Activism

Council Establishes Task Force to End Racially Inequitable Employment on City Construction Projects

Established by a unanimous vote of Council members at their October 5 meeting, the task force will be composed of members of the building trades and those who have been excluded from the unions and good-paying construction jobs, as well as representatives of agencies and community organizations that have a stake in the outcome of these discussions.

Published

4 years ago

November 14, 2021

Ken Epstein

The work of the task force will not be easy. Participants must design proposals that undo the historic job discrimination that dominates the construction industry, which has long been protected by the building trades unions nationally and locally.

By Ken Epstein

The Oakland City Council is taking steps to implement a new report calling for the end of racially inequitable employment on construction projects by setting up a task force that is expected to come up with proposals to require steadily increasing equity in hiring for building projects that are funded by city money.

The report comes in the wake of the building trade unions’ request for a citywide Project Labor Agreement (PLA) that would guarantee that most city construction jobs would go to members of their unions.

The council’s policy goal is to produce equity in city-funded construction employment. Of the unions that reported, 2% of current union members are female, and 5% are Black.

The task force is scheduled to meet for about three months and to report back to the City Council in January with its conclusions or to inform the Council how it is progressing. Meetings of the task force will be open to the public.

“The City of Oakland’s commitment to embed ‘fair and just’ into all the city does calls for reframing of building trades agreements to address the historical exclusion of Black, indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and women from building trade union membership and employment,” stated a report submitted to the City Council by Darlene Flynn, director of the city’s Department of Race and Equity.

“It will require a completely redesigned approach that assigns shared responsibilities to begin to reverse over 150 years of exclusionary history and its impacts,” the report said.

In her verbal report to Council members, Flynn said the written report to the council was difficult to produce because information was hard to obtain. Ultimately, 10 of 28 building trades unions submitted data on gender, race and ethnicity of their members.

“We’ve been working on this a couple of years to get to this point,” she said. “It’s been difficult to move the equity conversation forward because of the lack of information and data.”

Though difficult, obtaining data is key, she said.

“We use racial disparity data to start our conversation,” Flynn said. “Unemployment for Black residents nationally and in Oakland is always twice that of what it is for white residents. Unemployment for Latinos in the Oakland area runs about 1.5 times as high as white residents. These are the disparities that, over time, we want to close.”

Previous Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) have focused on the interest of labor, “which are very important,” Flynn said, but they neglected workforce equity. Now, the city can use a PLA “to advance workforce equity.

Looking at long-term job discrimination, Flynn said, “There has been no meaningful increase in the representation of Black workers in the building trades to date. This is not particular to Oakland; it is historic and embedded in the industry.

“We know we have to remove structural practices and barriers to inclusive opportunities for historically underrepresented groups in trades journey-level (jobs). It’s embedded as systemic racism and sexism are in our history and our institutions.”

Flynn emphasized that intentional equity work is the priority. “As a prerequisite for a PLA, (we must) do equity work first and then design and prepare the way for PLA workforce equity proposals.”

“This is an opportunity to do something very different as opposed to tweaking around the edges. Small changes are not going to make big outcomes,” she said, emphasizing that policies need to be stronger, and they need to be enforced.

Part of the change must be to educate workers on construction jobs to end racial and gender harassment against Black and women workers, Flynn said. “This is always part of change and culture shift from one reality to another.”

Councilmember Carroll Fife underscored the seriousness of the work the Council was undertaking.

“This conversation is painful for so many reasons,” Fife said. “This is going to be challenging for all of us because we have to course-correct where things have not been equitable historically, specifically for Black folks. And we have got to be honest about that.”

This is the second of a series of articles on Project Labor Agreements and racial equity analysis.

Ken Epstein

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COMMENTARY: The National Protest Must Be Accompanied with Our Votes

Just as Trump is gathering election data like having the FBI take all the election data in Georgia from the 2020 election, so must we organize in preparation for the coming primary season to have the right people on ballots in each Republican district, so that we can regain control of the House of Representatives and by doing so, restore the separation of powers and balance that our democracy is being deprived of.

Published

1 day ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper. File photo..

By Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper

As thousands of Americans march every week in cities across this great nation, it must be remembered that the protest without the vote is of no concern to Donald Trump and his administration.

In every city, there is a personal connection to the U.S. Congress. In too many cases, the member of Congress representing the people of that city and the congressional district in which it sits, is a Republican. It is the Republicans who are giving silent support to the destructive actions of those persons like the U.S. Attorney General, the Director of Homeland Security, and the National Intelligence Director, who are carrying out the revenge campaign of the President rather than upholding the oath of office each of them took “to Defend The Constitution of the United States.”

In California, the primary comes in June 2026. The congressional races must be a priority just as much as the local election of people has been so important in keeping ICE from acquiring facilities to build more prisons around the country.

“We the People” are winning this battle, even though it might not look like it. Each of us must get involved now, right where we are.

In this Black History month, it is important to remember that all we have accomplished in this nation has been “in spite of” and not “because of.” Frederick Douglas said, “Power concedes nothing without a struggle.”

Today, the struggle is to maintain our very institutions and history. Our strength in this struggle rests in our “collectiveness.” Our newspapers and journalists are at the greatest risk. We must not personally add to the attack by ignoring those who have been our very foundation, our Black press.

Are you spending your dollars this Black History Month with those who salute and honor contributions by supporting those who tell our stories? Remember that silence is the same as consent and support for the opposition. Where do you stand and where will your dollars go?

Oakland Post

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Activism

Congresswoman Simon Votes Against Department of Homeland Security, ICE Funding

“They need accountability. Republicans already gave these agencies an unprecedented $170 billion for immigration enforcement, funding they have used to conduct raids at schools, separate families, and deploy a masked paramilitary who refuse to identify themselves on American streets. This bill gives them more funding without a single reform to stop unconstitutional, immoral abuses,” she said.

Published

1 day ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12). File photo.

By Post Staff

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) released a statement after voting against legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which supports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB).

“Today, I voted NO on legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security through Feb. 13, 2026.

“ICE and CBP do not need more funding to terrorize communities or kill more people,” she said in the media release.

“They need accountability. Republicans already gave these agencies an unprecedented $170 billion for immigration enforcement, funding they have used to conduct raids at schools, separate families, and deploy a masked paramilitary who refuse to identify themselves on American streets. This bill gives them more funding without a single reform to stop unconstitutional, immoral abuses,” she said.

“The American people are demanding change. Poll after poll of Americans’ opinions show overwhelming support for requiring ICE agents to wear body cameras and prohibiting them from hiding their faces during enforcement actions. This is the bare minimum transparency standard, and this funding legislation does not even meet this low bar,” Simon said.

“Republicans in Congress are not serious about reining in these lawless agencies. Their refusal to make meaningful changes to the DHS funding bill has consequences that go beyond immigration enforcement. TSA agents who keep our airports safe and FEMA workers who help our communities recover from disasters are stuck in limbo due to Republican inaction.

“The Constitution does not have an exception for immigrants. Every person on American soil has rights, and federal agencies must respect them. The East Bay has made clear at the Alameda County and city level that we will hold the line against a violent ICE force and support our immigrant communities – I will continue to hold the line and our values with my votes in Congress.”

Oakland Post

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Activism

Post Newspaper Invites NNPA to Join Nationwide Probate Reform Initiative

The Post’s Probate Reform Group meets the first Thursday of every month via Zoom and invites the public to attend. The Post is making the initiative national and will submit information from its monthly meeting to the NNPA to educate, advocate, and inform its readers.

Published

1 day ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Tanya Dennis

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) represents the Black press with over 200 newspapers nationwide.

Last night the Post announced that it is actively recruiting the Black press to inform the public that there is a probate “five-alarm fire” occurring in Black communities and invited every Black newspaper starting from the Birmingham Times in Alabama to the Milwaukee Times Weekly in Wisconsin, to join the Post in our “Year of Action” for probate reform.

Reporter Tanya Dennis says, “The adage that ‘When America catches a cold, Black folks catch the flu” is too true in practice; that’s why we’re engaging the Black Press to not only warn, but educate the Black community regarding the criminal actions we see in probate court: Thousands are losing generational wealth to strangers. It’s a travesty that happens daily.”

Venus Gist, a co-host of the reform group, states, “ Unfortunately, people are their own worst enemy when it comes to speaking with loved ones regarding their demise. It’s an uncomfortable subject that most avoid, but they do so at their peril. The courts rely on dissention between family members, so I encourage not only a will and trust [be created] but also videotape the reading of your documents so you can show you’re of sound mind.”

In better times, drafting a will was enough; then a trust was an added requirement to ‘iron-clad’ documents and to assure easy transference of wealth.

No longer.

As the courts became underfunded in the last 20 years, predatory behavior emerged to the extent that criminality is now occurring at alarming rates with no oversight, with courts isolating the conserved, and, I’ve heard, many times killing conservatees for profit. Plundering the assets of estates until beneficiaries are penniless is also common.”

Post Newspaper Publisher Paul Cobb says, “The simple solution is to avoid probate at all costs. If beneficiaries can’t agree, hire a private mediator and attorney to work things out. The moment you walk into court, you are vulnerable to the whims of the court. Your will and trust mean nothing.”

Zakiya Jendayi, a co-host of the Probate Reform Group and a victim herself, says, “In my case, the will and trust were clear that I am the beneficiary of the estate, but the opposing attorney said I used undue influence to make myself beneficiary. He said that without proof, and the judge upheld the attorney’s baseless assertion. In court, the will and trust is easily discounted.”

The Black press reaches out to 47 million Black Americans with one voice. The power of the press has never been so important as it is now in this national movement to save Black generational wealth from predatory attorneys, guardians and judges.

The next probate reform meeting is on March 5, from 7 – 9 p.m. PST. Zoom Details:
Meeting ID: 825 0367 1750
Passcode: 475480

All are welcome.