The Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway (TTW), connecting the Port of Mobile, Alabama with Appalachia and mid-America, is the largest public works project now under construction in the U.S. Investigating the potential TTW impact on poor, rural, and black populations in the impact area, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives initiated a study in 1970 which revealed that about 60% of that population was low income, 40% black, and 75% of that black population low income. Other studies have revealed that between 1950-73 over 50 million people (66% black) have migrated out of the 165 county primary impact area, projecting that employment in the TTW area will increase by over 1 million jobs (1973-2000) without TTW and by 126,200 additional jobs with TTW. As a result of a conference convened in 1974 by the Federation, the Minority People's Council (MPC) on TTW was established. Forming a coalition with the construction craft unions, the MPC has engaged in: securing an affirmative action plan for minority employment in TTW construction; training programs to prepare minorities for employment; community education efforts to inform people of the TTW impact; involving educational institutions in the impact area; and conducting studies of available vocational program relevance to TTW employment opportunities. (JC)