SLU does right by minority contractors
By Julius K. Hunter
Guest Columnist
Since I arrived at Saint Louis University three years ago, I have gained a new appreciation for Fr. Biondi’s vision that has transformed this campus, and I am really proud of the ongoing efforts the university has made to level the playing field for minorities and women in its purchasing plan and construction projects.
One of the first things I did when I got to SLU in January 2003 was to help draft a formal statement putting the university’s commitment to inclusion into a formal document. That statement was published for one and all to see.
SLU has a very respectful track record in these very important areas. Here are the facts:
The Mayor’s Executive Order requires good-faith effort toward a goal of 25 percent minority and 5 percent women-owned business participation on certain construction projects in the city.
We’re proud to let the community know that the weekly and monthly numbers we’ve reported to the city compliance officer on our biomedical Research Building project actually exceed the city’s goals. And those numbers are there for anybody to check out.
In fact, in a recent letter my friend Eric Vickers sent to Fr. Biondi, dated December 22, 2005, Eric wrote that SLU is “on the road to exemplary success with respect to minority and women business participation on the Research Building project.”
Eric’s actual words! So where’s the beef?
Here’s another fact: The Mayor’s Executive Order is the only diversity requirement on construction projects; but, as a Jesuit institution sincerely committed to social justice, SLU has asked its contractor on the research building project, Clayco Construction, to negotiate language in a labor agreement with all unions regarding increasing minority and women in the workforce on this major SLU project.
But, sadly, Eric and the coalition he says he represents have “demanded” that we set a workforce goal that even Eric and his group know is not attainable. We asked Eric for a minority workforce plan, and he has so far not responded.
I am responsible for monitoring all diversity efforts here at SLU, including those efforts on construction projects. SLU is committed to trying to increase the numbers of minority and women in the union workforce.
So, Eric, instead of committing some unspecified act of “civil disobedience” to try to shut down the SLU construction project like you’re threatening to do, rather than drag protestors out in the cold, why don’t you use protest time to try to help get your demonstrators union-certified so they can get a job on one of the exciting SLU construction projects?
Please, don’t defile Dr. King’s birthday with an unnecessary and unwarranted demonstration.
Julius Hunter, a local broadcast news journalist of 33 years, is currently vice president for Community Relations at Saint Louis University.