RECOVERY FOR ALL OF US: MAYOR DE BLASIO CALLS ON STATE LEGISLATURE TO PASS COMMUNITY HIRING AND MWBE BILLS

 

New analysis from The New School Economist Dr. James Parrott shows how Community Hiring would use the City’s purchasing power to create 200,000 jobs over 5 years for low-income people, NYCHA residents and residents of low-income neighborhoods

 

MWBE legislation would expand contract opportunities, reform construction insurance and allow the City to prefer bidders who have policies that lead to diverse workforces; giving MWBE firms the tools to lead NYC’s economic recovery

 Mayor Bill de Blasio today called on the State Legislature to pass key bills for New York City’s economic recovery: Community Hiring and legislation to increase opportunities for Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises. 

 

“A Recovery for All of Us means our economy is working for everyone, including minority and women-owned businesses and New Yorkers in underserved communities,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We’re calling on Albany to pass Community Hiring and the MWBE Opportunity Expansion Act, greatly expanding economic opportunity for those too often left behind.”

  

"Together, these pieces of legislation would allow the City to use its enormous purchasing power to strategically invest in communities," said Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives J. Phillip Thompson. "The proposed Community Hiring and MWBE bills are really two sides of the same coin and show that City dollars can do more than get work done, they can lift people out of poverty. As we recover from this pandemic, we need the legal right to say that when government money is being spent, it is being spent to bring greater opportunity to those in need."

 

“MWBEs are central to the economic vitality of our City and they’ve been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic” said Magalie D. Austin Senior Advisor & Director, Mayor’s Office of MWBE. “As we move towards a recovery for all New Yorkers, we must ensure that MWBEs are a major part of our economic recovery. The proposed legislation will ensure that MWBEs have equal access to participate in the City’s recovery and economic prosperity.”

 

“As the City continues to work towards a fair recovery, we must economically empower our hardest hit communities,” said Jonnel Doris, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services and and Co-Chair of the Small Business Subcommittee of the Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity. “We urge our state partners to pass these critical bills, so we can ignite community hiring and increase opportunities for Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises.”

 

“Initiatives that assist smaller firms, create more competition for City contracts and extend the contracting and hiring pools are vital to leveraging the value of DDC’s $2 billion-plus annual capital program for more equitable outcomes,” said Department of Design and Construction Commissioner Jamie Torres-Springer. “We know from experience that pooled insurance, the ability to issue discretionary MWBE contracts and robust local hiring requirements directly support MWBE construction firms and create jobs in neighborhoods where they are most needed.”

 

“To achieve a full recovery for New York City, we must focus on inclusion and equity – and providing our hardest-hit communities with economic opportunity will be crucial in advancing this mission,” said DSS-HRA Administrator Gary Jenkins. “DSS-HRA joins our fellow City agencies in urging our colleagues in Albany to pass this critical legislation that will empower our communities and expand opportunities for Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises to succeed.”  

 

COMMUNITY HIRING WILL DRIVE A FAIR RECOVERY

 

The Mayor is proposing legislation in Albany that would require businesses working with the City to hire low-income people, NYCHA residents and people from high poverty communities. Community Hiring legislation will:

 

• Expand job opportunities for economically disadvantaged communities: Expands access to middle-class construction and building service jobs by prioritizing people from low-income communities and NYCHA residents.
• Expand job opportunities for economically disadvantaged individuals: Requires those who do business with the City on non-construction contracts such as software, or goods or consultants, to meet employment goals for low-income people. The goals would be tailored to each contract.
• Authorize the City to require a minimum ratio of apprentices: Allows the City to require that contractors use a minimum ratio of apprentices, and expands entry-level jobs as a result. 
• Enable the City to require contractors to work with workforce development programs to find qualified talent: Such workforce development programs could potentially include ones that typically serve NYCHA residents, veterans, people with disabilities, justice-involved individuals, cash assistance recipients, immigrants, and NYCDOE and CUNY graduates.

 

Center for New York City Affairs Analysis of Community Hiring Proposal

 

According to an analysis from Dr. James Parrott of The New School, this legislation would have the potential to provide job opportunities for 40,000 workers a year, putting them on a path into the middle class. Dr. Parrott worked with experts in the City, including at the Department of Small Business Services and the Economic Development Corporation, to build up these estimates by examining the capital budget and service contract programs, determining the labor and skill requirements to deliver those services, and applying Community Hiring provisions to construction and service contracting.  

 

On average, Community Hiring would involve about 16,000 construction workers a year and 24,000 service contract workers in a range of industries from human services, to maintenance and repair to IT services.  Over the next five years, this program could help as many as 200,000 economically disadvantaged workers and residents of high-poverty communities.

 

"Community Hiring will be an essential tool not only in re-connecting pandemic-dislocated workers with good job opportunities but helping to get many of these workers onto a path to build their skills and ability to succeed in a continuously evolving economy,” said James A. Parrott, Director, Economic and Fiscal Policies, Center for New York City Affairs at The New School.

 

MWBES ARE PART OF NYC’S RECOVERY 

 

Mayor de Blasio believes communities most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic must be prioritized in our recovery.

 

MWBEs utilization rates under the de Blasio administration have increased by 250% from FY15 to FY20. MWBEs also played a critical role in the fight against COVID-19 with $890 million in spending across over 500 contracts. The City calls on Albany to further increase the role of MWBEs in the City’s recovery.

 

Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn and State Senator James Sanders Jr. have introduced legislation which will:

 

• Increase City agencies’ MWBE discretionary threshold to $1 million, thereby reducing bureaucracy and creating more opportunities for MWBEs 
• Authorize, for City or Prime Contractor, to consolidate insurance on construction contracts, thereby reducing overhead for subcontractors and the City
• Allow bidders for City contracts that have policies which lead to diverse workforces practices to receive extra points on bids.

 

This legislation is an opportunity to ensure MWBEs have tools they need to succeed in the new economy. These reforms work: in 2019 when the State increased the discretionary threshold to $500,000, MWBE utilization grew by 20% in the first year.