay in school and work towards a future.

Cooperation With Private Organizations

Through the good offices of theWashington Headquarters of the Na-tional Urban League, a mutually helpfulpromotional program was initiated thisyear in publicizing the Federal HighwayAdministration Summer Youth Oppor-tunity Campaign in the minority commu-nities through the League's local affili-ates. At the same time, a well-prepareddescriptive statement about the UrbanLeague, its policies and programs, nameof local League executive and local ad-

29

40

40. Ken Date, a summer stu-dent employee, stocks highwaymarkers under the direction ofAl Pestinger in the Reno (Nev.)sign shop.

41. Elbert Betts, John McKib-bin and George Ginter workingat an asphalt testing apparatus.

42. Richard Berry, a studentworking for the Reno HighwayDepartment, finds it takes quitea bit of skill to weld.

43. Gregory Martin is checkingheight of fill from slope stake.

41

42

43

17

dresses were sent out by the FederalHighway Administration to the Regionsand Divisions for distribution to theState highway departments. Further-more, the State and focal officials of theNational Association for the Advance-ment of Colored People were sent Fed-eral Highway Administration literatureon the youth program, inviting theirassistance in referring youths to con-tractors working on Federal projects.The American G.I. Forum, a nationalorganization of Mexican-American warveterans, the American Indians andOriental Americans were all apprised ofthe Federal Highway AdministrationYouth Opportunity Program.

It is encouraging to note that theseminority groups were all represented inthe reports submitted to the FederalHighway Administration on this year'sefforts. However, their minimal numberis discouraging and indicates that a farbetter job in publicizing the FederalHighway Administration's program, andcontractor participation, is needed in theminority community. The question is notso much whether the publicity is reach-ing the intended minority target groupsas it is one involving a question ofcredibility. In view of past experiences,does the minority disadvantaged youthbelieve that employers are actually hiringyouths for work in the highway construc-tion industry?

31

44

44. Summer-aid students atrecruitment center in thePuerto Rico Highway Authoritycataloguing their own exami-nation.

45. Doug Clary, Russell Leavitt,Percy McCarty, Thomas Wells,and James Allen are all partof the grounds crew who mow,rake, and trim trees.

46. Ruben Gonzales startedout as a trainee for a scraperoperator and has now ad-vanced to a foreman position.

46

18

Promotional Effort

Regions, Divisions and State highwaydepartments did a fine job early in theyear in promoting this year's SummerYouth Opportunity Campaign. Lettersand memoranda requesting support forthis program and early responses en-abled the States to plan and implementtheir programs. The contractors' associ-ations publicized this program in theirnewsletters, urging their members toutilize as many youths as possible inmeeting labor needs during the summervacation period which coincides withthe busy construction season.

The State highway departments pre-pared spot announcements which wereused by radio stations, inviting inter-ested youths to apply for interesting andproductive summer work in the roadconstruction industry. Many interestingstories appeared in local newspapersaround the country about the SummerYouth Opportunity Campaign. This kindof steady, promotional effort kept theFederal Highway Administration youthprogram moving along so that the jobseeking youths and the employers bothbenefited.

Special Wage Rate for TeenagersSuggested

A special wage rate for teenagers hasbeen proposed. In the face of a risingcost of living for everyoneincluding

33

47

47. Bernard F. Williams isworking as a draftsman.

48. Richard Santarelli andPhillip Withers are testingcement samples for the IllinoisDivision of Highways.

49. These students are work-ing in the Design Room for theIllinois Division of Highways.

49

48

-I-17-

` ia

.1=11

.r;

the teenagerto further depress thewage rate below the going rate is a self-defeating proposition. Organized laboris working to raise the minimum wageof millions of workers. Another reasonto guard against a special wage rate forteenagers is that some employers mighthire teenagers at a lower rate to lowertheir labor costs. If this were to happen,the unskilled workers would be hiredbut with little or no chance of beingtrained for higher paying jobs.

Reporting Requirements

Recordkeeping in the Summer YouthOpportunity Campaign is a very difficultmatter. Both the State highway depart-ments and the contractors were askedto keep a careful record of the numberof summer hires, disadvantaged orotherwise, broken down by racial andethnic groups. Each year the reports re-ceived get better and to that extent, thefigures provided offer greater meaningin understanding the extent of the prob-lems in this program. For example, lastyear several Divisions reported that alltheir jobs were filled by disadvantagedyouths.

However, a number of States reportedon their aggressive promotional cam-paignssuch as radio announcements,including persons to contact for jobs,newspaper announcements in particularracial areas, talks given in two Indian

35

schools, television coverage, and distri-bution of the 1969 Federal Highway Ad-ministration Summer Youth OpportunityCampaign Annual Reportbut theseStates did not report the success or fail-ure of the efforts. This is vital in analyz-ing results and needs for future years.Are these young people getting compre-hensive information about the YouthOpportunity Program?

The Associated General Contractorsof America, Inc., and the American RoadBuilders' Association assisted the FederalHighway Administration in seeking thecooperation of their respective membersto record the summer hires and to pro-vide Division Engineers and State high-way departments with the informationas to the actual count of youths.

Conclusions

The Summer Youth Opportunity Pro-gram was an apparent success from thestandpoint of exceeding the goal forthe total number of youths hired andfor the number of disadvantaged youthshired. Overall, the contractors provided43 percent of the total jobs filled whilethe State highway departments providedthe remainder. This undoubtedly wasthe result of early wide publicity usingnewspapers, radio, television, and tradenewsletters. The Nebraska Division andState Highway Department did an ex-cellent, comprehensive, early promo-

36

tional job, thereby making known to thedisadvantaged and minority youths thejob opportunities available.

In New Jersey, the Department ofTransportation gave particular emphasisin recruiting the disadvantaged fromcities with high ghetto area populations,e.g., Newark, Camden, and Trenton.Furthermore, Departmental recruitersconducted pre-employment physical ex-aminations in the field in an effort torelieve the disadvantaged of travel andother hidden costs which are incurredprior to employment. A dispensary team(doctor, nurse, and recruiter) traveled tothe cities and set up makeshift facilitiesfor the disadvantaged. Undoubtedly thisreduced the incidence of "no shows."Departmental vehicles were operated byqualified disadvantaged youths to pro-vide transportation for others from cen-tral pickup points.

It was also a success from the stand-point that several unique approacheshave been tried this year to both in-crease the opportunity of meaningfulemployment and to provide a better fu-ture for the disadvantaged and minoritygroups. Perhaps this report will encour-age other State highway departmentsand contractors to plan programs thatwill have more substanceyear-aroundtraining such as that being tried inOregon or the poster contest to interesteven younger teenagers who may later

20

on become applicants for the YouthOpportunity . Program. Another im-portant innovation was the counselingfor youths in wise spending and saving.The Hawaii Highway Department pre-pared and issued a very fine letter ofwelcome and familiarization to all sum-mer youths employed. Such a letter pro-vides a positive note to the new workerreporting for the first time.

On the other hand, some States re-ported that they had difficulty filling allthe job vacancies that were availableto the disadvantaged youths. In a yearwhen so many young people could notfind a job, this is a highly unusual situ-ation. Perhaps transportation from theghetto to the job site is the problem.If so, special arrangements for pickup ata central point may be needed. Anotherpossible solution is better liaison withthe local employment offices. There arehundreds of interesting job assignmentsthat contractors and State highway de-partments can fill with youths which re-quire little or no training. Early plan-ning and early publicity for next yearshould improve this situation.

Despite the issuance of clearly de-fined guidelines and reporting require-ments, some reports were incompleteand tardy. With discrepancies in the re-porting figures, this deficiency addedgreatly to the computational problem atWashington Headquarters and delayed

completion of the final report. Also,only a few of the States provided goodblack and white photographs of youthsin interesting work situations.

Officials in both the private and pub-lic sector of the transportation industryare becoming increasingly aware andresponsive to the requests being madeof them that meaningful job and train-ing opportunities be provided to theminorities and the disadvantaged.Among them are creative leaders whocome up with innovative programs todeal with the problem of motivatingyoung people to learn to become pro-ductive members of society.

The fact that, in both total hires anddisadvantaged and minority youths, theprogram this year exceeded last year'seffort encourages us to believe that withan earlier start, greater effort, and moreimagination, the 1971 program will bemore productive.

37 21

FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

SUMMER YOUTH OPPORTUNITY CAMPAIGN REGIONAL EXTERNAL EMPLOYMENT REPORT-1970

Total Jobs 6,052 13,842 6,507 4,376 5,934 5,418 2,357 3,763 1,926 48 50,223

Disadvantaged Youth 1,116 9,312 5,156 2,812 3,932 3,066 870 2,980 1,807 48 31,099

100%

90%

no%

707"

60% '

50% -

40%

30%

20" /o

soc..

..1. ..:.

.:

c.1

r

/

e,1,--

.

. ,

.1.so

...%

:.

:..

,....i.0

. 7.n"

4

.:.:x

..

M.

:

c.1,--

,u 7

....

cn

:.:...

.

:

in

.::

..a

T.',

.:.:

..

Region 1 2 3 4

,,,

5 6 7

.

8 9 15 TOTAL

Ea Negro I=1 Other E::3 Total Disadvantaged

38 22

FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATIONSUMMER YOUTH OPPORTUNITY CAMPAIGN. REGIONAL EXTERNAL EMPLOYMENT REPORT 1970

Total ,1 obs 6,052 13,842 6,507 4,376 5,934 5,418 2,357 3,763 1,926 48 50,223

Disadvantaged Youth 1,116 9,312 5,156 2,812 3,932 3,066 870 2,980 1,807 48 31,099

10%

9%

8%

7%

6% 1

5%

4%

3%

2%

1%

im1M1IIIIMI1E1INScmisiiriaroum1E1IMI111111111E1MI

/M11E1Iml1E11MI ,-,1.1 ..1.1

Cl S '' Cs1VD

v.,

1nil11111 .MI...... ,

-1 1IIIIII1MI......

,--,

iiilimnu

IIIimimima

miionmilimimiMIin

1111

IMIMIMI

1E1IIMI1E1MI

1St11IIMIMIMIMIel

11111E1

mumaimiimi11IMIMI1111IUIMIISI11111

MI101ILIIIt.,.. ,

1fD

MIMIIii1M111111

1E1111E1III11111

IMII1HU

INIirecmiriE111111 Cl1E1IMIMS11111IMIM111MI1.1tim.....,...

"\N

ii-i...

.::_,

di./11111lairmamilmulei,

2

iriumleimalIraowamlirimiiriIMIMIMEI101MfILII

IMIIMIMIIMI

1M1USEMI1E111InsIMIIII1E1!MIHMImuiriirilot/111E11M11111E1IMI1111/1/MI

III...iii

.. "1

.^

iimimiiriall

IMIIMIMIMIIMI11111

INMIIL ..1.1i., ...:,.....i.,

-:

Region 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 15 1 OTAL

gm Spanish American CD American Indian ESSI Oriental

39

60

50

40

C020

:so

20

10

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATIONFEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION

EXTERNAL SUMMER Your' I OPPORTUNITY CAMPAIGN

DISADVANTAGED HIRED AS OF % OF TOTAL HIRED

EMI Total 11 fired

EM Disadvantaged and Minorities

1966

40

1967 1960

Calendar Year

24

1969 1970

Data: State Highway Department and Contractors

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1971 0 - 413-169