Well Gustave, I think you need to pay a visit here in Washington DC and compare your theoretical research to the real world.
And the reality is that we're seeing more minorities, latin and black, working in construction in this area than whites (unless they're hiding dem whities outta shame.. :0).
Bottom line is that I see quite a few black folks out there working in construction every day. And I know they will take any qualified worker they can find due to the shortage of available labor in this area.
Now one thing you might spend some time thinking about is the present union labor system. The unions themselves often decide which worker receives which job assignments. That effectively decides who receives the work, and these union shops exert power between govt and the big construction firms, to the exclusion of the small subcontractors. So to determine if blacks are being properly represented in the construction industry, you have to look at the representation they have in the unions.
One also has to look at the issue of capitalization for black owned construction firms. Being properly licensed and bonded, with the necessary capital backing to insure completion of the contract is inherently important in deciding which firms receive an actual contract.
ideas.uqam.ca
detroitnews.com
Many of these larger non-minority owned construction firms are well established with long operating histories, something that govt legislation has sought to expedite with minority owned firms, but without the necessary captial backing. They are artificially trying to accelerate the growth of these minority owned companies by providing prefential bidding treatment, and many of these firms find themselves in trouble financially because they find themselves taking on more than they can chew. And once a firm has a "performance failure", they get black-balled when future contracts are offered.
Bottom line, these larger firms have been at this longer and have more experience in managing expenses and projects. It is likely they would have failed as well had they taken on contracts that were beyond their ability to complete and manage. This is possibly one explanation for the current lack of large black owned construction firms... trying to do too much, too fast, and falling flat on their face due to their inexperience.
As a project manager looking for firms to complete my building projects, I am looking strictly at the bottom line. I care only about meeting my deadline and managing my construction expenses. And with that mindset, I'm going to limit my potential liabilities by going with a proven firm who hasn't failed me, or other customers in the past. If that firm is white, black, hispanic owned really doesn't matter. It is strictly performance.
But one last issue is this perception that is gaining ground that black-owned firms are competing unfairly against other minority owned firms, using coercive legislation to gain entre, rather than proving their merit. And inherently people understand this kind of special corporate "affirmative action" to be unfair.
I found this article from 1997, where it states that hispanic and women owned firms are expanding faster than black owned firm, possibly because of this self-defeating perception that "you owe me" this contract because I'm black.
augustachronicle.com
So much of business, like personal life, is attitude. Taking advantage of special incentives for promoting minority ownership is tantamount to having the door opened up for you. But what happens after you step through that door is all up to the individual and meeting the needs of their customers. The black community would be better served paying attention to the Larry Elders, Allan Keyes, and Armstrong William's in their community who advocate proving self-worth, and less on the divisive Sharpton's and Jacksons who seek to force the system to give something for nothing.
If people want respect, they have to earn it, not try to have it legislatively forced down other people's throats. Coercive affirmative action only breeds further resentment and distrust between the races.
It's not a matter of "history", but human psychology Gustave... History is nothing more than a record of the psychological interactions of human beings and the actions they have taken.
Regards,
Ron |
