Women and minorities are least likely to receive the benefit of new construction jobs

Heard of "TENS"? Is Public Transit in Crisis? More on minorities and jobs at www.minorityjobs.net

Jobs & Transit Money Needed in Stimulus Bill, Groups Say

National Coalition Warns That Huge Package Must Help The Needy

Mass Transit Systems Are In Crisis in Many Cities, Coalition Claims

The stimulus bill must result in more funds for mass transit and more jobs for women and minorities essential, according to a national coalition of more than 300 groups called the Transportation Equity Network (TEN). The organizations are working to get Congress to make sure the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) includes

- increases in operating funds for public transit systems,
- pledges for hundreds of thousands of work hours for low-income people on construction projects, and
- significantly more funds for job training.

ARRA is being debated in the Senate this week.

"We believe that public transit is in crisis. Just in St. Louis, the transit system is laying off 600 workers and mothballing 165 buses. How are people supposed to get to work?" said Ron Trimmer, a TEN board member in the East St. Louis area. "New York, Washington, DC, Atlanta and Denver are all considering raising bus and train fares and slashing service. We must fund the operating costs for public transit in the stimulus bill."

"The package must also include more low-income people in its construction jobs. It can be done - you can have a large project, include low-income folks, and get it done on time," said Dr. Todd Swanstrom of University of Missouri - St. Louis.

In Illinois and Missouri, TEN worked with local groups like Metropolitan Congregations United and United Congregations of the Metro East to create a model jobs project on the rebuilding of Interstate 64. Now, 27 percent of the people who are working on the project are low-income folks, women and minorities.

"The Road to Good Jobs", authored by Swanstrom, examined minority and female employment in 25 metro areas and found that white males dominate construction work, regardless of the racial and gender makeup of the local workforce as a whole. Though representing half of the population, women held only a small percentage of construction jobs, ranging from a high of nine percent in Cincinnati to a low of one percent in Cleveland. This was true despite the fact that construction has become increasingly mechanized. The authors contend that a female share of 25 percent would be an appropriate level of participation.

"With ARRA, we have an extraordinary opportunity to ensure that women and minorities receive a fair chance at this opportunity to earn a decent wage," said Laura Barrett of the Gamaliel Foundation and the Transportation Equity Network. "A signficant percent of the construction jobs funded by ARRA must be reserved to those who need them most. Also, we have a chance to protect the original 'green job,' driving buses and trains, from being cut in city after city. We must ensure that these 'green' and union jobs do not disappear while the need for mass transit is greater than ever."


Updated Road to GOOD Jobs Study looks at who benefits from construction jobs
This year's study, Road to Good Jobs: Patterns of Employment in the Construction Industry, evaluates the construction workforce in the nation's 25 largest metro areas and shows that women and minorities are least likely to receive the benefit of construction jobs. The report, an expansion of last year’s first-ever such study, also notes that building public transit and maintaining highways would create more – and greener – jobs than building highways.

More information is available at transportationequity.org

Contact: Laura Barrett, 314-443-5915, Dr. Ron Trimmer, 618-604-6216, Dr. Todd Swanstrom, 314-960-1715