If there’s one thing that New Yorkers can agree on, it’s that we should always strive to create new jobs, not take them away. Amazon’s recent decision to withdraw its planned “HQ2” from Long Island City is an example of us failing on this front.
If the deal is to be salvaged, Amazon and New York officials need to do all they can to address local concerns and deliver jobs for local workers.
We at Construction Workforce Project firmly believe that longtime Brooklynites should benefit from the rapid pace of development, which can only truly happen if construction job opportunities are made available to local residents.
A recently announced diversity initiative by the Associated General Contractors of America is an encouraging step forward. However, open shop workers in New York City need much more support from our elected officials in order to achieve real gains for men and women of color in our industry.
We must not confuse sensible efforts to improve the construction industry with mandates that would exclude locally based workers of color and MWBE contractors from some of the city’s biggest projects.
Entre las quejas más comunes de los trabajadores de las minorías está su falta de reconocimiento por parte de los dirigentes sindicales influyentes.
Creemos que cuando se construyan nuevos edificios en el Bronx, un número significativo de los puestos de trabajo de la construcción deben ir a residentes locales, no sólo a trabajadores de fuera de la ciudad.
Mientras que los modelos sindicales tradicionales de contratación siguen presentando barreras de entrada para los trabajadores pertenecientes a minorías, el merit shop (también conocido como open shop) ofrece un modelo de contratación inclusivo, dando una oportunidad a cualquiera que esté dispuesto a trabajar duro.
New York’s diverse communities of color have long lacked access to equal employment opportunities, but New York City’s building boom presents ample opportunity for all New Yorkers to gain access to meaningful education/training and employment.
We urge you to recognize the reality of today’s diverse construction industry and broaden your focus by providing more resources to train, employ and protect New Yorkers of color, regardless of whether or not they are part of a union.
