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JOBS NOW Campaign The Gamaliel Foundation and the Transportation Equity Network (TEN) created the JOBS NOW campaign. The campaign aims get thousands of high paying jobs for low-income people, minorities, women, and ex-offenders through workforce development agreements and policies. The JOBS NOW campaign has the potential to move millions of low- income people, minorities, women and ex-offenders into living wage construction jobs. Very significant victories have been won in Missouri, Ohio, and Michigan.
History of the JOBS NOW Campaign In August 2005, President Bush signed the Safe Accountable Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act-A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), the $286 billion federal appropriation bill for highways and public transit. With the support of Representative Richard Costello (D-IL), Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), and Senator Kit Bond (R-MO), TEN was able to get a “Sense of Congress” amendment into SAFETEA-LU. The amendment states on all highway projects, 30% of the jobs should be filled by local community members. The Sense of Congress also cites an example created through grassroots action; on a $2.4 billion rapid rail project, the Alameda Corridor Jobs Coalition in Los Angeles, CA won an agreement that guaranteed 1,000 job-training slots for low-income people and hired low-income residents for 30% of the work hours.
The JOBS NOW Campaign seeks to take this victory to the next level, using the Sense of Congress as well as a little-known federal USDOT regulation. The USDOT regulation recommends that states should use ˝ of 1% of the federal highway funds that they receive to promote workforce development and job training. The campaign is also working to extend the USDOT regulation and Sense of Congress to transit projects and to make these “encouragements” by the federal government mandatory.
In August 2007, Gamaliel, Smart Growth America, and TEN released the previously mentioned “The Road to Jobs” study providing an empirical backbone for the JOBS NOW campaign. USA Today, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Detroit News, the Detroit Free Press, the Albany Times Union covered the event (www.transportationequity.org ).
Almost 48,000 jobs are created by the every billion dollars spent on highways. If just 15% of these jobs were ultimately given to low-income minorities, women, and ex-offenders, 7,050 construction jobs per $1 billion spent could go directly to the needy.
Campaign Victories Community Benefits Agreements St. Louis - Metropolitan Congregations United (MCU) won the largest workforce agreement with a Department of Transportation in the US. MODOT agreed to reserve 30% of the work hours on its largest highway project (I-64) for women, low income people, and minorities. MODOT also agreed to funnel $2.5 million dollars into job training and incentives (˝ of 1% of the project budget) MODOT created several new programs and creatively juggled their On-The-Job programs in a revolutionary way, incorporating the JOBS NOW platform into their existing programs.
Progress On I-64 - Approximately 27% of the 300 people that have been hired so far are women and minorities. The performance based plan that the community-led monitoring committee developed has become a model. Pete Rahn, MODOT director, presented the I-64 plan JOBS NOW model to DOT directors at the American Association of Highway/Transit Officials (AASHTO) meeting.
Kansas City - MORE2 also won a virtually identical agreement to the I-64 agreement with MODOT on the Paseo Bridge Project (KCICON), reserving $1.25 million for job training and support.
Cincinnati - AMOS won the Banks Working Group’s adoption of the AMOS’ platform for a huge community benefits agreement. This agreement established that minorities and women will complete 22% of the work hours on an $800 million dollar project. Minority contractors also will complete 30% of the construction on the project. Provisions to steer business to low-income census tracts were also included.
Minneapolis - TEN members and a statewide coalition of Gamaliel affiliates called ISAIAH are negotiating with the state DOT around a community benefits agreement on the I-35 Bridge. This is the bridge that tragically collapsed earlier last year. ISAIAH is not only working to get light rail capacity on the bridge, but to also secure a workforce development agreement similar to the MoDOT I-64 agreement. It has succeeded on the light rail plank and is still working on the workforce numbers.
City Policies Kansas City - MORE2 leaders advocated for an ordinance that requires construction firms to employ 10% minorities and 4% women throughout their entire construction payroll in an 11 county area in order to bid on public works or tax abatement construction projects in Kansas City. This ordinance will have tremendous long-term impact. It is probably the first of its kind in America.
County Level Policies St. Louis - MCU also won an executive order from St. Louis County, specifying that on public works projects of over $2 million dollars the county will employ 15% apprentices and that 15% of the work hours will be reserved for women, poor people, and minorities.
State Policies Michigan - Gamaliel of Michigan won a 4 year, $15 million state policy that will direct highway funds into jobs training. The policy will be jointly administered by the Department of Labor and Economic Growth and the Michigan Department of Transportation. It is one of the first state policies of its kind.
Contact: Laura Barrett, 314-443-5915 laurabarrett@gamaliel.org or Dr. Ron Trimmer, 618-604-6216 trimmer@charter.net Web: www.transportationequity.org |
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