Minnesota Stadiums’ construction meets minority and female workforce participation goals

Stadiums’ construction workforces mostly White — but less so than usual

BY CHARLES HALLMAN, MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN-RECORDER

January 13, 2010

The University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Twins and others have been aggressively promoting the "workforce diversity" achieved in the construction of both the Gophers' football stadium, which opened last fall, and the Twins' stadium, which is expected to open in March this year. Both stadium projects together involved hundreds of millions of dollars in construction costs, much of it public funds.

M.A. Mortenson Construction was the general contractor for both stadiums and claimed in November that they exceeded their workforce diversity goals in building the two stadiums. They stated that 41-percent minority and female workforce participation was achieved on the U of M stadium project, exceeding the 31-percent goal.

They also stated that approximately 32-percent minority and female workforce participation has been achieved on the Twins ballpark project as of October 2009, exceeding a 30-percent goal.

When asked how many Blacks worked on both projects, Mortenson spokeswoman Lynn Littlejohn said that the construction industry standard, along with federal guidelines, mandates that workforce goals are shown in percentages rather than in the actual number of workers. Furthermore, "Goals are expressed in work hours, which is a truer representation of the diversity of the workforce, as opposed to saying the number of bodies on the site," Littlejohn explained.

However, these percentages provided for the general category "minority" did not enable the MSR to determine the level of participation by African American workers and businesses. We insisted on and later received from Mortenson a specific ethnicity breakdown of work hours on both projects:
• Gophers' stadium - Mortenson reports 1.2 million total workforce hours; 183,025 total minority hours. Ethnicity breakdown: 37 percent Black (67,719 hours); 27 percent Hispanic (49,417 hours); 27 percent Native American (49,417 hours); and nine percent Asian (16,472 hours).
• Twins' stadium (through October 2009) - Mortenson reports 1.9 million total workforce hours; 503,000 total minority hours. Ethnicity breakdown: 37 percent Black (186,110 hours); 27 percent Hispanic (135,810 hours); 27 percent Native American (135,810 hours) and nine percent Asian (45,270 hours).
However, these percentages show only the proportion of each ethnic group's participation within the "minority hours" subcategory rather than as a proportion of the "total workforce hours." Our calculations of the proportion of each group's work as a percentage of the whole, including White workers, showed quite different levels of participation:
• Gophers' stadium: 1.2 million total workforce hours; 183,025 total minority hours (15 percent of total). Ethnicity breakdown: Black (67,719 hours - 5.6 percent of total); Hispanic (49,417 hours - 4.1 percent of total); Native American (49,417 hours - 4.1 percent of total); and Asian (16,472 hours - 1.4 percent of total).
• Twins' stadium (through October 2009): 1.9 million total workforce hours; 503,000 total minority hours (26.5 percent of total). Ethnicity breakdown: Black (186,110 hours - 9.8 percent of total); Hispanic (135,810 hours - 7.2 percent of total); Native American (135,810 hours - 7.2 percent of total) and Asian (45,270 hours - 2.4 percent).

This analysis shows, then, that 85 percent of the work building the new Gophers' stadium and 73.5 percent of the work building the new Twins' stadium has been done by White workers. Black workers did 5.6 percent of the work on the Gophers' stadium and have done 9.8 percent of the work on the Twins' stadium thus far, based on Mortenson's numbers.

Our analysis raised additional questions about the percentages and work hours provided by Mortenson. It seems unlikely that all four groups would have contributed exactly the same labor proportionately on two separate projects: percentages of 37/27/27/9 were given for Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans and Asians respectively on both stadiums.

It seems even more unlikely that on both projects Hispanics and Native Americans contributed exactly the same number of work hours - 135,810 each for the Twins' stadium and 49,417 each for the Gophers' stadium. We received the following explanation of these oddities from Mortenson Marketing Manager Lynette Todd:

"We tracked minority hours by ethnicity for Target Field [the Twins' stadium] due to the public meetings held on a monthly basis throughout construction. Since the scopes of work between the two projects were similar in many cases, we estimated the same percentages for TCF Bank Stadium [the Gophers' stadium]. That is the explanation for the similarity in numbers for between the two projects. Again, because it is not standard industry practice to track minority hours by ethnicity it is difficult to provide the exact numbers you are searching for."

In other words, minority participation in the Gophers' stadium project was not tracked by specific ethnic groups, so Mortenson guessed at those numbers based on participation in the Twins' stadium project.

Also last November, Mortenson recognized 24 subcontractors who helped the company in meeting and exceeding workforce diversity goals on the two stadium projects. Contract sizes reportedly ranged from $2,000 to $5 million on the Gophers site, and $99 million in subcontracted work was awarded through October on the Twins stadium site.

"We were looking at firms who worked a significant amount of hours, who would impact the participation," said Littlejohn, adding that with the exception of four, all the firms were White-owned. "We established small, minority- and women-owned goals for each bid package that we put out, and that was part of the evaluation and selection criteria."

Asked to identify the ethnicity of the four non-White subcontractors, Littlejohn would only repeat that they are "minority-owned." The MSR has been able to identify only one as a Native American-owned firm.

Todd later informed us that "Mortenson has researched several lists published online through the State of Minnesota for small women-and minority-owned firms. In most cases, we could not pinpoint the firm's ethnicity since the primary focus of the lists is to identify businesses by small, women- or minority-owned status. We would not be able to provide accurate statistics through these lists."

Again, we were concerned that this lack of specificity beyond the general category "minority" would not enable the MSR to determine the level of participation, if any, by African American contractors. We took our concerns to two of Minnesota's highest ranking Black elected officials. Both expressed dissatisfaction over our inability to obtain accurate, ethnic-specific involvement on the two stadium projects.

"I don't why it is so hard to find that information," said State Rep. Bobby Champion. "They [Mortenson] know who it is, [whether] woman, Black, or [other] person of color. I don't know why it appears to be that difficult. It is something that I will take a look at and see if they are not complying...and how we can make sure that information is more readily available."

"I find it somewhat troubling that for a publicly funded, publicly financed stadium we have a lack of transparency on whom and where state taxpayer dollars went to," said State Rep. Jeff Hayden. "This is troubling to me and it is something I would be willing to look at and investigate."

Mortenson should be applauded if diversity hiring goals are met, Champion believes. "If firms are doing their goals and exceeding them, we want them to be applauded. We want to make sure that they are intentionally making sure that the quality of lives of people of color and women are being improved by their ability to get out and work on these publicly funded projects."

Finally, the state legislator pledges, "We need to intentionally make sure that there is inclusion. There are people of color and women who are able to do the work, and that work ought to be utilized both on public and privately funded projects."

Summit Academy OIC Executive Director Louis King said that he was involved with Mortenson in setting diversity hiring goals. "It wasn't pretty when we first got started," he recalled. Yet, he applauded the company "for the reports that they developed to support [workforce diversity].

"The biggest thing they did, and what we are trying to get adopted as an industry standard, is take the project [and divide it] by phase, subcontractor, trade, and project out what the minority hiring needs would be."

Mortenson and King's school have worked together to place his students on construction sites after their training is completed, he said. Over 70 percent of Summit Academy students are Black. "They complied," King said of Mortenson's workforce diversity claims.

King added that the community must be more involved in large-scale construction projects from start to finish. "We can't just have the planners get in the room and not give any thought on who gets the money. It is our responsibility as a community to understand the industry standard and identify, recruit, train and provide people who can meet those standards."

Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@spokesman-re corder.com.

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2010/01/13/stadiums’-construction-workforces-mostly-white-—-less-so-usual

Are Minority Contractors getting contracts from the Stimulus Plan?

Are Minorities Being Shortchanged by the Stimulus?

By Tim Padgett / Miami Monday, Nov. 23, 2009

Miami's poorer residents have long complained that the city's meager public-transit system makes it harder for them to get to work. So when the Obama Administration announced the $787 billion stimulus plan earlier this year, many hoped some of that money would help fund plans like an expansion of Miami's undersized Metrorail system — especially a 10-mile northern extension that would reach into predominantly African-American and other minority communities largely cut off from downtown and other employment centers. But the project, in part because it's not considered as shovel-ready as jobs like existing highway maintenance, isn't getting any of the $15 billion in stimulus aid for Florida, and has been shelved for the time being.

To Gihan Perera, that's just one example of how federal and state governments are missing a great opportunity to use the stimulus to aid the poor and minority communities hardest hit by the Great Recession. Perera, director of the nonprofit Miami Workers Center (MWC), is among a number of antipoverty activists closely examining which communities and contractors are getting stimulus dollars, and so far he says the picture doesn't look bright for already marginalized "low-opportunity" zones and minority-owned firms. The lion's share of road and other construction work in Florida has gone to venues like airports and new highways that usually benefit more affluent suburbs, Perera argues. And as of September, less than 10% of the $330 million in stimulus projects awarded directly from federal agencies to Florida-based contractors had gone to minority-owned firms, according to a study by the MWC, the Kirwan Institute at Ohio State University and the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy (RISEP) at Miami's Florida International University. In all, black-owned firms received less than 2%. "The fear," says Perera, "is that the stimulus money could instead serve to exacerbate the inequalities that existed before."

That's not just a concern for the Sunshine State, which now has one of the nation's highest jobless and home-foreclosure rates. Earlier this year, the Associated Press found that across the U.S., the stimulus plan was "set to spend 50% more per person in areas with the lowest unemployment than it will in communities with the highest." In Illinois, President Obama's home state, a Chicago Public Radio investigation this fall found that less than 10% of the Department of Transportation's stimulus contracts had gone to "disadvantaged business enterprises," or DBEs, even though the state says it benchmarked almost a quarter of the dollars for those minority- and women-owned firms. Less than 2% of it had gone to black-owned businesses. Florida's Department of Transport doesn't have a specific DBE participation target for stimulus-related projects, but it says it exceeded its goal of more than 8% for all federally funded (not just stimulus) work in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. Still, given that Florida's workforce is about one-third minority, watchdogs like the MWC suggest the target should be higher.

Washington and the states have been trying to get stimulus money and projects out the door as quickly as possible, often bundling smaller projects into larger ones set to begin work immediately (so-called shovel-ready projects) for more efficiency. Consequently, they have also tended to rely on larger and therefore predominantly white-owned construction contractors (who in turn also tend to use their preferred subcontractors) over smaller minority-owned firms that often don't have ample equipment or personnel. Those smaller companies also have trouble finding the resources to post construction bonds (money contractors must offer up front as a guarantee that a job will be finished) on larger jobs. Serge Jean-Louis, a Haitian-American contractor and president of Nicon Engineering in Coconut Creek, Fla., near Fort Lauderdale, is struggling to land stimulus-related projects in South Florida. He says federal and state officials managing the stimulus should relax bond requirements for smaller firms and DBEs, "or we're going to be out of the stimulus picture."

The Obama Administration insists that 15% of the stimulus contracts awarded so far across the country have gone to DBEs. That's 2½ times the share of federally funded projects that went to minority- and women-owned firms in fiscal 2008, say officials. "It's a top priority of the President's, and we've worked very hard to create those opportunities," says David Hinson, director of the Commerce Department's Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). Hinson points to the outreach program the MBDA and the Small Business Administration have created to "put boots on the ground" and make contract procurement easier for DBEs. He also suggests it's "a little early to draw conclusions" about the stimulus' level of minority participation.

Most of the federal stimulus money is disbursed via states and counties, and the outlook for minorities does seem better once the dollars reach more local levels. Miami-Dade County's Public Works Department has kept its so far $25 million worth of stimulus projects relatively small, and therefore more accessible to minority contractors, to ensure its own 10% DBE participation goal. On some projects Miami-Dade has even 100% DBE involvement. For now, the county is using what stimulus money it can earmark for transit purposes to purchase a fleet of BRT (bus rapid transit) buses that will at least reach into predominantly minority corridors at a faster clip than conventional metro bus lines. Says Miami-Dade Public Works Director Esther Calas, the stimulus trickle-down "wasn't really crafted to happen as fast as it could have, but once it gets to us we're expediting it quickly." She points out that Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez championed an ordinance last year that accelerates contracting processes related to any kind of economic-stimulus project.

Given such different track records, minority-business advocates like John Powell, director of the Kirwan Institute, which studies race and ethnicity issues, feel that additional stimulus billions should be pushed more directly to the local level, where it stands a better chance of boosting poor minority areas. "These communities see tons of money moving around, but they fear it's passing them by," says Powell, noting that many, if not most, U.S. municipalities don't yet know how to access stimulus funds for basic green projects like home weatherization and biofuel stations.

Powell thinks it's only fair that more stimulus money finds its way to minority communities, since much of today's economic disaster can be traced to those areas being lavished with subprime mortgages. Despite recovery.gov, the federal website designed for tracing stimulus outlays, Powell argues, "We need to put how this is playing out under a larger magnifying glass, make it more transparent." If not, he warns, "we'll have the irony of the first black President presiding over the greatest economic restructuring in decades, but it could actually end up worsening the racial disparity." Whether or not that's an exaggerated warning, heeding it could help Obama ensure that his recovery crusade is on a track that does the most long-term — and not just immediate — good.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1940338,00.html?xid=rss-topstories#ixzz0XkAarNR5

U.S. Department of Labor awards contract to produce ‘A Woman’s Guide to Green Jobs’

News Release

WB News Release: [09/30/2009]
Contact Name: Lina Garcia
Phone Number: (202) 693-4661
Release Number: 09-1200-NAT

U.S. Department of Labor awards contract to produce ‘A Woman’s Guide to Green Jobs’

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Women's Bureau has awarded a $265,690 contract to Public Policy Associates Inc. in Lansing, Mich., which will partner with Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW), a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., in the development of a publication designed to increase women's access to high-growth and emerging industry occupations in the green jobs sector nationwide.

"Women are an important part of the nation's workforce, and there are many exciting opportunities for them in the emerging green jobs sector," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.

Through both a hard copy publication and an online curriculum, "A Woman's Guide to Green Jobs" will provide women — who make up 47 percent of the total U.S. workforce — and employment professionals in general with information on hiring needs, training and entrepreneurship opportunities in green industries. National, state and local resources, including women's organizations and workforce practitioners, will be included. As part of this effort, the Women's Bureau will connect women with best practices and support services to facilitate their success in the workplace of the 21st century.

Public Policy Associates Inc. and WOW were selected through a competitive process. The Women's Bureau expects to release the new publication and accompanying curriculum in spring 2010.

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/wb/wb20091200.htm

SBA Launches New Online Training Course for Women Entrepreneurs

SBA Launches New Online Training Course: Winning Federal Contracts - A Guide for Women Entrepreneurs
Wed Oct 14, 2009 11:45am EDT

WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)-- Women who own small businesses will be able to use a new online U.S. Small Business Administration training course to learn how to identify and take advantage of federal contracting opportunities. The new training course, Winning Federal Contracts: A Guide for Women Entrepreneurs, is part of an ongoing government-wide initiative to promote opportunities for women-owned businesses in the area of government contracting. 

 This free online tutorial is a practical and easy to use guide that walks a woman-owned small business through the contracting process. SBA is committed to ensuring that women-owned businesses receive at least 5 percent of federal contracts and believes better training opportunities are central to meeting this government-wide goal. 

 "Federal contracts can provide unique opportunities for women entrepreneurs and small business owners to grow their businesses and create jobs, particularly during these tough economic times," Administrator Karen Mills said. "It`s also a win for federal agencies, by contracting with women-owned small businesses; they are working with some of the most innovative and dynamic companies in the country." 

 The SBA`s Office of Women`s Business Ownership oversees a national network of more than 100 Women`s Business Centers (WBCs) that provide education and training to help women start and grow small businesses. In addition, the SBA has 68 district offices and other resource partners throughout the country available to train and counsel women-owned small businesses and entrepreneurs seeking government contracts. 

 "This online training course makes critical information and training available to an even wider array of women entrepreneurs and small business owners," said Ana Harvey, assistant administrator for SBA`s Office of Women`s Business Ownership. "SBA wants to help ensure they have the tools and resources they need to compete for and win federal contracts." 

 The Winning Federal Contracts course is designed to help women entrepreneurs learn about the federal procurement process and to prepare them to compete for contracting opportunities. The self-paced guide uses audio and script to provide information about contract rules, how to sell to the government and where to find contracts. 

 The Winning Federal Contracts course is available on SBA`s Web site at www.sba.gov or directly at www.sba.gov/fedcontractingtraining. It is indexed by subject matter, and includes direct links to additional contracting resources. 

 Release Number: 09-71  U.S. Small Business Administration Cecelia Taylor, 202-401-3059 Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS151739+14-Oct-2009+BW20091014  

Congressman Forbes to Host Free Government Contracting Seminar for Minority-Owned and Women-Owned Businesses in Chesapeake, VA

Washington, D.C., May 13 -Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04) is hosting a free Government Contracting Seminar for minority-owned and women-owned businesses to be held at the Lifestyle Center at the Chesapeake Regional Medical Center on June 8th, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. The seminar is free and open to any minority-owned and women-owned business person in the Fourth District who is interested in gaining insight and information into contracting to the federal government.

WHO: Congressman Randy Forbes, all interested representatives of minority-owned and women-owned businesses in the Fourth District, representatives from the Hampton Roads Procurement Assistance Center, the Small Business Administration, and a successful small business owner.

WHAT: "Government Contracting Seminar for Minority-Owned and Women-Owned Businesses." A seminar to provide minority-owned and women-owned businesses who contract to the government with an overview of the federal registration process, including, small business regulations and Central Contractor Registration; an overview of small business programs, including 8A, Small Disadvantaged Business, HUBZone and Mentor Protege; information on tools to use in government contracting and on how to look for opportunities in the federal government.

WHEN: Monday, June 8, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon. Check-in will begin at 8:45 a.m.

WHERE: The Lifestyle Center at the Chesapeake Regional Medical Center

800 Battlefield Blvd N.

Chesapeake, Virginia 23320

Any minority-owned or women-owned small business person who would like to participate should register online at http://chesapeakegovcontracting.eventbrite.com/. They may also visit http://forbes.house.gov/ConstituentServices/chesapeakegovcontracting.htm for more information, including directions and an agenda, or may call Congressman Forbes' Chesapeake office at 757-382-0080. To ensure an adequate amount of resources are available for our participants, RSVPs are required for this event.

#DAL1234#

Forbes to Host Free Government Contracting Seminar for Minority-Owned and Women-Owned Businesses in Chesapeake www.tradingmarkets.com

Turner awards record $1.4B to MWBEs

Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 11:31am EDT
Turner awards record $1.4B to MWBEs
Orlando Business Journal


Turner Construction Co. broke another company record last year in awarding contracts to businesses owned by minorities and women.

The New York-based general contractor, which has had an office in Orlando since 1984, awarded a record 2,850 contracts totaling $1.4 billion to minority- and women-owned businesses in 2008.

This is the fourth year in a row that Turner Construction has given more than $1 billion worth of contracts to minority- and women-owned enterprises, according to a news release.

“Our long-standing record of achievement in expanding economic opportunities for minority and women-owned contractors across the country is critical to the success of Turner and of our industry,” said Hilton Smith, senior vice president of community affairs, in a prepared statement.

Turner Construction is one of the leading general builders in the United States. The firm, which completed $9.6 billion in construction projects in 2007, is a subsidiary of German construction company Hochtief (FWB: HOT).

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2009/03/09/daily16.html

Round 3 Hampton, VA: Minority contractors faring worse since Hampton disparity study in 2006

Earlier articles:

http://sistersinthebrotherhood.blogspot.com/2009/02/minority-report-hampton-vashameful.html

http://sistersinthebrotherhood.blogspot.com/2009/02/rebuttle-hamptons-record-on-minority.html

Minority contractors faring worse since Hampton disparity study in 2006
By Matthew Sturdevant 247-7874
March 8, 2009

HAMPTON - — Minority-owned businesses have received a smaller and smaller percentage of city contracts in recent years, even after a report was released in January 2006 with recommendations on how to even out the disparity.

Hampton hired a consultant five years ago to analyze trends in city purchasing and procurement during the four-year period between fiscal years 1999 and 2003. The report revealed that Hampton's spending of taxpayer funds mostly left out minority-owned and women-owned businesses, which were a small fraction of companies available to do business.

For example, black-owned construction companies accounted for 4.38 percent of all prime contractors in the area, and received 1.05 percent of Hampton's construction spending for prime contractors during the four-year period.

Since the report came out, minority-owned businesses have fared worse, not better.


The percentage of Hampton's spending with minority-owned businesses decreased each year since fiscal year 2006. Businesses owned by blacks, Hispanics, Asian-Americans and other minorities received 1.63 percent of Hampton's spending in fiscal year 2008, which ended June 30. The city's record of spending with women-owned businesses fluctuated in recent years — as low as 1.11 percent in fiscal year 2005 and as high as 3.89 percent in 2007.

Even though the numbers reflect an under-representation of minorities and women, few of the business leaders who were interviewed for the disparity study — 6 percent of those surveyed — believed that discrimination was a factor.

Hampton's record of doing business with minority- and women-owned companies was better than the commonwealth of Virginia's by most measures, according to the disparity study. However, Hampton trailed in most categories behind other cities it was compared to in the study, including Charlotte, N.C.; Tallahassee, Fla.; Orange County, Fla.; and Columbia, S.C.

Sometime soon, likely in April, the City Council will hear a new round of recommendations from Jessica R. Spencer, the Economic Development Department's minority business coordinator, and from the Finance Department's procurement office.

Spencer is relatively new to the job. She was hired last year. She has 14 years experience and was director of the Business Opportunity Workforce Development Center for the Virginia Department of Transportation.

What aren't new are Hampton's efforts to improve representation by minority- and women-owned businesses. The city has had a Small and Minority Business Loan program since 1986 and a nondiscrimination ordinance since 1991.

The disparity report that came out a few years ago commended the city for having programs that make loan money available for small businesses and businesses owned by woman or minorities. The report also commended Hampton for "providing management and technical assistance through its support for local (business) incubators."

Hampton's efforts to help build minority businesses have had some success. Recently, the Economic Development Department welcomed three businesses owned by minority women: Java Junkies coffee shop at 768 Settlers Landing Road in downtown; KingsWay Physical Therapy at 208 Fox Hill Road, Suite B; and Soapalooza, a homemade soap shop at 3411 Old Armistead Ave.

The city also faces challenges in improving its record with minority businesses, which Spencer will explain in detail during a City Council workshop.

The real problem is the people who implement city policy, said Rudy Langford, president of the Coalition for Justice for Civil Rights, about the contract percentages.

"It's favoritism ... recommendations ain't worth a dime," he said.

On the other hand, former Councilman Charles Sapp, who is director of management services at REMSA, a minority woman-owned firm in Hampton, said he believes the low number of city contracts that go to minority- and women-owned businesses is not discrimination, but a problem with the city's process of soliciting bids and development proposals.

"That's an area we need to investigate — the processes and policies which raise barriers to small business," Sapp said.

http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-local_minoritycontracts_0304mar08,0,2464279.story

Make sure women share equally in the benefits of the stimulus package

Publish Date: 2/8/2009

Polis: Stimulus draft favors men

By Tony Kindelspire
Longmont Times-Call

LONGMONT — As Congress debates President Barack Obama’s stimulus package, some are concerned the jobs it aims to create will favor male-dominated professions.

The final bill signed by the president will likely contain billions of dollars for infrastructure: transportation projects, schools and health-care facilities. The federal government will spend some of this money, and some will be funneled through state and local governments.

Proponents say the stimulus bill will create tens of thousands of new construction jobs, but as U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, points out, that industry is dominated by men. In a Jan. 15 letter, Polis urged the president to take steps to make sure women share equally in the benefits of the stimulus package.

“Absent efforts to increase worker diversity in infrastructure-related jobs — this could lead to a shift of hundreds of billions of dollars of wealth from women to men,” Polis, a first-term Congressman representing the 2nd Congressional District, wrote in his letter.

Polis said by phone early last week that a constituent in Boulder alerted him to the issue.

“While we all might have suspected, the numbers bore it out,” he said. “After assembling all the information, we found out that of all the infrastructure jobs, 93 percent go to men and 7 percent go to women.”

He said he wrote the letter for two reasons: to alert the president and his colleagues in Congress to the need to take action, and to point to training programs that would address the disparity.

Polis’ letter has drawn support from dozens of women and family-oriented nonprofits, who have sent letters of their own to the president and Congress urging them to add provisions to the final stimulus bill that will level the playing field.

“We believe that we need an economy that works for all of us, and we are encouraged by the discussion that is happening along those lines,” said Linda Meric, executive director of the Denver chapter of 9to5, the National Association of Working Women.

More women than ever are in the workplace, and more families than ever depend on that income, Meric said.

In 2007, women made up 48.7 percent of the labor force, up from 41.2 percent in 1980, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

During the same period, the number of households headed by a single female parent rose to 25 percent from 18 percent, and by 2007, more than 70 percent of children lived in either a dual-earner household or one led by a single, working parent.

The proposed stimulus bill does contain positives for women, Meric said. For example, she said, more money is slated for child care, health care, computerized medical records, and state and local governments.

“These areas employ more women, so job creation and job protection in those areas directly affects women,” she said.

The types of jobs the stimulus package provides are key, Meric said. Calling for “family-supporting” jobs, the letter 9to5 and the other groups signed calls for jobs that pay wages and benefits that will support a family and paid time off so workers can care for themselves and their families.

And given the increase in women in the work force and the fact that more of them are supporting families, the unemployment system needs to be modernized, she said.

“The workplace and the unemployment system haven’t changed to keep up with these changes,” Meric said. “We think that’s a very important piece of the economy.”

She said she supports Polis’ recommendations for diversifying the stimulus package and the work force. While it’s true that women are a small percentage of those working in construction, there are ways to get more women the training they need to do the jobs.

Polis calls for expanding the U.S. Department of Labor’s grant program that awards competitive grants to recruit, hire, train and retain women in apprenticeships and non-traditional occupations.

Polis also calls for enforcing existing rules regarding hiring women by federal construction contractors, and for providing incentives to privately held companies that employ women.

Meric said some of these measures won’t necessarily help in the short term, but they provide a way to begin diversifying the work force now.

“Those (measures) particularly provide an opportunity for us as a country to provide training for women and other underrepresented groups,” she said.

About a dozen other members of the U.S. House of Representatives signed Polis’ letter to the president, he said, including Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., who has been in Congress since 1974 and is now chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.

Tony Kindelspire can be reached at 303-684-5291 or tkindelspire@times-call.com

http://www.timescall.com/tcBusiness/business-story.asp?ID=14338

REBUTTLE: Hampton's record on minority purchasing isn't bad

February 8, 2009

David Squires undoubtedly raised a few eyebrows with his Feb. 5 column, "The business minority report shames Hampton." A close reading of the report reveals evidence for commending the city of Hampton as well.

First, consider the magnitude of the problem. The most dramatic statistic, in Squires' column as well as in earlier Daily Press articles, is that Hampton's population is comprised of 48 percent African- Americans, yet only 1.6 percent of purchases and procurements are awarded to minority-owned companies. The study actually compared the city's procurement award percentage to "the percentage of minority-owned businesses in the relevant market area," which for African-American owned businesses varied from 1 to 5 percent, depending on the type of firm. While some disparity was found, it was not anywhere near the magnitude indicated.

Second, consider the nature of the problem. The primary assumption has been that whatever disparity exists is a result of racial and gender discrimination. When the City Council established the Purchasing and Procurement Oversight Committee in 1989, its mission was to remove legal, financial and other barriers to small business while encouraging "greater, fairness and broader representation of the community." Some 15 years later, the disparity study was explicitly tailored to look for evidence of discrimination to provide a basis for the establishment of "a remedial race- conscious program." This perspective is further reflected by the report's opening 37-page summary of the evolution of affirmative action in procurement.

So over the years the focus has shifted from small businesses in general to minority and women-owned businesses in particular. Yet, only 6 percent of firms surveyed reported that discrimination was a factor in their experience with the procurement process, and those incidents occurred post- award and reflected mostly issues between prime contractors and their subs.


It also must be remembered that during much of the period of the study (FY 1999-2003) the mayor, city manager and key managers in the financial and procurement chain of command were all African-Americans, as was the City Council representative to the Purchasing and Procurement Oversight Committee. As the city leadership considers its response to the findings of the study, those individuals should be able to provide some additional insight into the policies that constrained them from fixing the problem when they were in the seats of power.

But all of the findings did not condemn the city. In fact, the city was commended by the consultants for a variety of actions ranging from the establishment of the Purchasing and Procurement Oversight Committee to extensive outreach efforts to the business community. Furthermore, although some disparities were noted, the percentage of dollars spent with minority businesses was generally higher than the level of spending by the commonwealth of Virginia. In other words, the city outperformed the state.

So, this issue has been formally recognized for at least two decades, and a number of remedies have been put in place. Yet, the situation has proved intractable. When significant effort is spent trying to solve a problem and it won't go away, then it is time to try something different, like shifting the focus back to small businesses in general.

The study offered other states, such as North and South Carolina and Florida, as procurement systems to emulate. As a Dillon Rule state, Virginia's procurement policies drive the city's procedures to a great extent, and there may well be opportunities for improvement at the state level. With that end in mind, good ideas need to be harvested from the more successful jurisdictions and championed as part of the city's legislative agenda.

A close and critical look also needs to be taken at Hampton's internal procurement policies and processes. Indications are that there are still nondiscrimination-related "legal, financial and other barriers" to doing business with the city that have discouraged a broad range of companies, especially small businesses.

I have even more insight to offer but learned at a young age that things given away for free are rarely valued. I look forward to responding to the request for proposal.

Sapp, who was a member of the Hampton City Council from 2004 to 2008, is director of management services at REMSA, a minority woman-owned firm in Hampton. He may be contacted at charsapp@cox.net.

http://www.dailypress.com/news/opinion/dp-op_sapp_0208feb08,0,2321389.story

Minority Report: Hampton, VA...Shameful!

The business minority report shames Hampton
David Squires | Urban Affairs
February 5, 2009

Leaders in and around Hampton seem very cautious — defensive even — in discussing a recent revelation that the city does only 1.6 percent in purchases and procurements with minority-owned companies and only 2.39 percent with women-owned companies.

The population in the city of Hampton is 48 percent African-American. Besides that, Hampton has a nationwide reputation as a Mecca for the black middle class. As one associate said to me after finding out I'd moved here nearly five years ago: "Hampton is not the South." But 1.6 percent in purchases and services in such a diverse city — those numbers scream deep South.

People just expect much better from Hampton.

Such numbers lend weight to old-line civil rights warriors such as Rudy Langford, who says one should expect no better from Hampton's leadership, whom Langford characterizes as a bunch of "lightweights." And that's just the polite version of what Langford says.


A slight pass can be given to new council members such as George Wallace and Mayor Molly Joseph Ward, who are fresh in their seats and who have vowed to improve the numbers. While he was city manager, Wallace tried to bring some of his concerns to light, he and other insiders say. As a council member, he now has a vote and can do something about it.

Wallace can also be given praise for helping to bring the data to light by pushing the disparity study in Hampton that helped to crunch the numbers.

Apparently, Hampton is one of the few — if not the lone — city in Virginia to provide such a study. Why now? "Because it wasn't anybody's priority," Wallace said.

Councilwoman Angela Leary, on the council since 2004 questioned the validity of the numbers, saying she is "having a hard time reconciling" the figures.

Paige Washington, a councilman since 1996, understands the figures all too well.

Washington said the city's problems with being equitable to minority vendors stems from the 1970s when a Virginia Supreme Court ruling struck down minority set aside programs, which earmarked certain funds for minority and female contractors.

"It just became very frustrating, and some black businesses just gave up," Washington said.

In other cities, solid leadership and creative thinking have boosted numbers.

Tony Leverette, business development director for the Northern Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council, based in Cleveland, said: "If an organization has committed themselves to minority business development, the equity doesn't start until they show some type of increase year over year."

Wallace said Hampton is working on policies to bring about such increases.

He and others also point out that the city of Hampton has done other types of business with minority-owned companies. For instance, a public-private partnership led to the building of the $13.5-million Boo Williams Sportsplex, which will be a lasting legacy for former mayor turned council member Ross A. Kearney II.

Hampton University President William R. Harvey points out that the city also donated 51/2 acres of land for the university's Proton Therapy Institute, a cancer treatment center. The city also laid out $60,000 a year for the past three years — and $50,000 for each of the three previous years — for a business incubator at HU, he said.

The incubator will help nourish some of the types of businesses that will eventually be able to do business with the city, and Harvey said it is his plans for HU to forge a long-term partnership with the city.

But with HU just a stone's throw away from City Hall, and with Harvey building hotels and other businesses all across Hampton Roads, why hasn't HU and the city of Hampton been doing more business all along? Did you know that Harvey and HU are in the hotel business? The university has financed the Hilton Garden Inn in Virginia Beach and the Marriott at City Center in Newport News.

Harvey praised Hampton for identifying its problem. " ... they are the only city to put their money where their mouth is," Harvey said, explaining that some other Hampton Roads cities had not yet decided to fund a disparity study.

"I think the mayor and the city manager and city council pretty much have their eye on the ball."

Well, if that's the case, maybe Hampton's city leaders won't miss that giant football staring them straight in the face.

New NFL Hall of Fame inductee Bruce Smith and Virginia Hall of Fame inductee William Fuller have put forth a proposal to develop land at Buckroe Beach, one of the few locations they were allowed to swim in as kids. Fuller and Smith, both Norfolk natives who are African-American, say their parents also have fond members of coming to Buckroe during the days of segregation.

Now they have a multi-phase plan to bring housing, vibrancy and jobs to that area of Hampton — and they are a gift-wrapped opportunity to show that Hampton is not "the South." For some, this might be somewhat of a Hail Mary.

Now let's sit back and watch as Hampton drops this ball.

David Squires can be reached at 247-4639, by e-mail at dsquires@dailypress.com or via blog at dailypress.com/urbanblog.

http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-local_squires_0205feb05,0,2667413.column

New IL Governor wants Illinois lawmakers to vote for billions of dollars worth of construction spending by April 3

8-cent gas tax could finance state construction
By Dan Carden | Daily Herald StaffContact writer

SPRINGFIELD - Gov. Pat Quinn said Wednesday he wants Illinois lawmakers to vote for billions of dollars worth of construction spending by April 3 - a tab some say should be covered by a hike in the state's gas tax.

The governor would not say how much money Illinois should spend on road, bridge and school building, or how the state would pay for it. But some lawmakers are making the case that gas taxes should be raised 8 cents a gallon to possibly finance $7 billion worth of construction.

The state's gas tax is currently 19 cents per gallon, but Illinois drivers also pay federal tax, state sales tax and local gas taxes that vary depending on where they fill up. It adds up to an average of more than 50 cents per gallon in taxes.

McHenry County Republican state Rep. Mike Tryon said the Illinois gas tax is already unfair with the sales tax tacked on. Even higher taxes could be detrimental to transportation businesses and commuters suffering from the economic downturn.

"I think it's a very difficult decision to make when you're one of the states that has the highest gas tax in the country," Tryon said. "I think people need to think about the damage that's going to do."

State Rep. Tim Schmitz, a Batavia Republican, was similarly hesitant.

"Four dollar a gallon gasoline is still stuck in my mind. Because it's knocked down to a buck 95 today all of sudden everyone says, 'this isn't that bad.' Well it is that bad. It's a very volatile commodity," Schmitz said.

Rep. John Bradley, a Marion Democrat, is sponsoring the gas tax increase, saying people who use the roads should pay for them. House Speaker Michael Madigan supports Bradley's plan.

"We can't get the infrastructure improvements we need without paying the cost, and we can't always expect someone else to shoulder that cost," Bradley said. "If we're going to do things in government we have to have a way to pay for it."

State Sen. Kirk Dillard said he's got an open mind when it comes to raising funds to fix the state's "crumbling roads." But the Hinsdale Republican wants an exchange. He'd support raising the motor fuel tax and phasing out the state sales tax on gas.

The sales tax "goes mostly to welfare and none goes to roads, bridges and mass transit," Dillard said. The motor fuel tax is directed into transportation spending and would be a more appropriate source of construction funding, he explained.

Quinn wouldn't commit to, or rule out, a gas hike.

"I think we need to have a fair way, an understandable and clear way, and a swift way, to make sure we pay for the bonds," Quinn, a Chicago Democrat, told reporters after a closed-door meeting with Republican lawmakers.

Those Republicans have made construction spending a priority in recent years.

Apparently off the table is former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's idea of leasing the Illinois Lottery to finance a nearly $34 billion construction spending spree. Quinn said of the lottery deal, "I'm not excited about that one."

Illinois can also get an extra $6 billion from the federal government for transportation projects if the legislature approves matching funds.

"We don't want to be the pothole capital of the United States," Quinn said.

The most recent construction spending plan - Illinois FIRST - was approved in 1999 and spent $12 billion over five years largely on roads, schools and public transit. Blagojevich and legislative leaders could never work out how to pay for a new capital plan or what to spend the money on.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=269692&src=109

Remember the ladies for this Economic Stimulus Plan

guest commentary
Remember the ladies
By Jared Polis
Posted: 01/27/2009 12:30:00 AM MST

"In the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors."
— Abigail Adams to John Adams, March 31, 1776

The economic recovery package before Congress this week is largely devoted to infrastructure investment — transportation and school projects, energy-efficiency improvements, and green economy investments such as smart grid expansions — to jump-start our economy and create hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Unfortunately, while President Barack Obama is to be applauded for proposing such a robust investment, the proposed infrastructure spending overwhelmingly benefits men and won't be of much help to unemployed women. Without efforts to increase workforce diversity, this could lead to a massive shift of hundreds of billions of dollars of wealth from women to men.

Public works spending during the New Deal disproportionately employed men, but women comprised only 22 percent of the workforce in 1930. Doing nothing to redress this inequity was a mistake then and it would be an even greater mistake now.

Today, women make up nearly half — 46 percent — of the total U.S. labor force, but only 9.4 percent of the construction industry. While the overall unemployment rates of women and men have been similar since 2000, women with children experience much higher unemployment rates. Worse still, there is evidence that women who lose their jobs face a harder time finding new jobs than their male counterparts.

We must not let this gender imbalance lessen the impact of this much-needed investment or hinder our economic recovery. A few simple steps, if incorporated into the economic recovery package, could help ensure that infrastructure investment can and will benefit women.

First, we should expand the U.S. Department of Labor's Women in Apprenticeship and Non-traditional Occupations (WANTO) grant program that "awards competitive grants to recruit, hire, train, and retain women in apprenticeships and non-traditional occupations."

The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006 allows states to use funds for "preparing students for employment in fields that are traditionally dominated by one gender." Not only should funding for the Perkins Act increase, but the program should be more narrowly geared toward gender diversification in infrastructure-related jobs through gender equity set-asides and the reestablishment of equity coordinators.

Second, we should increase the targets for female employment by federal construction contractors and require them to design and implement plans for hiring and retaining qualified female workers. Selection criteria for contracts could include assessments of these strategies and past performance. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance should rigorously enforce implementation.

Third, we should provide incentives for companies employing women. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit encourages employers to hire members of families receiving benefits under the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program, among other disadvantaged populations, whose beneficiaries are overwhelmingly women. Increasing the size of the credit would make it an even stronger incentive for employers.

These steps can be implemented swiftly. During World War II, with the urgent need to ramp up war production, women entered traditionally male jobs that necessitated skilled training — welding, iron molding, skilled machine work — within months.

We must ensure that the biggest jobs program since the Great Depression does not redistribute America's wealth away from women and funnel their federal taxes and debt obligations into paying for jobs for men.

Incorporating these changes would meet both the immediate needs of the recovery package and the long-term goals of improving the skill and preparation of our workforce by offering a future filled with greater economic security for women and their families.

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis represents Colorado's 2nd District.

http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_11558401