Building Equality in Construction

Produced by Leslie Hurtado | History shows that Chicago’s building trades have excluded construction workers of color. But the attention on George Floyd’s death three years ago inspired a movement toward racial justice everywhere, from schools to jobs. While some construction companies have made commitments to stopping racism and discrimination in the workplace, industry experts say more work needs to be done to build equity in construction. A nonprofit called Revolution Workshop is training emerging carpenters of color to repair the division and harm caused by the industry, but it will take more than training individuals to enter the workforce: it requires a continued fight with Chicago leaders to pass a construction ordinance focused on equity and inclusion. In this episode, we hear from Revolution Workshop alum Brittany Taylor and Parish Sloan share their experiences on facing racial discrimination and unjust working conditions in the industry.

Transcript

Judith McCray, Executive Producer: [00:00:00] Welcome to Change Agents, the podcast series looking at grassroots actions and solutions from the inside out. Real people making real changes in communities of color and others right where they live and work. Stories about folks transforming their neighborhoods and the narratives about them.

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: It's a breezy Saturday afternoon. Mostly everyone is outside enjoying the crisp October weather from my train window. In two stops, I will arrive at Conservatory Central Park Drive. The station is right in front of East Garfield's Historic Conservatory. It's located at the heart of the neighborhood. The park's next-door neighbor is Revolution Workshop.

Revolution Workshop is a job training organization that helps [00:01:00] people from underserved communities enter the construction workforce in less than 12 weeks.

I'm Change Agents producer Leslie Hurtado, and this is Building Equality in Construction. I can smell the savory aroma of grilled hot dogs and burgers as I walk to the backyard. Everyone is singing along to 90s R& B tunes like TLC's No Scrubs and Blue's Too Close and some are playing basketball or Jenga.

It reminds you of a family reunion barbecue where everyone you love is present, sharing space with each other. That's the same feeling Revolution alum felt when they entered the site for their orientation four years ago. They were provided lunch, and they instantly clicked through their connection with food and their passion for building.

Brittany Taylor: Food always brings out the good in people, you know, people get to [00:02:00] dancing, they get to smiling, everybody start mingling and talking with new people, that's awesome, you can't, you can't ask for anything better than that. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: That's Brittany Taylor. She's a former carpenter turned field project engineer. She was the first woman to be a part of Revolution's 2018 cohort.

Before Revolution Workshop, she attended a church, where she would worship with others who didn't quite have the same beliefs as her. She's not religious, she's spiritual, and she definitely thinks that there's a higher spirit up there, bigger than us all. And every time she prays, she remembers she has a purpose.

But when she forgets, her pastor reminds her and tells her about her future. 

Brittany Taylor: I believe that my pastor can see certain things, you know, um, with her purpose. I don't think that she's necessarily like psychic or anything like that, but I do believe that she has a calling, you know. And so, the way that she talks, [00:03:00] and the way that she sings, or it could be the smallest thing as far as like, as little as like a touch or something, you know, I believe that she's seeing something in me that I did not see in myself.

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: Her pastor noticed she was quick on her feet and good at assembling things. Brittany would take on any task her pastor gave her, from building chairs to tables. She would turn to YouTube to learn how to build more things. And eventually, she became a natural at it. Her pastor later found a flyer about the pre apprenticeship program and said to her, 

Brittany Taylor: "Hey, I think this opportunity is good for you and I think you should take it."

And I was just like, I don't know anything about construction. I've never had any involvement with tools or anything like that. I don't think so. And she's just like, no, Brittany, I think you should do it. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: So, she took a chance and applied for the program. She was selected to work alongside 13 trainees learning different carpentry skills from framing [00:04:00] buildings and electric work.

Brittany was a newbie. Her peers had more knowledge in construction and sometimes it made her doubt herself. So, she prayed and sought support. 

Brittany Taylor: You know, this is a whole different, this is a whole different new thing to me, you know, so just trying to adapt to what I need to adapt to, trying to figure out if this is something I was going to enjoy, this was completely new to me, so.

This is what I really wanted to do for the rest of my life. This is the direction I was going to take, like, you know, so some days I would wake up and I'll be down, I'll be like, okay, this isn't for me. So, I would pray for strength, you know, instead of just giving up. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: Brittany would graduate from the program in December and get two job offers. The job she picked would be a carpentry job. 

Brittany Taylor: What I enjoy most about being in the carpentry field is just that I enjoy working with my hands. I enjoy building. I enjoy problem solving. I enjoy helping others. I enjoy when people want things done, like, if they want to [00:05:00] remodel to, like, their basement, or if they wanted something built, like a table or a bar or something like that, I enjoy going over the process with them so they can envision it. And then I enjoy seeing their faces after it's done. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: Later, she would take on a supervisor role, apply for a plumber's union, and eventually change her career to become a field project engineer. For Brittany, it wasn't just about exploring different fields within the industry. There were other factors that made her leave carpentry.

Brittany Taylor: Me being a black lesbian woman, I fought a lot of challenges. There was times where I was on the job site and, um, this guy, I believe he was from Europe or he was Poland or Polish or something, but he came and he said, you're black and work for us? And I say, yeah, he's like, black people are lazy, you know, or this girl when we're in the union, when I was in the union, she'd say, you're only here because you're a black lesbian.

I feel like women don't get the respect that they should have in the construction field [00:06:00] itself, maybe because it's a man, it’s “a man's world,” or that's something that men primarily work in of some sort, but, um, times are changing. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: Jane Valenga is the executive director of the Chicago Woman in Trades, and agrees that times have changed, but not completely.

She believes there are no goals set for women on the job site. She wants to see contractors handle mistreatment complaints without them punishing the complainer.

Jane Valenga, Executive Director, Chicago Women in Trade: I feel like, mostly, women are afraid to complain about the treatment they receive on the job site. And I have to say that with the apprenticeship programs, we don't get a whole lot of complaints for women about the way they're treated in an apprenticeship program.

But we do get complaints about how apprenticeship programs support a woman who is experiencing something on the job site. So, I think that, you know, to be more in her corner that way would be really helpful. So, we had [00:07:00] suggested that apprenticeship programs have an equity officer of some kind who could deal with some of these complaints and develop some expertise because it's not necessarily that they don't care, uh, it may be that they don't know how to handle it. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: Brittany did not have an equity officer at her previous jobs. At her current job, she reports to a manager who resolves work-related conflicts. Brittany believes there is a need for an equity officer. She points out that each company handles conflict and addresses complaints differently.

When Brittany applied for the Plumbers Union last year, she was required to lift 100-pound weights above her head and put heavy objects above a three feet shelf without a ladder. She couldn't reach the shelf. After that, she was rejected to enter the union. 

Brittany Taylor: I finished off top 40 out of 3, 000 applicants on my test and everything.

But they just made it really [00:08:00] difficult for a person, for a woman, to complete something and allow them to continue on to the Plumbers Union. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: Historically, some hiring strategies are known to keep union membership low and prevent people of color and women from stepping into the workforce. Some strategies include stonewalling, discriminatory testing, and explicit racism and sexism.

Jane says one of her graduates was fired for taking too long to use the bathroom. But the bathroom was two blocks away from her workstation. She eventually got her job back after advocating for herself. 

Jane Valenga, Executive Director, Chicago Women in Trade: Plenty of evidence where women can come in and do these jobs and be successful at them but somehow these examples are Uh, forgotten, because, uh, generally speaking, a woman entering this industry is, there are biases about her ability to do the job.

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: Brittany was discouraged. The union director told [00:09:00] her she did not meet the requirements after she explained the incident. She went back to Revolution's shop and talked to Manny Rodriguez. Manny is the organization's executive director and co-founder. When he heard the news, he was upset. But it wasn't the first time he heard of these scenarios.

Manny Rodriguez, Executive Director, Revolution Workshop: I'm a short person. I'm not going to be able to reach, you know, that 90 inches in the air. I can't do that with the step stool you bring. How about a ladder, right? Because that's what you're actually going to use on the job. If you're too short for something, you go get a ladder. That's, that's like construction 101.

And for her to be told, nah, you can't do it with that stool, then you fail the agility test. Well, one, I think, one, that's illegal. And two, it's just disappointing. Why are we doing this? Here's somebody that works hard, was working [00:10:00] for nonunion before she tried to do this, right? So, this is somebody you're taking out of the non-union and wants to go into the union deck and you come up with this reason that she failed the agility test because of that?

It's just, again, this is, that's discrimination. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: Manny says the graduates have experienced different forms of racism, from racial harassment to feeling excluded in the workplace. And though the organization has established relationships to help graduates enter the field, Manny says there have been many accounts of racism and sexism.

Women still struggle to enter or remain in the building trades. 

Manny Rodriguez, Executive Director, Revolution Workshop: There is a fair amount of sexism in our sector. It is overwhelmingly middle-aged white men that are on these chop sites. And that culture, uh, [00:11:00] comes with it, you know, lewd comments, uh, you know, inappropriate joking. Uh, there have been instances of harassment.

And, and that is the reason why women have such a hard time sticking in the field. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: As a consequence, women apprentices make up 4 percent of the workforce. That's according to a 2020 report from the Illinois Department of Labor. 

Manny Rodriguez, Executive Director, Revolution Workshop: There are men that don't believe that women can work in construction. And they will literally call the hall when, a lot of times a contractor will call the hall for employees, right, for people to come and work on their jobs.

And they'll literally tell all, I don't want any women, don't send any women. Again, if we don't start calling this out, this type of behavior out, we're never going to change it. And, and that's the kind of stuff that we [00:12:00] just have to be real about some of those things. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: Despite this, real change is still possible as more companies start to invest in construction apprenticeships for people of color.

The emphasis to invest in minority workers escalated as a result of the 2020 protest against George Floyd's murder and heightened awareness of racism and discrimination. Many organizations and corporations advocated for new policies and hiring practices. Bob Gallo is the chief operating officer of Power Construction and is considered a prominent general contractor in the region.

His company partners with organizations to hire more diverse talent. Bob cites former mayor Rahm Emanuel's 2017 executive order as an action that was intended to bring equality in the labor force. The executive order incentivized minority and youth hiring and construction with a goal of having people of color meeting 26 [00:13:00] percent of the workforce.

But the effect to close the disparity gap was minimal as it did not prompt most contractors to hire minorities. 

Bob Gallo, Chief Operating Officer, Power Construction: It's been very evident that as in the last five years, when the interest in private industry, as well as public, to include more minority contracting, right, so those numbers have increased drastically, hasn't necessarily translated to more minority hiring.

So, I think the thought was, a cause and effect, if you give more minority owned businesses work, more minorities would be, would be employed. That hasn't happened to the degree that I'm sure everybody had hoped at the time. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: Bob says more can be done to strengthen goals for hiring more people of color. 

Bob Gallo, Chief Operating Officer, Power Construction: One thing we're advocating for is take that same executive order, add some workforce development goals like they have for contracting goals.

That will get, so every project that has to go in front of the plant commission, which is most majority, large projects, requires them [00:14:00] to pay as much attention on the labor side as they do on the contracting side. And not just minority workers but focus specifically on pre apprenticeship hiring. So, taking people that are not in the industry who are minorities and giving them a chance.

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: Parrish is one of those workers who was given a chance. He's one of Revolution Workshops first graduates. He was laid off from his electrical job at the start of the pandemic. He says the organization played a huge part in getting him back to work during that time. And that's why he is here. He's grateful.

He came to reunite with graduates and staff and eat some good barbecue.

Remember when I told you how alum felt a sense of kinship when they entered the space four years ago? Well, I saw it again when Parrish saw Manny, who he happens to call Little Manny. [00:15:00] Manny is his mentor. They haven't seen each other since 2018. He applied to the program after his mother convinced him to join that year.

Like Brittany, he was unsure of joining. After orientation, he instantly connected with staff and became passionate about the field. 

Parrish: I You know, um, Manny was one of the first people that encouraged me being an electrician because I was good with numbers. So, I was selling today. Anything I put my mind to, I go get it.

So, that was my mindset. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: Once Parrish graduated from the program, he entered the construction industry doing demolition work the next year. He worked as an electrician the year after that. Both jobs are non-union. While at both jobs, he received racial microaggressions from staff. Parrish isn't comfortable sharing his experience, but Manny says, 

Manny Rodriguez, Executive Director, Revolution Workshop: He had a couple of instances where there were overly racist comments made to him [00:16:00] when he was, you know, just going to work.

He wasn't even, it wasn't even his colleagues, it was the areas in which he was working. And then secondly, he felt that there were on several instances that other first year White apprentices were not being held to the same standard that he was being held. And he felt like there was a double standard and the only reason why he felt there was a double standard was race.

And he felt very strongly about it. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: Compared to Brittany's experience, Parrish was able to enter the union because the company works with Revolution Workshop. Brittany applied to a union that was not a partner to the organization and was not accepted. Manny says these partnerships are vital to help [00:17:00] apprentices of color enter unions to eliminate barriers to entry.

Still, there are some unions in the city that do not allow contractors to sponsor people. And when that happens, Revolution Workshop has no success in sending in their graduates. 

Manny Rodriguez, Executive Director, Revolution Workshop: So the only way we're going to be able to diversify the sector is by allowing apprentices on these jobs new blood to come in.

And then that new blood has to obviously be diverse. That's what has to happen. That's what you're seeing happen in other parts of this country. But here, for whatever reason, we're saying we can't. And that is where I get the most frustrated. Again, are all the unions, I'm not going to paint them all in the same brush.

They're not all in the same brush. Some are trying. And they are working with us. But not enough. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: Bob Gallo at Power Construction says they're partnering with Revolution Workshop to also fill an upcoming gap. [00:18:00] 

Bob Gallo, Chief Operating Officer, Power Construction: Our workforce is aging. We do need youth in there. We do need to attract more youth. And ideally, we're attracting more youth that represents the city of Chicago.

For So it's, so all minorities, all, all different. All different areas of the city, um, you know, not just traditionally more white. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: According to Bob, the steps this company is taking to open doors for minorities requires cooperation and investment into apprenticeship programs. 

Bob Gallo, Chief Operating Officer, Power Construction: Bringing, you know, all these companies to these organizations to say, here's a great supply, here's a great source for you to find good talent, right?

So just trying to connect those folks, um, you know, certainly can help, but, and we're just hoping that it's not just us or a few other companies doing it, but our whole industry just steps up and does it. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: Many recognizes that the organization and its collaborators are conduits for social change. Working with Revolution Workshop gets more people jobs.

Manny Rodriguez, Executive Director, Revolution Workshop: As [00:19:00] our network of employers grew, we were able to get them better opportunities. And that was only going to happen if we had maintained that connection, if we maintained that sense of community. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: Part of how Revolution Workshop finds its collaborators is through job matching, a process where the organization researches the employer, its culture, and their mission towards diversity.

Once they find the right partner, they work together to hire graduates and sponsor them into unions. Manny says contracting partners have helped the organization with conducting mock interviews and visiting trainees at the shop to talk to them about entering the industry. 

Manny Rodriguez, Executive Director, Revolution Workshop: We rely on them for is market projections.

How's 23 going to look? Is it going to be good? Is it going to be slow? We look at them for curriculum. Hey, what are we not teaching them? What are we missing from our 12 weeks? What do you want to see more that will make a better entry level employee for you? Better for you and better for [00:20:00] them as the job seeker.

So, the simple point of this is this. We have to make sure that these opportunities, these great Family sustaining career pathways are accessible to all people, and that is where we're going to continue to push forward. And we want to work with the unions. I, again, not anti-union, want to work with them. I want to be a partner with them.

Let's make something that will work for everybody. And I think if we can really get in the room. And really have the real conversation, I think we can land where we want to land. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: The current attempt to get unions, contractors, and developers in the same room is pending. The Construction Workforce Equity Ordinance was crafted by Revolution Workshop earlier this year.

The ordinance would ensure that all city projects hire apprentices of color. It would require contractors to monitor construction projects and record demographic [00:21:00] data. It would also allow workers to anonymously report incidents of racial and sexual harassment. And it would demand contractors and workers to take annual anti-harassment training.

Manny Rodriguez, Executive Director, Revolution Workshop: So, there's no current project labor agreement in the city of Chicago. So how do we make sure that we still accomplish this? Now we're thinking about it. The city plays a role. The contractor plays a role. The unions play a role. We play a role as pre apprenticeship providers, and it's making sure that each party is accountable to making this happen.

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: Eleven years ago, the city passed a project labor agreement in which the city agreed to hire only union labor. The agreement would only call for hiring 50 percent of city residents and CPS graduates to participate in city funded projects. In the agreement, there is no existing language that states contractors are required to hire a certain percentage of people of color [00:22:00] and women.

The sole purpose of these agreements is to prevent unions from striking and include them in city projects. After the agreement expired last year, Revolution Workshop provided recommendations to the mayor's office to improve it. But the city did not meet with them again, so the S 10th Ward Alderwoman Susan Garza had to pressure the City Council in approving the recommendations last summer.

She was able to get 42 out of 50 alderpeople to sign Revolution Workshop's open letter to the mayor. The unions walked away from the agreement three months later due to fears of it being denied by the Illinois Supreme Court. 

Susan Garza, 10th Ward Alderwoman: We had done a lot of research. We looked at best practices throughout the entire country.

We were trying to be very diligent to create win-win scenarios so nobody felt that one side was getting taken advantage of over the others and to hear, you [00:23:00] know, the joy of having 42 aldermen on a 50 aldermen to sign on to an open letter to the mayor saying this is important to us. And then to, like, three months later to find out the unions are just walking away. It just was like, Oh, okay. This is, this is just going to be status quo. Nobody's really interested in changing this dynamic. Some of my partners would say that that's harsh and that's not fair, but that's how it feels. It feels like diversity, equity, and inclusion was only a term, a buzzword.

But when we really got down to it to actually create a policy that would ensure that we didn't, we didn't go through and, and that again, it's just, it's disappointing. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: With the ordinance, the organization wants to make sure the city is not giving contracts to the same old [00:24:00] contractors who are not focused on diversity.

Manny says he is willing to fight to get the ordinance made into law. 

Manny Rodriguez, Executive Director, Revolution Workshop: Um, and why I'm hopeful is because I have taken the time to get to know a lot of contractors. I have taken the time to build authentic relationships in our community and in our sector. And I do believe that people want to do the right thing.

I just think that some folks don't know how. Or they don't. trust, you know, willingly, because maybe they got burned in the past. But I do think that there's more folks like Bob out there than before. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: Last year, the city invested billions in an infrastructure plan with the intent to create more jobs. Manny says most of those projects have also not included goals to retain construction workers of color.

He says the time is now to hire them for these projects. 

Manny Rodriguez, Executive Director, Revolution Workshop: We have the casino, and then you have Lincoln [00:25:00] Yards, and then you have the 78, and these are large, private jobs that are also mainly unions. And so, we have a very unique opportunity. We have George Floyd and, and really showed, you know, uh, that racism isn't dead in this country, right?

We know that it, for most of us, we know that it was never dead. But I think for what it really got is white America to really see that the indifference of someone just kneeling on somebody's neck like that until they die and the indifference of that person's life was so in your face in the middle of a pandemic where we couldn't be distracted, right?

We couldn't be distracted by sports or a movie coming out or anything like that because we were all locked up. We were all stuck at home. So, we got to see that real raw [00:26:00] indifference in a way that, you know, we may never see again quite in that way, right? Yeah. And so, you have this money, you have all these projects, you have George Floyd, you have coming out of a pandemic, a global pandemic, a once in a century event.

If we cannot figure out how to be more diverse and equitable and inclusive, right, in this time, when are we going to figure it out? This is the time to figure it out. 

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: Figuring it out for Brittany means shifting the power dynamic in the building trades, including having her own construction company. 

Brittany Taylor: I would have a lot more women in power.

I feel like a lot of men have a problem with having women, like, above them, a chain of command, you know, so I would definitely feel like I would want more women. If I was to have my own company, like, I already told them, like, my company's gonna be [00:27:00] women based.

Leslie Hurtado, Producer: As the day almost comes to a close, the music stops, and you can hear everyone talking louder than before. Most are making plans to gather elsewhere tonight. A chorus of see you there's can be heard by the table near the grill. As I clean up my table and talk to more people, I realize there is hope for the future.

You just need to reflect in unity and find solutions to bring change. As Brittany says, don't lose faith, you have a purpose. And looking at smiles and listening to the laughter at this barbecue, I see that sense of community. Supporting each other while working for change. Okay, the hot dog was good. I'm going to get some more before I leave.

I'm Leslie Hurtado. Talk to you soon.[00:28:00] 

Judith McCray, Executive Producer: Thank you for joining Change Agents, the podcast series looking at grassroots actions and solutions from the inside out. Produced by Juneteenth Productions. Theme music composed by Sara Abdelal. Funding support provided by the Chicago Community Trust, the Field Foundation, and DePaul University's Center for Communication Engagement.

Subscribe to this series on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and wherever you find podcasts. Follow Change Agents on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and the website changeagentsthepodcast.com.