I think the Pay for the Job should be compenserate to the training required for the job skill. It takes in most cases a Masters Degree to teach in a University. Department heads often have a Doctorate in their teaching discipline. These are standards even for a Community College.
I live in the St Louis Metro East area in Illinois.
When talking about contracts granted in the public sector for work to be paid for by the government locally, by the State, or by the Federal Government. Presecence is often given for Minority Owned cotractors and firms. The problem is many jobs are given to large construction companies that may even be from out of state. Often a preference is given to Union employers because of the Union Training and education programs for skilled construction labor, and the level of expertise you get from people who have completed a union run apprenticeship program. Working with Concrete and Asphalt and building structurally sound overpasses and bridges requires some skill and training.
The problem you might say is that not all construction companies have many African American Employees. So it is up to government entitees to require these companies to accept local Minorities into the various trades apprenticeship programs. Next time you go by a construction crew see how many minorities are laying cement and asphalt or as a carpenter, bricklayer or plumber or even an electrician. Some places may have minorities in skilled labor positions and some may not. Having a Black guy holding up the caution sign is not skilled labor. I am talking about the people doing the real skilled labor like finishing the cement, welding wrought iron, or some other skilled job. Nothing wrong with the guys or gals that hold those signs, because their job is important too.
So often Minority contracors can be used in construction support jobs to help compensate for the lack of minorities in construction jobs. The only Femaly Instructor in IT at Washington University I have met is a Black Woman that runs a Minority IT Development firm in St Louis, MO. At least she is the only female I have met that teaches IT at Washington, University. She told me herself and her husband often do contracts for different government entities in the St Louis, MO Area. This is just an example of a Minority Firm but there are other minority firms here and there. However, they are fighting an up-hill battle against the Good-Ole-Boy contracting network.
Even after all this is said, I dont agree with the kind of stunt these people pulled in St Louis. They should have just pushed their cars off the bridge and brought on the fire hoses and billy clubs. If you break the law you should have to go to jail, not get bond the next day. They should have held them all for the full 72 hours allowed by law and given them all at least an immediate 30 day jail sentence for disturbing the peace.
St Louis is a wonderful place because the city is just about as corrupt as Chicago. During one election two African Americans were running for office and they argued about who was the real black candidate and who was the white man in disguise. Kind of odd to make a statement like "You are just not black enought to be mayor." All this has happened in St Louis, MO. You gotta love it.
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