New Civil Rights Report: Transportation Bills Should Expand Low-Income and Minority Access to Job Opportunities
Washington, D.C. – Following President Obama’s call for a “clean extension” of the surface transportation bill and a reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a new report, “Getting to Work: Transportation Policy and Access to Job Opportunities,” highlights how inequities in transportation funding undermine civil rights guarantees of equal employment opportunities.
According to the report:
- Lack of transportation isolates many Americans from jobs. For decades, metropolitan areas have been expanding outward, and jobs have been moving farther away from the low-income and minority people who disproportionately remain in urban cores. Because of the high expense of car ownership, many low-income people are effectively walled off from these new opportunities. For many of these people, inadequate or unaffordable transportation is a significant barrier to employment.
- Transportation job creation has not benefitted all Americans equally. More than 14 million jobs—about 11 percent of civilian jobs in the U.S.—are transportation related. But transportation dollars overwhelmingly go toward building new highways that expand metropolitan areas. These jobs are frequently located far from where most low-income people live and are not accessible by public transportation.
“Equitable transportation investments are a prerequisite to leveling the jobs playing field for the millions of minority and low-income families suffering from this dreadful recession,” said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “These communities need a fully-funded surface transportation bill, job security, and a reliable funding revenue stream from the gas tax if they ever hope to rise out of the stubborn cycle of poverty.”
“Congress must act to solve this jobs crisis. Equitably funding transportation projects is a solid step toward decreasing the unemployment gap and the jobs crisis for everyone,” Henderson said.
The report stresses that transportation investments should focus on job creation. The report states, “It is critically important to maximize the job creation power of every transportation dollar we spend. This includes: selecting modes of transportation that generate the most jobs; incentivizing projects that locate jobs in underserved communities; and vigorously enforcing requirements for equal opportunity programs and grants targeting disadvantaged businesses.”
The report also advocates for federal measures that serve the transportation needs of transit dependent workers, enabling low-income people to reach a greater variety of job opportunities—including transportation projects in outlying areas.
“Getting to Work: Transportation Policy and Access to Job Opportunities” is one of a series of reports that analyzes how transportation investments impact access to healthcare, housing, and employment opportunities for low-income communities, people of color, seniors, and people with disabilities. Find out more at lcprd.actbot.co/transportation.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.