Background

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In the small town of Charleston, West Virginia a revolution was born. That small town is where Rev. Leon Sullivan, one of the greatest champions of civil rights ever, was born. He started small, but he had big plans of changing the world. As the pastor of Zion Baptist Church in Philadelphia, the congregation grew ten fold from 600 to about 6,000. This was just a sign of things to come. Wherever the man, nicknamed �the Lion of Zion�, went, his impact was felt in a big way.

Rev. Sullivan knew that freedom was not complete unless people could provide for themselves so he helped found initiatives to provide self-help. In 1963 he started the first of many Opportunities Industrialization Centers. Since that first center opened over 2 million �disadvantaged� people worldwide have received training and about 75% of them are currently employed.

In 1971 Rev. Sullivan became the first black board member at General Motors. GM wanted to get a �different� perspective and Rev. Sullivan did not disappoint. He asked all of the hard questions, like what would happen to a community when GM closed a plant there. While he was at GM in 1977, he formulated the Sullivan Principles, a set of standards meant to improve human rights in South Africa. General Motors adopted the Principles and other large companies followed suit, including cross-town rivals, Ford and Chrysler. He was instrumental in the release of Nelson Mandela and he convinced more than 100 American corporations to pull out of the country, due to apartheid. "There were two great forces in South Africa, the government and the businesses," he once said. "I couldn't move the government, but I believed I could move the companies. And then I felt the companies could move the government. That was my whole thesis." Apartheid ended shortly thereafter, solidifying Sullivan�s place in history as an activist of human rights.

Introduction

To get the full picture of what Rev. Sullivan�s life work included, an in-depth look at the Principles that helped revolutionize the workplace is mandatory. The Global Sullivan Principles of Corporate Social Responsibility were delivered in 1999 at the United Nations. This expanded version of the original Principles called for multi-national corporations to actively fight social injustices by advancing human rights. The following is the set of principles that "help companies to put their houses in order" by prioritizing human rights in the corporate world.

The Global Sullivan Principles of Corporate Social Responsibility

�Express our support for universal human rights and, particularly, those of our employees, the communities within which we operate, and parties with whom we do business.

�Promote equal opportunity for our employees at all levels of the company with respect to issues such as color, race, gender, age, ethnicity or religious beliefs, and operate without unacceptable worker treatment such as the exploitation of children, physical punishment, female abuse, involuntary servitude, or other forms of abuse.

�Respect our employees' voluntary freedom of association.

�Compensate our employees to enable them to meet at least their basic needs and provide the opportunity to improve their skill and capability in order to raise their social and economic opportunities.

�Provide a safe and healthy workplace; protect human health and the environment; and promote sustainable development.

�Promote fair competition including respect for intellectual and other property rights, and not offer, pay or accept bribes.

�Work with governments and communities in which we do business to improve the quality of life in those communities - their educational, cultural, economic and social well-being - and seek to provide training and opportunities for workers from disadvantaged backgrounds.

�Promote the application of these principles by those with whom we do business.

GM Internship Experience

The internship was a delightful and enriching experience. I worked in GM Powertrain for the crankshaft group. Chris Roy and Rodger Dodge were my supervisors and my major project was reluctor ring benchmarking. The goals of the project were: 1) to find out the strengths and weaknesses of our rings and our competitors and 2) to find out what technologies are available for the future.

The project was rather time-consuming, however; it was a project that needed to be done and required someone to be solely focused. The first step was retrieving part print numbers from project engineers. From there I had to learn how to retrieve part prints from the Internet and how to read them. The project also required me to drive to various plants in the area to get capability data.

I�ve learned a lot through this experience about engines and big corporations. Prior to working at GM I didn�t understand the purpose of a camshaft or crankshaft let alone the difference between pushrod and overhead cam engines. Engineering engines is also a very involved process due to all of the parts that have to work together. Parts are outsourced and others are designed in-house and they have to work together in perfect harmony or there is a very costly problem. My observation also revealed a struggle within large corporations between how things have been done and how they might be newly implemented.

GM provided me with many of opportunities. For instance, during the two-week Fourth of July industry-wide shutdown I engaged in community service at the Lighthouse of Oakland County. That was a wonderful experience where I was able to witness first-hand the inner-workings of a non-profit. My job there was to tally all of the volunteer hours for the 2003-2004 fiscal year. Community service should also be available to Sullivan fellows, because it helps to bring to the forefront why the principles were put in place and that is ultimately to help people. Dr. Sullivan was an activist, who fought to make the world a better place for all people and those two-weeks helped me to understand why he fought so hard.

The principles are important and for the most part were evident at GM.

The first evidence of the principles is what is required from all employees. GM requires all new hires to take a Corporate Citizen Overview Course. This course helps their employees to understand their role in the overall integrity of the corporation. Their actions are a reflection of GM and it is important that they are representative of the image that GM tries so hard to project, a corporation built upon integrity. While that is the aim of the course, it also unwittingly showed areas that GM should improve, if not rethink. The course�s explanation for declining certain gifts was, �by declining gifts and entertainment from our suppliers we do not put any supplier at an unfair advantage.� This seems to be a very upstanding reason until a subsequent section okayed GM employees giving gifts when, �it is in our legitimate business interest to do so.� It is understandable that GM is a business that seeks to protect its best interest and profit margins, however; one might argue that inconsistencies such as GM�s gift giving and receiving policy undermine GM�s stance of putting anyone ��at an unfair advantage.�

This corporate folly did little to diminish my positive opinion of the ethical practices that I witnessed firsthand working with the crankshaft group at GM Powertrain. Powertrain is the only group that has a college graduate in Training Program (C.G.I.T.) that allows recent college graduates to complete up to a year of training, the College Graduate In Training program (CGIT). This program gives CGITs a chance to increase their competencies in a range of possible jobs, before settling into one upon completion of the program. GM pays well and I did see workers of Indian and Asian decent along with African-American and female employees, however; diversity is an area that still needs improvement. Engineering, along with the majority of corporate America, has long been a white male dominated arena, but why females and minorities are not as prevalent in this fields needs to be examined. If it is a matter of training then GM needs to continue to implement the Sullivan Principle that discusses training the disadvantaged.

Higher Education and Its Relevancy

Education is becoming increasingly important and a college education is the standard for many jobs, as competition intensifies in the job market. This means that in the foreseeable future almost everyone will complete some post-secondary education, which provides a great audience for the Global Sullivan Principles. The Principles extend into nearly all facets of humanity with an increase of people who know about the Principles; an increase of pressure is put upon multinational corporations to adopt them. The mere discussion of the Principles will help to continue Rev. Sullivan�s legacy and merits the hurdles that higher education institutions face when attempting to adopt the Principles.

Adoption of the Principles by higher education institutions would help incur a positive change for all. Employees would enjoy the guarantee of a safe work environment that outlaws discrimination of any kind and pays fair wages, which would increase morale. It would also revolutionize the way that universities typically interact with communities, by ensuring that the community�s quality of life is a priority. For example, college students could mentor neighborhood children in a time where positive influences are becoming harder to find and university cafeterias could double as overflow for soup kitchens and shelters in the area. Communities would encourage the implementation of the principles, which may accelerate the principles� adoption. The leaders of tomorrow are in the schools of today, so teaching students about principles that stress the importance of ethical practices and human rights is an investment toward the future.

Personal Perspective

During Black History Month we are usually taught a lot about the usual suspects (MLK Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcom X, etc.) over and over again. Learning about these civil rights icons is very important, however; some may get the impression that these were the only people making an impact. Rev. Leon Sullivan has had a very profound effect on the workplace and the lives of their workers internationally, without gaining significant notoriety in America. While this may discourage some, it is an encouragement to me, because it shows that a person can have a lasting impact on society (the Sullivan Principles), even if the general population is oblivious to it. His life is an encouragement for people from all walks of life. His message was that your beginnings (no matter how meager they may be) don�t limit your endings. He once said, "You are like a balloon, it's not your color that makes you rise or fall, but what's inside of you. Believe you can be anything you want."

While Sullivan�s life was inspirational, his legacy (the Principles), is awe-inspiring. Leaving a legacy is something that I aspire towards. I would like to affect a positive change in my community and the world, so something like the Global Sullivan Principles and how they were used to help people is a legacy to be proud of. The Principles have improved working conditions and have held companies responsible for the decisions that they make and their effect on the community. More should be done to spread the word of the Global Sullivan Principles so that others can be inspired to make the world a better place.

Conclusion

The far-reaching impact of the Global Sullivan Principles has forever changed the way multi-nationals conduct business. It put pressure on others, such as the United Nations to adopt similar practices. The Principles guarantee some basic human rights to workers, while serving as motivation for people to challenge the status quo of social injustices. As more and more companies� dirt is being dug up for the public, the need for integrity in the workplace has increased dramatically.

This all relates to engineers, because people trust designs with their lives and that is a point that should be drilled into engineering students� heads. This opens up the opportunity to provide more information on the Global Sullivan Principles and the man behind them, who lived a life worth learning about.

Works Cited

MACKLIN, WILLIAM R. �Sullivan Seeks Global Version of Principles.� 31 Oct., 1999. THE SUNDAY GAZETTE-MAIL via library.cnpapers.com. 5 Aug. 2004. <https://library.cnpapers.com/cgi- bin/texis/search/+RxepmHFKwwwwxFq2I1ccoV wDa5n nA5atcdxwcaVnG5odDadha7GoDqopcn5qzmxwwwwwwwmzmep- wwwwwww/storypage.html?id=3857f2747b9&key=21dedddfc17bf3195086126d 4a781abd.>

A Principled Life. Rev Leon Sullivan.org. 25 Jun. 2004 <https://www.revleonsullivan.org/principled/principled.htm.>

Sensor, Robert A. �Corporate Responsibility Evoked at U.S. Chamber of Commerce.�

8 Oct.1999. Human Rights for Workers Bulletin. 9 Aug. 2004 <https://www.senser.com/10-8.htm>

Silver-Stein, Kenneth. �The Most Influential Black Man Alive.� 1999. Horizon. 15 Jul 2004. <https://horizonmag.com/8/leon-sullivan.asp>

Sullivan, Leon H. Moving Mountains: The Principles and Purposes of Leon Sullivan. Judson press,1998