President Joe Biden is under pressure to use the rebuilding of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge as an opportunity to address allegations of anti-Black racism in the construction industry.
Biden said this week that he told administration officials to “move heaven and earth” to reopen the Port of Baltimore and rebuild bridges. But recovery efforts could be complicated by demands that the project further advance leftist ideas about racial justice, the treatment of immigrants, climate change and wealth redistribution.
Ann editorial the hill We emphasize that some of these demands may be incompatible. For example, demands to increase black representation in the construction industry could conflict with demands that the United States continue to welcome a surge of immigrants at its borders.
Employers’ preference for migrant workers has led to a “higher proportion of migrant workers.” Evacuation and disappointment.” According to Roger House, professor emeritus of American studies at Emerson College, black workers are overrepresented on construction sites.
part of the house the hill It calls on the president to “also express concern for rebuilding critical bridges and building bridges of inclusion for Black American workers in the construction industry.”
From the editorial:
president biden He has struggled to connect the benefits of his signature infrastructure law to disaffected black workers. When he touts the jobs created by federally supported construction projects, e.g. his latest statement The story of the Arizona semiconductor chip factory only serves as a reminder to some black working-class men that they are excluded from the industry.
collapse of Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore It’s a chance for Biden to change the storyline. A bridge, a major conduit to the Port of Baltimore, collapsed Tuesday after being struck by a cargo ship. This bridge spans more than 2.5 miles across the Patapsco River and will require reconstruction as a major connecting point in the area.
The House argues that “the administration has failed to hold states accountable for the capital projects encouraged in the Infrastructure Act.”
The House said Biden has “fumbled his way toward racial reform in construction, especially on the side of Black men seeking skilled work and contracting opportunities.”
Black workers are kept away from construction jobs because of “union racism” and “contractors’ preferential treatment of immigrants.” The construction sector’s population is 60 percent white, 30 percent Hispanic and only 5 percent black, House wrote, citing information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The total U.S. population is 59.3% non-Hispanic white, 18.9% Hispanic, and 12.4% black.
House argued that “the surge in immigration since the 1980s provided a source of cheap labor that contractors desired, but unions were unable to retain, and black workers were the outlier.” ing. Even during disasters like Hurricane Katrina, federal contractors chose to use labor. immigrant workers Rather than hiring and training black men from the area. ”
