Ray's article
ENR - Recruitment bonuses are no longer solely the domain of
executive and professional-level positions at construction firms. As field
labor shortages become more pronounced across the U.S., cash incentives are increasingly
being used to lure experienced craftworkers as well.
“Signing bonuses are not new, but they are becoming more
prevalent,” says Jeff Robinson, president of compensation consulting firm PAS
Inc. Unlike the common practice of providing what he calls “mobilization pay”
to compensate for relocation costs, contractors now are offering one-time
bonuses ranging from a few hundred dollars to upwards of $1,500 per worker.
Black Enterprise - Black construction companies may reap a windfall from
helping build the Obama Presidential Center (OPC), a project that will cost
about $350 million.
Those businesses - the Presidential Partners consortium of
Powers & Sons Construction, UJAMAA Construction, Brown & Momen, and
Safeway Construction - are part of the Lakeside Alliance joint venture chosen
by the Obama Foundation to serve as the construction manager for the OPC to be
built on Chicago’s South Side. Turner Construction, one of the nation’s largest
construction managers, is part of the alliance.
SF EXAMINER - Three journeymen crane operators working as high rise elevator operators have filed a claim with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing alleging that they were subjected to a racially hostile working environment. All three men say they were routinely subjected to outrageous, demeaning and derogatory racial slurs.
The 46-story building is called the Park Tower at Transbay,
which is across the street from the temporary Transbay Terminal. Facebook
recently agreed to lease much of the new building’s space when it opens later
this year.
Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris, who represents
the men, said he will file a lawsuit on their behalf in San Francisco County
Superior Court as soon as he’s given a “right to sue letter” by the California
Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
Speaking at a news conference at his office in Oakland,
Burris said, “This is a sad moment in the social history of the San Francisco
Bay Area” and compared the way the men were treated to the treatment of black
people in the south before the civil rights era.
Burris said the men were subjected to “a constant barrage of
racial slurs” and alleged “there was a venomous, fundamental hatred toward
these men and African-Americans in general.”
Burris said racist graffiti was inscribed on the walls of
both the women and men’s restrooms, which are situated every third floor on the
high rise, and on more than one occasion a hangman’s noose was found hanging in
the restroom with the name of one the men attached.
He said later on two black dolls were found hanging in a
noose with writings that said “Kill nigger Craig and Kill Nigger Dougie, which
he said referred to two of the men, Craig Ogans and Douglas Russell.
Ogans said he was subjected to racial slurs from the moment
he started working at the site in February to when he was let go in April after
he complained about the treatment he received.
Ogans said, “I really feared for my safety” and broke out in
hives and is now undergoing therapy.
Russell said one worker swung at him and another worker
pulled a knife on him but he said Clark managers didn’t take his complaints
seriously and “laughed in my face.”
Ogans said that after he and Russell received death threats
they arranged to be walked to their cars every night to make sure they weren’t
attacked.
Burris said that in April Ogans and Russell were re-assigned
to other union jobs that don’t pay as well.
He said the third man who’s part of the claim, Don’ta Laury,
who didn’t attend the news conference, still works at the construction site.
Ogans and Russell said they called San Francisco police to
report the threats they received but Burris said he’s not sure how seriously
they are investigating the matter.
Clark Construction, which is based in Maryland, said in a
statement that it “does not tolerate harassment or discriminatory behavior” and
“has robust policies and practices in place to ensure a healthy and respectful
workplace for everyone on our projects.”
Clark said that after it was made aware of the incidents at
the work site at 250 Howard Site “we swiftly notified law enforcement and have
cooperated with both Bigge Crane (which employs the three crane operators) and
law enforcement in their investigation.”
Clark said it also “took further steps to ensure that the
hundreds of individuals who work on the 250 Howard Street job were made aware
that harassment is not and will not be tolerated,” such as holding
anti-harassment and discrimination awareness training and conducting
project-wide meetings to review its anti-harassment policy.
In addition, Clark said it is working with the San Francisco chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to provide cultural sensitivity training for employees at the site.
LOS ANGELES — Black workers here no longer want crumbs
anywhere they can get them. They want their share of the economic pie.
Representatives from the Los Angeles Black Worker Center mobilized dozens of laborers and construction workers for a rally at Exposition Park Sept. 8 to demand economic justice for black and brown people.
The Center for Union Facts has launched a new campaign to cast a light on pay disparities between African Americans and their white counterparts in New York City’s construction unions. The campaign includes a website, BlackWorkersMatter.com, and billboards across the city of New York to “educate the public on the income inequality in the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York (BCTC),” according to CUF’s blog.
The message: In spite of construction union rhetoric on diversity, black union members make 20 percent less on average than their white counterparts.
The campaign launched with full-pages ads in City & State, the Amsterdam News and in the New York Post. The Center for Union Facts also sent a team to City Hall to hand out black and white cookies to demonstrate to city policymakers the uncomfortable truth about pay disparities in the city’s construction unions.
The website has copies of its print and radio ad available for download, and emphasis these facts!
1.Black unionized construction workers in NYC make $5.74 less per hour on average than white unionized workers.
2.Multiple NYC construction unions are currently facing allegations of discrimination.
3.NYC construction union leadership is overwhelmingly male and white.
4.Construction is one of the least-diverse unionized sectors of the NYC economy.
Home improvement retailer Lowe's announced Monday that it is closing 20 stores in the U.S. and 31 stores in Canada. It said that the majority of store closures occur where there are two Lowe's within 10 miles of each other.
Lowe's CEO Marvin Ellison said the closures are a "necessary step in [the company''s] strategic reassessment as [it focuses] on building a stronger business."
The retailer operates about 1,800 stores in the U.S. and about 300 in Canada. It expects to complete the closures by February.
The retailer has made a number of changes over the past year to catch up to its stronger rival, Home Depot. Industry experts have said that Home Depot has better real estate than Lowe's and has invested more in its e-commerce fulfillment.