Our Vision
Black Tradesmen United States Inc. (BTUS) and it’s website www.blacktradesmen.us is a black-owned construction networking firm founded in Los Angeles in 2018. We have grown from a small group of construction trade professionals into a proactive outreach organization that seeks to defend and promote the rights of Black/African-American workers in the United States.
Our network has extensive links in the construction industry, and is building wide-ranging co-operative programs with labor groups, law firms and academics throughout U.S., as well as with the international labor movement. BTUS also has an extensive research program and has published numerous reports on a wide range of key labor rights issues. All reports are available on our website at: https://blacktradesmen.us/articles
Through these programs, we support workers‘ rights to freedom of association, and the development of democratically-run trade unions, encourage respect for and enforcement of the country‘s labor laws, as well as the full participation of workers in the creation of civil society.
Our website focuses on providing a sophisticated network for tradesmen/women to help them achieve the following:
♦ Introduce themselves to one another and make valuable industry connections.
♦ Promote and develop construction companies, partnerships, and advanced training programs.
♦ Share information, career opportunities, photos, industry news, and ultimately organize a strong brotherhood/sisterhood to collectively build together.
We invite all members of the construction trade industry no matter race or creed to join our network of Construction Trade Professionals!
- We ask all members to help fight against discrimination, and help build legacies for all American tradesmen & tradeswomen of our highly respected industry!
The construction industry has high employment projections and is expected to see substantial growth over the next decade. The need for skilled tradesmen and tradeswomen has hit an all time high, while at the same time the U.S. is experiencing one of the greatest shortages of skilled labor in recent history.
Our website is positioned to make a huge impact in this area of employment, and provide the construction industry with a tool to recruit and build relationships with the highest skilled trade professionals in America.
♦ Through the first quarter of 2018, employers have been looking to fill an average of nearly 225,000 construction jobs each month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
♦ 91 percent of more than 2,700 contractors, construction managers, builders and trade contractors surveyed in the latest Commercial Construction Index reported having a difficult or moderately difficult time finding skilled workers.
Despite affirmative action efforts and the elimination of blatant discrimination from the job market, black/African Americans working in the construction industry still face discrimination from employers. Discriminatory behavior by contractors & employers directly affects the performance of black workers on their jobs, as well as their ability to become employed, obtain industry specific skills, and become tenured employees in their trade/field.
We acknowledge that there are huge discrepancies in earnings, training, apprenticeship opportunities, and other markers hindering black/African American workers advancement in the construction industry. There is ample reason to be concerned about these inequalities, and we seek to address these issues head-on through political actions, community outreach, and advanced training opportunities. Not only do black Americans, especially those living in poverty, experience unemployment at higher rates than others, but when they do find jobs, they are often paid less and scrutinized more. The result is a cycle of economic disadvantage that’s hard to break.
We also acknowledge that there is no single cause or single cure to this crisis, and that no single program approach will work for all disadvantaged black/African-American workers. A variety of social and economic factors have contributed to the crisis. On the supply side of the market, we find education and advanced training, certifications, trade specific skills, and the lack of construction experience as an obstacle for black workers. On the demand side of the market, we find evidence of several determinants, including local labor market conditions and demographics, unattractive wages, and discriminatory employer behavior all to be important factors as well.
♦ Black/African American workers account for more than One-Million construction, engineering, and utility workers in the United States.
♦ Black/African American workers are in the middle of a jobs crisis throughout the United States. In some metro and rural areas of the United States Black workers are unemployed or underemployed at rates of 50% or more.
The striking deterioration in the employment of black youth, which is also a motivating factor for our firm, must be addressed. Recent labor statistics show that black youth employment has declined in every age group relative to their counterparts employment, and that unemployment rates have risen sharply among black youth 18-25 across the U.S. They also show the often-forgotten and disturbing fact that the extraordinarily wide differentials have developed only in the past few decades. In 1954 approximately equal percentages of black and white youths were employed. Since that time, unemployment rates for black youths have soared and their employment rates have fallen, with especially large declines since the 2007-08 U.S. economic recession. Overwhelming data shows that this trend contrasts sharply with that of wages.
In addition, black youth unemployment is exacerbated by the frequent loss of jobs through layoffs and discharges. In an industry where relatively few workers are permanently discharged/fired, many young black workers in construction find themselves frequently out of work, and this can be attributed to proven workforce discrimination, and racial bias. Our firm is devoted to changing these disparities among Black/African-American tradesmen & women by empowering them with resources, as well as an inclusive, supportive, brotherhood/sisterhood of construction professionals, and contractors.
African-American descendants of slavery share a unique history in the construction of the United States. From the development & construction of Americas first capital, to the construction of the worlds largest mass railways infrastructure, African-Americans have cemented a legacy of detailed craftsmanship & robust labor. In addition to providing opportunity through our abundant social network, our site will continue to admonish this legacy and continue this tradition into the future for generations of highly skilled Black tradesmen & tradeswomen to carry with pride!