Activism
Oakland Council Seeks Racial and Gender Equity in Hiring for City-Funded Construction Projects, Part III
‘I don’t see Black people working on projects in Oakland,’ was a common comment by town hall meeting participants “(And) we have to have more discussion and focus on the lack of Black presence in the development projects,” said another.
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City held town hall meetings to hear experiences of local residents working in construction
By Ken Epstein
The Oakland City Council is developing policies and practices to overcome barriers that prevent the hiring of African Americans and women on building projects that are funded by taxpayer dollars.
The Council is beginning implementation of a recent report from the city’s Department of Race and Equity. The report was produced in response to a request of building trade unions for a citywide Project Labor Agreement (PLA) that would guarantee most city construction jobs to members of their unions.
The Council voted in October to create a task force to gather community expertise to adopt new policies to promote equity in city-funded construction employment. The task force has not started yet, according to City Representative Karen Boyd.
So far, 10 of 28 building trades unions have submitted data on gender, race and ethnicity of their members. Of the unions that reported, 2% of current trade union members are female and 5% are Black.
To get to the present stage has already taken several years of intensive efforts by city staff, nonprofits and community groups who wrote the city report, “Improving the Effectiveness of Project Labor Agreements.”
Some of the work that led to the final report included holding town hall meetings to hear opinions and concerns of people involved in the building industry: construction workers, representatives of the building trades unions, small contractors, and community advocates.
The town hall meetings were held between June and September 2019, sponsored by the city’s Contract and Compliance Division and the Department of Race and Equity at five different locations throughout the city. A summary of these town halls was prepared by Junious Williams Consulting.
The town halls heard first-hand what participants see as “barriers to training, employment and contracting for Oakland residents in city-involved construction projects, especially for those who live in Oakland neighborhoods (and) experience negative disparate impacts in terms of access to training and employment,” according to the summary report.
One of the major themes were concerns about the “behavior and commitment of the building trades unions.” Community members said the unions, “(h)ave not been forthcoming with data on the racial composition of their membership” and proposed that “the city should not engage in negotiating a PLA/CWA (Project Labor Agreement/Community Workforce Agreement) unless the unions are willing to change their stance around data on membership and their practices, which participants saw as barriers to employment for Black workers and other Oakland residents,” according to the summary report.
‘I don’t see Black people working on projects in Oakland,’ was a common comment by participants “(And) we have to have more discussion and focus on the lack of Black presence in the development projects,” said another.
Several people mentioned that past job-producing efforts have too often stressed entry-level jobs and not top-paying, journeyman positions. “(There is) too much focus on pre-apprentice and apprentices. (There) needs to be more focus and discussion on how to increase work for journey people.” Journey people generally have additional skills and licensing and are better paid.
Some of those attending the meetings were concerned that the building trades unions function as a closed club. “The union behavior sounds like you are saying ‘I can set up a fraternity and only the people I say yes to can join.’ This should be enough to say no to a PLA,” said one speaker.
Past agreements have required certain percentages of Oakland residents to be hired on jobs, but contractors have often sidestepped the rule. “Some people complained that contractors have rented apartments near their project sites to bring in non-resident workers who are counted as Oakland residents for compliance purposes,” the summary report said.
Participants also discussed the barriers for small contractors, who are often non-union but employ the overwhelming majority of Black and women workers who obtain jobs in construction.
Barriers facing small contractors include obstacles to obtaining performance bonds, insurance and access to capital. The city needs to have “carve outs for small, non-union contracts,” which includes breaking up the scope of work to be manageable for smaller companies (and to) unbundle contracts to make them accessible to smaller companies,” the summary report said.
One of the most consistent comments was that strong policies would not be enough; the city must match the policies with strong monitoring and enforcement of any labor agreements.
“Whatever agreement (there is) must have strong teeth (sufficient staff) to deal with companies that do not follow the rules,” the summary report said.
This is the third of a series of articles on Project Labor Agreements and racial equity analysis.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025
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Activism
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Lateefah Simon to Speak at Elihu Harris Lecture Series
The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.
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By Scott Horton
United States House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8) will be a speaker at the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series on Friday, Feb. 21.
The event will be held at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, 10 Tenth Street in Oakland, at 7 p.m.
The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.
The overarching goal of the lecture series is to provide speakers from diverse backgrounds a platform to offer their answers to Dr. King’s urgent question, which is also the title of Jeffries’ latest book: “Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?”
In addition to Jeffries, Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) will also speak.
“Certainly, now is a time for humanity, in general, and Americans in particular to honestly and genuinely answer Dr. King’s question,” said Dr. Roy D. Wilson, Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Executive Producer of the lecture series.
“Dr. King teaches that time is neutral but not static. Like the water in a river, it arrives and then quickly moves on,” continued Wilson. “We must urgently create conditions for listening to many different answers to this vital question, and generate the development of unity of action among all those who struggle for a stronger democracy.”
In his book, Jeffries shares his experience of being unanimously elected by his colleagues as the first African American in history to ever hold the position of House Minority Leader.
In January 2023 in Washington, Jeffries made his first official speech as House Minority Leader. He affirmed Democratic values one letter of the alphabet at a time. His words and how he framed them as the alphabet caught the attention of Americans, and the speech was later turned into a book, The ABCs of Democracy, bringing Congressman Jeffries rousing speech to vivid, colorful life, including illustrations by Shaniya Carrington. The speech and book are inspiring and urgent as a timeless reminder of what it means to be a country with equal opportunities for all. Jeffries paints a road map for a brighter American future and warns of the perils of taking a different path.
Before his colleagues unanimously elected him Minority Leader in 2022, Jeffries previously served as Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and as an Impeachment Manager during the first Senate trial of the 45th President of the United States.
Jeffries was born in Brooklyn Hospital, raised in Crown Heights, grew up in the Cornerstone Baptist Church and he is a product of New York City’s public school system, graduating from Midwood High School. Jefferies went on to Binghamton University (BA), Georgetown University (master’s in public policy) and New York University (JD).
He served in the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012.
Admission is free for the Feb. 21 Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series featuring Congressman Jeffries. Please reserve seats by calling the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center at (510) 434-3988.
Signed copies of his book will be available for purchase at the event.
Activism
Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative
These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.
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By Paul Cobb
New Oakland Series
Opinion Part 3
The Post mentioned three weeks ago that a number of our local luminaries were coming together to support the “New Oakland” movement. As this current national administration continues to eliminate our “legacy” institutional policies and programs left and right, most communities find themselves beyond “frozen” in fear.
Well, esteemed actor, long-time Bay Area supporter, and philanthropist Blair Underwood returned to Oakland this week to speak with city leaders, community trust agents, students, the Oakland Post, and local celebrities alike to continue his “New Oakland” initiative.
This week, he kicked off his “Guess Who’s Coming to Read” literacy program in some of Oakland’s middle schools. Clifford Ray, who played the center position of the 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors, donated close to 1,000 books. Ray’s fellow teammate Charles “The Hopper” Dudley also gave Converse sneakers to students.
These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.
Underwood also spent quality time with the Oakland Ballers ownership group and visited the amazing Raimondi Park West Oakland community revitalization site. In the 1996 TV film Soul of the Game, Underwood played the role of the legendary first Black Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson and commended the Ballers owners.
“This group of sports enthusiasts/ philanthropists needs to be applauded for their human capital investment and their financial capital investment,” Underwood said. “Truly putting their money and passion to work,” Underwood said.
Underwood was also inspired by mayoral candidate Barbara Lee’s open-minded invitation to bring public-private partnership opportunities to Oakland.
Underwood said he wants to “reinforce the importance of ‘collaborative activism’ among those most marginalized by non-empathic leadership. We must ‘act out’ our discomfort with passionate intentions to create healthy change.”
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