Five minority contractor and worker organizations unite
By Alvin A. Reid of the American
An alliance of five minority contractor and worker organizations have formed the Rosa Parks Minority Inclusion Initiative.
Spokesman Eric Vickers said the initiative will ensure that minority businesses and workers are included in a number of multi-million dollar construction projects throughout the region.
The group is seeking 25 percent minority inclusion on contracts, 35 percent minority workforce participation and the establishment of more professional minority inclusion programs by private companies.
“We know we have the means, we know we have the know-how to see to it that diversity takes place,” Vickers told reporters Monday morning near the downtown Pinnacle Casino and Hotel development site on Laclede’s Landing.
He said the “excuse” of lack of capacity in the region for minority-owned firms “will not be accepted.”
“Every disparity study completed on this region has concluded that there is a under-utilization of minority-owned firms. The area is not using the (minority-owned firms) that already exist in the marketplace.”
He said private construction firms, developers and project owners should be more active in using minority-owned companies.
“The more opportunities there are, the more opportunities there are for companies to step up,” said Eddie Hasan, MOKAN executive director.
Rosa Parks Initiative members include the Metro East Black Contractors Organization (MEBCO), MOKAN, Concerned Citizens Coalition (CCC), St. Louis Minority Contractors Association (SLMCA) and the Rev. Sharon Smith International Ministries (SSI Ministries.) Together, the groups have more than 50 years of experience in working for minority inclusion.
In fact, the group is already touting its impact on inclusion in the region.
In working with the East St. Louis School District, it formed a plan to create $20 million in economic opportunity by helping to achieve 30 percent minority participation on the $20 million Clark School Project. The initiative is also in the process of implementing further minority inclusion program methods to both monitor the Clark project and to ensure inclusion in future school projects to be bid, according to Vickers.
In July, the group entered a Memorandum of Understanding with the Illinois Department of Transportation to establish a construction training center in East St. Louis, increase support services for minority businesses and implement a five-year plan for inclusion for the $500 million of construction work. ickers said IDOT Director Timothy Martin “has demonstrated exemplary leadership with respect to minority inclusion.”
Vickers and other Rosa parks Initiative representatives have a meeting scheduled for November 16 with Pinnacle officials to discuss ways it can meet the 25 percent minority inclusion and 35 percent workforce targets.
The group says it is working to guarantee minority participation at 25 percent on 11 major projects totaling an estimated $3.6 billion. Along with Pinnacle, East St. Louis Schools and IDOT, the figure includes Casino Queen ($150M), Hazelwood School District ($70M), Bottle District Development ($250M), Metropolitan Sewer District Improvements ($280M), the North Park Industrial Project near St. Louis-Lambert International Airport in St. Louis County ($400M), Saint Louis University capital improvements ($100M) and Missouri Department of Transportation road and highway improvements (including Highway 40 upgrade) at $535 million.
The $3.6 billion amount also includes $900 million on a proposed Illinois-Missouri Bridge, which is still being debated.
