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Gee sounds just like about 100 years ago when an alderman would say hire (insert one of the following) Jews, Italians, Irish, Poles, Greeks etc. "Or people will get hurt" .
The truth is Chicago is the one of the homes of ethnically based patronage politics and has been for over 100 years.
So now you want get made at a Black politician for doing the same thing white ones have been doing for over a century?
Working for next to nothing accomplishes nothing if they cannot perform the tasks required.
It's not that unskilled illiterate illegals cannot perform the tasks in rail projects, but so can unemployed Americans.
I think all they really need to do is make sure only Americans are hired for this project and that the companies given the bids are EEO employers that actually will employ English speakers - then black Americans certainly will have their fair chance at these jobs.
It is not at all healthy that unemployment rates for black Americans is as high as it is while employers bring in ultra cheap illegals who end up requiring food stamps, Medicaid and all rest that subsidizes their low wages.
Gee sounds just like about 100 years ago when an alderman would say hire (insert one of the following) Jews, Italians, Irish, Poles, Greeks etc. "Or people will get hurt" .
The truth is Chicago is the one of the homes of ethnically based patronage politics and has been for over 100 years.
So now you want get made at a Black politician for doing the same thing white ones have been doing for over a century?
It's still wrong. IF white people did that; many Blacks would be screaming "racism" and for once I'd agree with the Blacks.
Englewood is arguably one of the worst neighborhoods in Chicago, with extremely high levels of unemployment and crime. It is also an area that is at least 99.99999% black. Now, if you want to discount the alderman's words and believe that you can implement a billion dollar project in this community and not hire individuals who are from, or who represent the neighborhood, that is your perogative. However, the alderman's assessment is correct - community members will be insulted and it could jeopardize the safety/security of the job site(s).
While I do not believe anyone should respond to this situation with violence, I do believe that blacks should demand fair representation in this project. Much of the work will be performed by manual/unskilled labor and there is no reason that blacks should be excluded and/or underrepresented.
White people do it all the time and it is not uncommon that local residents receive hiring preference for public works projects in their communities. This is especially true if the project is in an impoverished area.
~ButterBrownBiscuit~
Quote:
Originally Posted by Packard fan
It's still wrong. IF white people did that; many Blacks would be screaming "racism" and for once I'd agree with the Blacks.
Well here's a quote from the OP article. Seems not enough "Black" businesses got contracts yet the company is not allowed to set minority targets. So who is right here ?
From OP link:
As required by federal law, Metra established a 25 percent benchmark for “disadvantaged business enterprises,” a category that includes any business with an annual net worth that does not exceed $1.32 million, Clifford said. That means small businesses as well as those owned by minorities and women.
“By federal statute, we are not allowed to set a minority target. If a bidder comes in and achieves that goal — 25 percent DBE — they have met the federal mandate. The federal mandate is what I must follow and I will not violate the law,” Clifford said.
Gee sounds just like about 100 years ago when an alderman would say hire (insert one of the following) Jews, Italians, Irish, Poles, Greeks etc. "Or people will get hurt" .
The truth is Chicago is the one of the homes of ethnically based patronage politics and has been for over 100 years.
So now you want get made at a Black politician for doing the same thing white ones have been doing for over a century?
I guess you didn't read the post of Parfleche about what threats like this can bring on.
I remember when the local NAACP people tromped into the principal's office at Topeka High School and demanded at least one more black cheerleader for the basketball team. They based this on the comparative numbers of students in the school. The principal said he would gladly do that but would have to apply that same ratio to the basketball team. At the time they had 10 blacks and two whites on the varsity team. The threateners backed out pretty fast when they realized that they demands would result in only 4 players on the team who were black.
This kind of crap is so ridiculous but some people just can't understand.
Englewood is arguably one of the worst neighborhoods in Chicago, with extremely high levels of unemployment and crime. It is also an area that is at least 99.99999% black. Now, if you want to discount the alderman's words and believe that you can implement a billion dollar project in this community and not hire individuals who are from, or who represent the neighborhood, that is your perogative. However, the alderman's assessment is correct - community members will be insulted and it could jeopardize the safety/security of the job site(s).
While I do not believe anyone should respond to this situation with violence, I do believe that blacks should demand fair representation in this project. Much of the work will be performed by manual/unskilled labor and there is no reason that blacks should be excluded and/or underrepresented.
~ButterBrownBiscuit~
That's fine no argument there but my guess is that many folks in this community are simply not qualified.
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