Building Pathways New Hampshire: "Program helps women get construction jobs"

Building Pathways New Hampshire (BPNH) is currently recruiting women for the next cycle of their five-week pre-apprenticeship program, which prepares individuals for "high-skill, high-wage construction careers" and assists eligible graduates with joining union apprenticeship programs (Foster's Daily Democrat, 3 Feb. 2015).

For more about BPNH or how to apply, check out the recent Foster's article about their February information sessions:

— Monday, February 9, Teachers Union Hall, 7 Tagart Dr, Nashua
— Thursday, February 12, Plumbers and Pipefitters hall, 161 Londonderry Turnpike, Hookset
— Monday, February 16, Seymour Osman Community Center, 40 Hampshire Circle, Dover

Interested applicants can also contact Joe Gallagher at 603-948-8161 or buildingpathwaysnh@gmail.com.

Upcoming Event: FREE Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) Training

The Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) and Suffolk Construction will be hosting a free 10-hour Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) training. The training will cover OSHA regulations and requirements that are necessary as you apply to the construction industry. This will be a good opportunity  for women looking to enter the construction industry.

Saturday January 24th, 2015, 8:30am-3:30pm
Sunday January 25th, 2015 8:30am-3:30pm

OSHA Training
38 Oak Street 
Boston, MA 02111

For more information, check out the event flyer.
If you have any questions or need to sign up, please call Brian McPherson at 617-517-4446 or email BMcPherson@suffolk.com

Repost: MassGaming to establish ‘Access and Opportunity’ committee, Initiative created to support state’s commitment to ensuring workforce and vendor diversity

Last week, The Massachusetts Gaming Commission announced their plans to establish an Access and Opportunity Committee for "the primary function of monitoring diversity in the construction workforce and supplier base of the state's resort-casino licensees" (MGC Communications, 11 Dec. 2014). This motion was passed unanimously by The Commission on December 4. The Policy Group on Tradeswomen's Issues (PGTI) co-conveners Susan Moir and Elizabeth Skidmore expressed their excitement for the achievement, which was spurred in part by The Commission's collaboration with PGTI. "'After six years of hard work developing best practices for increasing the number of women in construction jobs, this is a great milestone, and we look forward to continuing to work with the Commission'" (MGC Communications, 11 Dec. 2014). With major construction planned for new casinos in Massachusetts, this motion means hundreds of jobs for tradeswomen.

To read the full news release, visit http://massgaming.com or download the PDF.

Repost: Borger Earthworks Closes the Gender Gap in the Construction Industry

President Bill Borger Jr. of the Borger Group of Companies knows that to form the best construction crew you need to pull from 100% of the labor pool. "Borger's Earthworks division defies the norm and 50% of their workforce is women. In fact, one entire crew is female” (PR Newswire 2014). Clients and stakeholders have praised the team’s performance. The Borger Group adopted the Respect in the WorkplaceTM to make sure that women felt empowered and that there was a healthy workplace for all. This lead to the success of the company

Visit http://www.sys-con.com/node/3233766 to read the full article.​

Repost: Construction-Training Grads Are All Women

The Construction Workforce Initiative 2 Program in New Haven, CT, recently presented 37 women with certificates of completion. This graduation ceremony marked the matriculation of their first women-only class in the construction training program. (Markeshia, 23 Oct. 2014).

Visit http://www.newhavenindependent.org to read the full article.

Girls at Work, Inc. MusicFest 2014: 2-for-1 Tickets on Sale Today!

Girls at Work, Inc. is a non-profit in southern New Hampshire that has worked for 13 years to empower young girls by giving them power tools. Check out their upcoming evening of live music, good food, raffles, and more to support this great organization.

Repost: Coalition calls for wage guarantees for construction on Roxbury projects

At a recent meeting of the Roxbury Strategic Master Plan Oversight Committee, which monitors construction projects that are part of the Roxbury Strategic Master Plan, the Boston Jobs Coalition and other community activists called for developers to adopt prevailing wages for both union and non-union workers as well as higher goals for contractors to hire residents, women, and people of color. This recommendation comes not long after community members picketed the Tropical Foods store site, where "some workers...were being paid only $11 per hour" (Larson, 22 Oct. 2014). The coalition's efforts have received support from City Councilor Tito Jackson and State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, among others.

Visit http://baystatebanner.com/ to read the full article.

Repost: Where Are All the Blue-Collar Women?

HuffPost Live's Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani recently interviewed Lorien Barlow (@hardhattedwoman), the director of Hard Hatted Woman, a feature-length documentary film that will explore the experiences of American women working in the construction industry.
Ambra Melendez, a journey ironworker; Francoise Jacobsohn (@fjacobsohn), a project manager at Equal Rights Advocates; and Rudy Mulligan, a second-year carpenter apprentice, also contribute their thoughts on the stereotypes tradeswomen confront in a "hyper-masculine arena."

Visit The Huffington Post online to watch the interview.

Visit www.hardhattedwoman.com to learn more about the documentary.

News Release: Fort Myer Construction will pay $900K to settle discrimination and harassment case involving 371 women and minorities

OFCCP News Release: [09/17/2014]
Contact Name: Laura McGinnis or Michael Trupo
Phone Number: (202) 693-4653 or x6588
Email: McGinnis.Laura.K@dol.gov or Trupo.Michael@dol.gov
Release Number: 14-1513-PHI

Fort Myer Construction will pay $900K to settle discrimination and harassment case involving 371 women and minorities

WASHINGTON — Fort Myer Construction Corp. has agreed to settle charges that it violated Executive Order 11246 by failing to provide equal employment opportunities to employees and job applicants at 413 construction sites in the D.C. metropolitan area.

An agreement reached by the federal contractor and the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs resolves allegations that between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2010, the company discriminated against 27 qualified women and 136 qualified African Americans who applied for jobs as laborers, and unfairly terminated eight African American skilled laborers. It also resolves pay discrimination charges stemming from Fort Myer Construction's practice of assigning equally qualified workers performing the same jobs to projects paying different hourly rates, some with fewer work hours. This resulted in lower wages for 44 African American and 156 Hispanic laborers.

"Strong enforcement and vigilance are critical to opening doors of opportunity for more women and minorities in the construction industry, ensuring that all workers get an equal shot at getting to work on the highest-paying projects," said OFCCP Director Patricia A. Shiu.

OFCCP's investigation of Fort Myer Construction began in January 2011 during the agency's review of companies involved in constructing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's consolidated headquarters in southeastern D.C. Because that project is valued above $25 million and will last more than a year, this undertaking has been designated by the Labor Department as a Mega Construction Project, which is a priority area for OFCCP. More than 300 workers were interviewed over the course of the compliance evaluation, which focused on Fort Meyer Construction's employment practices in 2010.

"Getting those workers in the door and keeping them is going to take more than improved applicant tracking and better pay policies," said OFCCP Mid-Atlantic Regional Director Michele Hodge. "It's going to take a concerted effort by Fort Myer Construction's leadership to change a culture that devalues too many workers."

During their investigation, OFCCP compliance officers received more than 30 phone calls alerting them to charges of harassment, intimidation, threats and coercion at work. The agency discovered that supervisors at Fort Myer Construction used hostile and derogatory language toward African American and Hispanic employees, as well as a disabled veteran. The supervisors sexually harassed and tried to date female subordinates. African American women were locked out of restroom facilities and had feces left in their work trucks. A company vice president tried to interfere in OFCCP's investigation by discouraging Hispanic employees from talking to agency inspectors conducting an onsite review. Even a female investigator from OFCCP was subjected to inappropriate sexual jokes by a superintendent while at a Fort Myer Construction work site.

Under the terms of the settlement, Fort Myer Construction will pay $900,000 in back wages and interest to 371 class members and make job offers to seven women and 30 African Americans from that class as laborer positions become available. The company has also agreed to undertake extensive training and monitoring measures to ensure that all its employment practices – including hiring, termination and compensation – fully comply with the laws enforced by OFCCP.

D.C.-based Fort Myer Construction builds, repairs and maintains streets, roads, bridges and underground utilities. In 2010, the company received more than $400 million in federal funds for work on 155 construction projects in the D.C. area. Some of its largest contracts that year were with the U.S. Department of Transportation, General Services Administration, Navy Department, National Park Service and Smithsonian Institution.

In addition to Executive Order 11246, OFCCP enforces Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974. These three laws require that those who do business with the federal government, both contractors and subcontractors, follow the fair and reasonable standard that they not discriminate in employment on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran. For more information, visit http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/.

Read this news release en Español.

Repost: Iron fist in a velvet glove, Chinese women on construction site

© 2009 - 2012 ChinaHush

ChinaHush recently published striking photos of women working in construction in China, where "woman construction workers have taken up 10.18% of the total construction site workforce" (Lee, 24 Sept. 2014). Many of these women work side-by-side with their husbands, earning wages to support their families. While these jobs often provide better wages and greater freedom than factory jobs, women workers typically make less money than their male counterparts--in the case of 32-year-old Yang Amei, 120 yuan instead of the 160 yuan per day that her husband earns (Lee, 24 Sept. 2014). In recent years, women have taken on roles that require "heavy lifting" on the construction sites--work that was previous reserved for men.

To read the full article and view the photos, visit http://www.chinahush.com/.

Repost: Govt to double women at construction sites

A "joint action plan" to increase women's participation in the construction workforce was recently adopted by a small group of public-private partners in Japan. The group of general contractors, contractors associations, and government agencies has committed to doubling the number of women in their construction industry by adding 100,000 women by 2019 (Jiji Press, 24 August 2014)!

Visit http://the-japan-news.com/ to read the article.

Repost: Is construction still a losing game for most women? Are you part of the problem?

A recent article by Julia Evans, Chief Executive at BSRIA, describes the ebb and flow of women workers in the construction field during the past two centuries and questions the long-term efficacy of legislation that simply "throws money" at the job access problem. Through a look at the historical efforts to incorporate women in the building trades workforce, Evans smartly argues:

"Funding new training opportunities is a great step forward, but to see real change we need industry leaders to be proactive in embedding a more diverse and inclusive work culture. The majority of women aged 25-45 find that attitudes, behaviours and perceptions are the greatest barriers (3)." (Evans, 23 July 2014)

To read Evans' full argument regarding women workers in Britain's construction workforce, visit http://www.link2portal.com/.

News Release: Suffolk Construction Launches Fall 2014 Subcontractor Development Series

If you know a Massachusetts MBE or WBE that would benefit from training in construction management and greater access to relationships with major contractors like Suffolk Construction, Suffolk Construction's upcoming Subcontractor Development Series may provide the additional information and resources to help that subcontractor increase their success in the construction field. Applications for the Fall 2014 series are due Friday, August 15 at 5pm.

To get more information, review the eligibility requirements, and complete an application, check out Suffolk Construction's recent news release or visit www.suffolk.com/subcontractor_development_series.html.

Event Recap: "Where are all the women?" webinar

On August 5th, Gamaliel, a network of community organizing affiliates across the United States, South Africa and the United Kingdom, hosted a webinar on "Putting Women to Work in the Skilled Trades through Regulatory Reform" (Gamaliel, 30 July 2014). Panelists Connie Ashbrook, Executive Director of Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc., Francoise Jacobsohn, former manager of Legal Momentum's economic security program, and Jenny Perrino, legislative director for U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, discussed "why women are still excluded from the construction trades and what can be done to fix the problem" (Gamaliel, 30 July 2014). This webinar is part of Gamaliel's ongoing efforts through the Fire of Faith campaign, which seeks to increase access to living-wage jobs.

Watch the full video of the webinar.
Download the webinar PowerPoint slides.
Learn more about Gamaliel's Fire of Faith campaign.

Repost: World Trade Center contractor charged in multimillion-dollar fraud

DCM Erectors Inc, a contractor of the World Trade Center project in New York City, has been charged with creating fake documentation to appear in compliance with MBE and WBE requirements for construction. A recent Reuters article written by Joseph Ax states:

"In one instance, [DCM Erectors CEO] Davis arranged for at least $2 million in compensation for Johnny Garcia, the owner of minority-owned Solera Construction, the government said. 

Davis claimed a joint venture between Solera and DCM did about $70 million of work when, in fact, DCM did the work itself or hired a non-minority subcontractor, prosecutors said." (Ax, 31 July 2014)

The nearly $1 billion construction job, which includes the US's tallest tower at the site of the September 11th attacks, falls under the New York and New Jersey's Port Authority Regulations regarding the allocation of construction contracts to MBE and WBE companies.

Visit http://www.reuters.com/ to read the full Reuters article.

Repost: Mayor Walsh targets gang members for jobs - Trade unions step up with apprenticeships

The Boston Herald recently reported that Mayor Walsh and attorney Daniel Mulhern have developed a program, Operation Exit, to direct youth involved in street violence to employment in the building trades. Select individuals will complete an apprenticeship program and subsequently gain access to union employment and benefits. Walsh states:

''It’s a great way to get somebody into an industry where they’re going to make a good amount of money in the beginning, but it gets them off the street, hopefully gets them to understand the importance of working and the value of working,' Walsh told the Herald. 'And it will help us on the backside by taking some of the key players off the street'" (Encarnacao, 18 July 2014).

Visit http://bostonherald.com/ to read the full article.

Repost: Women in Trades - An Apprenticeship Success Story

Oregon Tradeswomen Inc. (OTI) Executive Director Connie Ashbrook's recent post on the USDOL blog provides a concrete narrative of both the challenges that women face in entering the construction trades and the need for Registered Apprenticeship programs to focus on recruiting women. Ashbrook rightly states,

"Although many people believe it is women’s physical abilities that can keep them from succeeding in a trades career, the most challenging obstacle women have to overcome in becoming an apprentice is a lack of knowledge about these careers and how to successfully apply for apprenticeship" (Ashbrook, 17 July 2014).

Programs like OTI's pre-apprenticeship program continue to serve as an integral link for women to access good-paying jobs in the building trades. Read more about OTI and the success of their pre-apprentice Deawendoe “Dee” St. Martin at http://social.dol.gov/blog/.

Repost: Homophobia Hinders Women’s Progress in Building Trades

A recent study conducted by Amy M. Denissen of California State University and Abigail C. Saguy of University of California–Los Angeles illuminates the ongoing challenges in recruiting and retaining women in the construction industry by examining the gender discrimination and homophobia many tradeswomen experience on the job. A press release published by Sociologists for Women in Society states:

"Denissen and Saguy explain that when women enter trade work, men often feel threatened. This stems from the building trades being traditionally seen as “men’s work.” The study finds that tradeswomen are sexually objectified and occupationally discriminated against in an attempt to neutralize the threat tradeswomen pose to men’s right of privileged access to these lucrative careers." (SWS, 17 June 2014)

To read the full press release, visit http://socwomen.org/swspr62014/. To download a copy of the study, visit http://gas.sagepub.com/.

Repost: Court Rules that Federal Law Bars Employers from Discriminating Against Breastfeeding Employees

Legal Momentum recently represented female construction workers in a discrimination case and helped protect the right to receive breastfeeding accommodations on the job.

"Earlier this year, Legal Momentum filed to intervene on behalf of four female sheet metal workers in a lawsuit filed against Vamco Sheet Metals, Inc., a New York-based construction company that manufactures and installs sheet metal. The lawsuit was originally filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in September of last year, after the agency’s investigation concluded that the company had discriminated against its female employees. The investigation was prompted by the charges filed by four women, each of whom reported being terminated from her job due to her sex.

Legal Momentum’s court papers also noted that one of the women reported being discharged by the construction company after she notified her supervisor that she was a nursing mother in need of time and space to express milk for her child.

In their court papers opposing Legal Momentum’s intervention, defendants argued that the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act does not protect employees who are terminated after requesting breastfeeding-related accommodations. The Magistrate Judge disagreed, ruling that employers who take adverse employment action against nursing employees may be found to violate the Pregnancy Discrimination Act" (Legal Momentum, 12 June 2014).

Read the full press release and ruling at https://www.legalmomentum.org.

Repost: What’s Next for Women in the Trades?

Great article written by Michael Theriault, Secretary-Treasurer of the San Francisco Building & Construction Trades Council, about the need to recruit and support more women in the building trades:

"While the old Building Trades pattern of white male exclusion of minorities, then, has been largely – even if not absolutely – superseded by a new, more complex reality, we still appear to exclude women.

We and the City can take many practical steps yet toward enrolling and supporting women in the Trades. We can target pre-apprenticeship programs primarily at women, as does a recent Iron Workers multi-trades welding program. We can insist that existing pre-apprenticeship programs target specific numbers of female apprenticeship candidates, as the Carpenters have done at John O’Connell High School. I have advocated for years for childcare programs with construction hours, which would benefit many men as well. We can ask successful Tradeswomen to serve as recruiters and mentors" (Theriault, 30 May 2014).

Visit http://www.sfbuildingtradescouncil.org/ to read the full article.