Gaps in black construction jobs – Stimulus for everyone but black men?
The Gotham Gazette has a great article on the $825 Billion Dollar American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan unveiled on Jan. 15 by House Democrats. They note it is breathtaking in its no no hair removal scope and cost. Intended to retain and create 3.7 million jobs over the next two years, the $825 billion package of federal government investments includes dozens of spending measures ranging from $200 billion in fiscal relief to help state and local governments, to $6 billion to extend broadband to rural areas, a 21st century version of Depression-era rural electrification. Two thirds of the total value consists of spending, with one third for tax cuts.
Negotiated with President Barack Obama's transition team, the plan - a.k.a. Stimulus II or ARRP - is an important first step to halt the downward economic spiral triggered by last fall's financial meltdown. As large as it is, though-5 percent of gross domestic product-it is not sufficient to create a sustained scholarships for women recovery.
The Gotham Gazette notes: It is no exaggeration to say that this is the worst economy since the Great Depression. The 2.6 million jobs lost in 2008 were more than in any year since 1945. Overall unemployment could be 9 percent by the end of the year and 11 percent in 2010 in the absence of the recovery plan, according to economist Zandi. Already, unemployment among adult black men is 13.4 percent.
AAPP: Bingo! Unemployment among adult black men is 13.4 percent.
The folks at Policy link are right, "In order for the stimulus to truly put us on the path to sustained economic recovery, investments must be made in workforce training and apprenticeship programs that help lower-income people and communities of color access quality employment in the infrastructure arena, while also building a pipeline of workers for the future.
Construction jobs are quality jobs that pay family-supporting wages with benefits. however, it is a sector of the economy that has largely excluded whole ab circle pro reviews segments of society. A study of 25 major metropolitan regions found that white males dominate construction work regardless of the racial and gender composition of the local workforce as a whole. Nearly 140,000 black workers are essentially “missing” from the construction workforce in the regions analyzed, and are the most underrepresented (relative to their rates of participation in other industries). The study also found that the most significant gaps in black employment in the construction sector were in the regions that had the largest African American populations (e.g., Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, and Houston).
At the same time, there are projected to be significant labor shortages in the construction sector as older workers retire in large numbers. Additionally, new technology and building requirements will require more training for both new and existing workers in the trades and many other jobs in design, architecture, engineering, environmental remediation, energy conservation, and construction management.
As noted by Policy Link there are two immediate actions can be taken by the federal government to address existing inequities and worker shortages in the construction sector that will be essential to the smooth flow of infrastructure recovery dollars.
First, allocations for infrastructure projects should be conditioned on the development of explicit commitments by states and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs— agencies designated to allocate federal transportation funds) to set aside a minimum of one percent (no says: AAPP it should be 10 percent) of project funds for workforce education programs, apprenticeship programs, and first source hiring policies that will benefit low-income communities of color.
Second, the federal government should make a parallel investment to quickly expand local capacity to deliver workforce education and training programs for vulnerable communities. Years of neglect and financial cutbacks have severely limited the capacity and expansion of community colleges, community-based organizations, unions, and adult education programs to provide the basic skills and workforce education programs.
AAPP: It's important to note, most of the jobs created by in the stimulus plan will require background investigations, and many black men who have been involved in the criminal justice system may not be able to get the job(s). Maybe it's time to connect the Danny K Davis Second Chance Act of 2007 to the stimulus package?