In every area studied, white males dominate construction work, regardless of the racial and gender makeup of the local workforce as a whole. The study found that, based on their share of the population, more than 42,000 black workers are missing from the construction workforce. Though half the population, women held 6 percent or less of the jobs, even though construction has become increasingly mechanized. Latinos lagged in at least 5 of the metropolitan areas studied.
The report comes two years after Congress directed transportation agencies to ensure that disadvantaged local workers are trained and hired for construction projects as they spend the $244 billion authorized in the 2005 transportation bill.
The study is the first of its kind, using census and other government data to examine the employment of African Americans, Hispanics, and women in the construction field in these cities, most of which are Midwestern and Northeastern cities that have seen most industrial jobs disappear. The study found that African-Americans, Latinos and women are underrepresented compared to whites in every one of the 18 metropolitan areas.
The study also found that significant labor shortages in the construction industry will worsen in the years ahead. "The need for construction workers is rising sharply," said Dr. Todd Swanstrom of Saint Louis University, primary author of the study and a regional equity expert. "According to the U.S. Department of Labor, nearly 2.5 million openings in the construction industry need to be filled between 2004 and 2014. On average, the industry will have to recruit and train nearly 250,000 new workers each year."
"The combination of a potential labor shortage with the availability of these excluded groups presents an unusual opportunity for a win-win solution," added Don Chen, executive director of Smart Growth America. "These potential workers can fill the gaps of an aging workforce in a growing industry while making strides for workplace equity."
Much as manufacturing jobs once did, construction jobs offer a chance for pay significantly higher than minimum wage for workers without a college degree. The national average is over $19.00 an hour. Valuable skills are learned through apprenticeship programs. Pre-apprenticeship programs have been shown to be effective in preparing workers for the rigors of the construction work, weeding out those with drug or alcohol problems.
The 18 metropolitan areas are Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Kansas City, Albany, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Honolulu, Kalamazoo, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Saginaw, South Bend, Syracuse, Virginia Beach, Los Angeles and Youngstown.
For African-Americans, the gap was greatest in Virginia Beach, Detroit, and Chicago. The urban areas with the smallest percentage gaps were Honolulu, Youngstown, and Pittsburgh. In five metropolitan areas, Hispanics are under-represented in construction jobs: Kalamazoo, Buffalo, Youngstown, Syracuse, and St. Louis.
Very few jobs in construction are held by women. The top areas for employment of women were South Bend, Kansas City, and Cleveland. The three worst areas for employment of women were Saginaw, Kalamazoo, and Syracuse. Although women are not expected to match men's numbers in the most physically demanding jobs, the growing mechanization has created many construction jobs that do not involve backbreaking labor.
Solutions
In 2005, Congress passed SAFETEA-LU, a transportation measure that was the largest non-defense expenditure in American history. It contains still largely ignored provisions that could increase the percentages of minorities and women in these well-paying jobs. Currently, federal law allows states to use up to one-half of 1 percent of federal highway funds for workforce development. This small investment in apprenticeship and local workforce development can have a major impact on the makeup of the workforce.
The Transportation Equity Network is calling for federal transportation law to make this provision mandatory for local workforce development. This would generate $1.43 billion in job training funds that could be spent on pre-apprenticeship programs and supportive services to help women, Latinos, African-Americans and other minorities establish a foothold in the job market.
TEN is also calling on state and local governments to pass workforce development policies and ordinances that will increase job-training monies and encourage diversity in the workforce on public and private construction.
Can it work?
A relatively low investment in workers can pay huge dividends. In Los Angeles, a coalition of community groups won a local hiring agreement on a $2.4 billion transportation project serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach called the Alameda Corridor. The community benefits agreement (CBA) required that at least 30 percent of all the hours on the project be performed by disadvantaged persons from the surrounding low-income zip codes. Community-based organizations were funded to help prepare applicants for the rigors of construction. Eventually, 710 local residents were placed in construction jobs. The Alameda Corridor project became the inspiration for the "Sense of the Congress" resolution that accompanied the 2005 transportation law.
Kansas City, MO has just passed a law that all contractors who work on public works or tax abatement projects must employ 10 percent minorities and 2 percent women in their entire construction portfolio, public or private for the duration of their public project. St. Louis, MO has created a groundbreaking agreement on a large highway project that guarantees 30 percent of the work hours for minorities, women and low-income people and reserves $2.5 million dollars for job training and support. Kansas City has just signed a similar agreement a project, reserving $1.25 million for jobs training.
"We believe very strongly that as people of faith we must help in making inroads for those who are locked out and left out. We must engage the powers that be to open these doors. We know that opportunities are there, especially in the construction trades, it is just that many are not prepared. The government must do its part to make job training available, especially for those wishing to enter the construction industry," Reverend David Bigsby, board member of Gamaliel of Metro Chicago, IL.
