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Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Votes Against Construction
Restrictions that Hurt Minority Contractors, Workers
Senate Bill 152 handcuffs local communities, limits economic
opportunity for African Americans
Special to The Truth
Ohio
House Democratic legislators last week voted against the
passage of Senate Bill (SB) 152,
saying legislation to ban local hiring standards and
restrict project labor agreements (PLAs) for public works
projects will handcuff the decision-making authority
of local communities and
disproportionately harm African-American workers in the
state.
“We want people to have opportunity in Ohio, not be locked
out of projects. A vote to restrict local hiring is a vote
for Kentucky, Indiana and everybody else,” said Ohio
Legislative Black Caucus (OLBC) President and Rep. Alicia
Reece (D-Cincinnati). “African Americans in Ohio remain
unemployed at a rate three times higher than the state
average. And even though our residents are paying for local
sewer and water construction projects, communities are now
being told by the state that they cannot set aside jobs for
their own workers. I will not vote for taxation without
participation.”
Urban Ohio communities use local hiring standards on
publicly financed projects as a way to strengthen local
workforce participation and, in turn, strengthen local
economies. Urban areas typically have higher unemployment
rates than the national average, making the decision to hire
local even more impactful for improving the job market in
urban areas.
“The hiring of qualified local workers for public
construction projects is a direct benefit to rebuilding a
community and strengthening our working families,” said
Rep. Kevin Boyce (D-Columbus). “Senate Bill 152 blocks
my constituents from gainful employment and apprenticeships,
and instead hands these jobs and opportunities to
individuals from neighboring states like Indiana, Kentucky
or Michigan. I strongly oppose any measure that strips
Ohioans of pathways out of unemployment and poverty.”
“At a time when we should be promoting career paths that
require specialized training and extensive education, this
policy is making it harder for those working Ohioans to
maintain good-paying, full-time work that can sustain a
family,” said Rep. Christie Kuhns (D-Cincinnati). “This bill
puts special interests ahead of common sense and puts
workers in surrounding states like Kentucky, Indiana and
West Virginia ahead of Ohioans.”
The City of Akron is preparing to undertake $1.4 billion
worth of updates to its sewer system. The city currently has
a local hiring target of 30 percent for the major
infrastructure improvement project, with that goal
increasing to 50 percent by 2018.
“Ohioans deserve a fair shot at good-paying local jobs that
can provide economic stability for them and their families,”
said Rep. Emilia Sykes (D-Akron). “Politicians in Columbus
should not be picking winners and losers when it comes to
our local infrastructure upgrades. Local communities like
Akron deserve the freedom to make decisions that will put
people back to work and stabilize our local economy.”
Just last month, Ohio transportation officials submitted a
waiver
asking the federal government to allow the state to pursue
local hiring benchmarks for highway construction projects in
hopes that it will result in more contracts being awarded to
minority-owned companies. Specifically, the state is seeking
permission to use criteria similar to what was followed for
awarding work for the Opportunity Corridor Project in
Cleveland, which maintained a goal of 20 percent
participation in the work by minority business enterprises
and followed Cleveland hiring rules that require 20 percent
of the work be done by city residents.
“The Ohio Department of Transportation disparity report
revealed that Ohio practices in passive discrimination – now
how are we going to fix it?” said Rep. Stephanie Howse
(D-Cleveland). “This legislation does not lend itself to
fixing the problem – it is only going to exacerbate the
economic barriers for minority workers in our state.”
“It's fascinating to me that those who so rarely, if ever,
actually experience concepts like discrimination, leveling
the playing field or decisions based on zip codes, use those
concepts to justify legislation that absolutely furthers
institutionalized discrimination,” said Rep. Janine Boyd
(D-Cleveland Heights). “I just want my friends on the other
side of the aisle to be honest with us, with themselves and
with voters. Every time they allocate local government fund
dollars to townships and small villages only, and not to any
other community, they legislate disparity based on zip codes
and they do not level the playing field; every time they
allocate more funding to failing charter schools, they
legislate disparity based on zip codes and they do not level
the playing field; and every time they refuse to fund public
transportation, they legislate disparity based on zip codes
and they do not level the playing field. Let's just be
real.”
“The unemployment rate for minorities in our urban cities is
currently double digits, if the governor signs this bill
into law, it will definitely increase the unemployment rate
in Ohio,” said Rep. Michael Ashford (D-Toledo). “We should
be doing everything we can to make sure good-paying, jobs
stay in Ohio instead of passing special interest legislation
that gives out-of-state, fly-by-night contractors an
advantage.”
The lawmakers also objected to provisions of SB 152 that
restrict communities’ ability to use project labor
agreements on public construction projects.
“Project labor agreements are a proven tool to ensure fair
wages and quality work help complete projects on time and
under budget. In addition, PLAs can include local hiring
benchmarks that help strengthen the local economy by
providing opportunities to workers from the community,” said
House Minority Leader Fred Strahorn (D-Dayton).
“Undercutting existing laws will negatively affect major
construction projects in the future by sewing confusion and
destabilizing project bids, budgets and timelines.”
In 2002, the Ohio Supreme Court struck down state laws
prohibiting a public entity from requiring project labor
agreements for local projects. Republicans are doubling-down
on the attempt to restrict PLAs with an amendment added at
the last minute to SB 152 Tuesday morning that will prohibit
project labor agreements from being required on any public
works projects receiving state funds.
“For over 60 years, project labor agreements have helped
communities and workers come together to complete major
public works on time and on budget,” said Strahorn. “Private
companies use project labor agreements because they know the
financial benefits of having a quality product completed
under-budget and on time. For Republicans that say we should
run government like a business, restricting PLAs does the
exact opposite.”
The Senate rejected House changes to SB 152 this week,
sending the bill to conference committee before a final stop
at Gov. Kasich’s desk for his signature.
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