Proposition 209's impact on the Latino community

Proposition 209 will impact the Latino Community

Proposition 209 threatens to ban equal opportunity affirmative action programs which have protected Latinos from discrimination in public employment, education and contracting.

Proposition 209 will hinder the advances Latinos have made in business and employment

Proposition 209 threatens the ability of minority-owned businesses to compete, closing the doors of equal opportunity for Latinos.

Propostion 209 will impact education and recruitment

Proposition 209 threatens the ability of Latinos to gain equal access to educational opportunities by gutting equal opportunity scholarships and programs for people of color to attend public universities, K-12 educational programs, and other public education programs.

Proposition 209 will hurt the Latino community

Equal Opportunity Programs Protect Latinos from Being Shut out of Educational and Employment Opportunities. Proposition 209 Would Gut Those Programs Essential to Establishing a Level Playing Field.

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PROPOSITION 209 WILL IMPACT THE LATINO COMMUNITY

There are over seven and a half million Latinos in California. Proposition 209 threatens to ban equal opportunity affirmative action programs which have protected Latinos from discrimination in public employment, education and contracting. This proposition threatens the advances that people of color have made in these different areas and eliminates outreach, recruitment, mentoring, and tutoring programs in the state of California. Currently, Latinos comprise 17% of the state workforce,⁽¹⁾ 13% of undergraduate enrollees in the University of California system,⁽²⁾ and minority-owned companies received 14.6 percent of state contracting dollars.⁽³⁾ These numbers, already low, will be drastically reduced with the passage of Proposition 209. Return

PROPOSITION 209 WILL HINDER THE ADVANCES LATINOS HAVE MADE IN BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT

Proposition 209 will eliminate equal opportunity programs which require contractors to reach out to minority-owned companies for bids on large state contracting projects. State contractors will no longer have to undertake efforts to recruit qualified minority businesses, but will be able to go back to using the same old companies they have always used.

Currently, there is a 10.1 percent minority participation rate in state contracts. In 1990 that rate was 7.1 percent. ⁽⁴⁾ This growth will decline without the equal opportunity programs that face extinction under Proposition 209.

In 1994 state contracts, in combination with the city and county of Los Angeles, amounted to over $7 billion.⁽⁵⁾ Minorities were awarded just under 15% of these contracting dollars even though they make up 44% of California's population.⁽⁶⁾

In fact, the Department of General Services, whose total contract dollars for FY93-94 was over $700 million, uses affirmative action programs to award 14.6% of state contracts to minorities.⁽⁷⁾

Ending state equal opportunity programs will threaten the continued growth in employment opportunities.

Latinos are the fastest growing entrepreneurial segments. In California, there are over 132,000 Latino owned firms, with 56,700 in Los Angeles alone.⁽⁸⁾

Latino employment in state managerial jobs has grown 7% since 1978 and employment⁽⁹⁾ in professional jobs has grown 6%.

Currently, Latinos comprise only 4.2% of University of California Ladder Track Faculty.⁽¹⁰⁾ Return

PROPOSITION 209 WILL IMPACT ON EDUCATION AND RECRUITMENT

Proposition 209 threatens the ability of Latinos to gain equal access to educational opportunities by gutting equal opportunity scholarships and programs for people of color to attend public universities, K-12 educational programs, and other public education programs.

CCRI eliminates tutoring, outreach, recruitment, and counseling programs in California public education. As a result educational opportunities will be eliminated for Latinos.

Two of the most significant minority populations in the state, African-Americans and Latinos, are already under represented in the University of California system at 4.3% and 12.4%, respectively.⁽¹¹⁾ CCRI would reduce these figures even further.

CCRI threatens programs which help minorities succeed in school and advance to college and graduate schools, especially in mat hand sciences. These programs include: Minority Access ,to Research Careers (MARC); Girls Science Network; Mathematics, Engineering Science Achievement (MESA); College Readiness Program (CRP); and Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP). Return

PROPOSITION 209 WILL HURT THE LATINO COMMUNITY

Equal Opportunity Programs Protect Latinos from Being Shut out of Educational and Employment Opportunities. Proposition 209 Would Gut Those Programs Essential to Establishing a Level Playing Field.

Proposition 209 threatens the programs which help minorities successfully enter and complete medical school. As a result the medical needs of these communities will continue to be underserved.⁽¹²⁾ Latino physicians cared for nearly three times as many patients from their communities as did other physicians. Return

References

1 California Research Bureau, Overview on Affirmative Action, 1995. Return

2 Ibid. Return

3 California Senate Office of Research, The Status of Affirmative Action in California, March 1995 at 43. Return

4 General Services Reports, 1994 Data. Return

5 Los Angeles Times, 12/23/95. Return

6 California Senate Office of Research, The Status of Affirmative Action in California, March 1995 at 43-44. Return

7 Annual Report: Minority/Women Owned Business Enterprises 1993-94. Return

8 Hispanics an Upward Economic Trend by Manuel A. Escalante. Return

9 California Research Bureau, Overview on Affirmative Action, 1995. Return

10 Ibid. Return

11 LA Times, 1/28/95. Return

12 New England Journal of Medicine, Black and Hispanic Physicians and Underserved Populations, Vol. 334, No. 20 at 1307. Return

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Last updated on May 16, 2001