Southeast : Jackson Urges Shipyard Workers to Retain Hope

The Rev. Jesse Jackson led a rally Monday at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, which is scheduled to be closed, urging about 500 workers to “keep hope alive.”

He spoke fervently of the need for job-training programs for the 2,900 shipyard workers who will lose their jobs or be forced into retirement.

Jackson also told the workers--60% of whom are either nonwhite, female or both--that Gov. Pete Wilson’s efforts to curtail affirmative action distract from the real challenge of converting from defense to a peacetime economy.