Groups back minorities for Hwy. 40 job
By Clay Barbour
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Friday, Dec. 02 2005

The $535 million Highway 40 project is more than a year away from starting, and
already it has some people pounding the asphalt.

Construction crews are forecast to begin rebuilding a 12-mile section of the
highway - form Spoede Road to Sarah Street - in early 2007. The project is
expected to take three years and thousands of workers to finish.

This week, two organizations took aim at state and local officials, calling for
assurances that local workers - including minorities and women - would not be
forgotten before that work begins.

The Missouri Department of Transportation "has a long history of not doing the
right thing," said John Cross, politics director for the St. Louis chapter of
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. "This is our chance to
be a part of the process, rather than crying about it after the fact."

On Thursday, ACORN held a news conference calling for state leaders to dedicate
a percentage of the highway project's funding for training new workers.

Later that same day, more than 2,000 members of the Metropolitan Congregations
United and the United Congregations of Metro East met in downtown St. Louis to
push for a plan that would secure thousands of highway jobs for local workers.

State Rep. Yaphett El-Amin, D-St. Louis, attended both meetings. She was one of
several St. Louis-area Democrats to sign a pledge at the MCU-UCM meeting. The
pledge promised they would fight for a plan that protects local workers by:

Assuring that 30 percent of all work hours on the Highway 40 project would go
to local workers eligible to receive an earned income tax credit.

Guaranteeing that 0.5 percent of federal highway dollars will be spent on
apprentice training.

"We can't afford to stand by and watch as the jobs for this project go to
people from out of state," El-Amin said. "Those are our jobs, and we will stand
up for them."

Other Democrats to sign the pledge included state Reps. Rachel Storch, Tom
Villa and Connie Johnson, state Sens. Rita Days and Pat Dougherty and St. Louis
Mayor Francis Slay. St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley was not at the
meeting but sent a letter expressing his support.

One of the main goals for both organizations is to diversify the St. Louis-area
construction industry.

For years, minorities have struggled to get a foothold in the business, which
features high pay and good benefits.

A common argument for the region's lack of diversity has focused on the
supposed lack of qualified minority workers. This is why both ACORN and MCU-UCM
want a portion of the federal money to go toward training.

"You have to open the door for people to walk through," Cross said.

Officials with ACORN have sent letters to Gov. Matt Blunt and members of the
state Highways and Transportation Commission, asking them to commit to using
0.5 percent of federal highway money to train a diversified work force.
According to Cross, the organization is asking that at least a fourth of that
federal money be spent specifically to train minorities.

Officials with MCU-UCM are taking a different approach. Instead of stipulating
a percentage of minority involvement, the organization is calling for 30
percent of all work hours to go to local workers eligible for an earned income
tax credit.

They say such a method targets the poor and, by extension, the neediest
minorities.

This year, a single person with no children earning $11,800 or below qualified
for an earned income tax credit.

"We approached the issue that way to avoid any affirmative action fights," said
the Rev. Richard Creason, an MCU spokesman. "We focused on the tax credit
instead. That will touch a lot of minorities."

Minority inclusion has been a hot topic lately. Last month, officials with the
Minority Inclusion Alliance, an organization of five local minority groups,
targeted $3.7 billion in local construction.

The group vowed to fight for increased inclusion of minority business on nearly
a dozen area projects, including Highway 40.

MCU is expected to present its proposal to the Missouri Highways and
Transportation Commission on Jan. 11. Officials with ACORN are still awaiting
word from the commission on their proposal.

Lester Woods, MoDOT's external civil rights administrator, said all of the
proposals would be considered.

"It is a new day at MoDOT," he said. "We are committed to working with
organizations to ensure work force development."


Key players

Metropolitan Congregations United and United Congregations of Metro
East: A faith-based organization representing nearly 100 Missouri and
Illinois congregations. Its mission is to push for a better standard of living
by advocating a living wage and the hiring of minorities and women.

ACORN: The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now is
a national organization with chapters across the country. The group fights over
issues that range from neighborhood safety to jobs creation and a living wage
for everyone.

Minority Inclusion Alliance: Made up of five area minority
organizations, the alliance seeks to ensure that minority-owned businesses get
their fair share of the work in regional construction projects.