Support the Cohen Amendment to H.R. 7: Construction Careers Demonstration Project

Recipient: U.S. House of Representatives

Dear Representative:

On
behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition
charged by its diverse membership of more than 210 national organizations to
promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States, we urge you
to vote in favor of the Construction Careers Demonstration Project Amendment,
as expected to be offered by Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN) at the markup of
the American Energy and Infrastructure Act of 2012 (H.R. 7). The proposed Amendment
would help low-income people, minorities, women, veterans, and people with
disabilities have better access to construction employment in the
transportation sector; encourage hiring of these workers; and build more
opportunities for quality apprenticeship training.

Jobs in the
transportation sector—including construction, maintenance, and operation—can
provide pathways to middle class careers for all workers, which is especially
important for individuals in disadvantaged communities, who have been
underrepresented in the construction transportation workforce.  By
establishing a framework to lift up job standards in the construction industry
and develop new recruitment and training standards that help new workers get
into jobs, construction career programs benefit workers, communities, and the
construction industry as a whole.

The
Construction Careers
Demonstration Project draws
from existing successes as pioneered by states and cities, including California
and Missouri, that have yielded proven best practices and positive outcomes for
low-income workers and contractors. In Los Angeles, construction projects
undertaken with construction careers programs have employed targeted residents
for about 35% of all worker hours.^[1]
The Missouri Department of Transportation endeavored to hire low-income
apprentices as 30% of the workforce on a $500 million highway project.
Approximately 27% of the 300 workers hired have been women and minorities.^[2]  Construction careers programs are
gaining support because they create unique pathways into middle class careers
for workers and address concerns about the long-term need for a highly-trained
and qualified construction industry workforce.

We urge you to vote in favor
of Representative Cohen’s Construction Careers Demonstration Project Amendment
to H.R. 7. If you have any questions about this letter, or the position taken
by The Leadership Conference, please feel free to contact Lexer Quamie, Counsel
at (202) 466-3648 or [email protected] or Nancy Zirkin at (202) 466-3311 or [email protected]. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Wade Henderson
President & CEO

Nancy Zirkin
Executive Vice President