Part 4: Affirmative Action is no “Action Jackson” at MnDOT
By Donald W.R. Allen,II – Editor in Chief/IBNN and USA Radical Black
Last week at MnDOT and internal email was sent to select employees at MnDOT regarding the recent stories posted on IBNN.
The email read: (Unedited):
From: Prescott, Mary (DOT)
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 10:47 AM
Re: Part 3 – Who signs off on 0% goals and 0% goals achieved at MnDOT?
FYI for internal use only – this will be discussed at the DBE and Workforce Development Collaborative Group meeting on Friday. Specifically, hopefully, 1) Lennie Chism bringing Donny Allen a newsperson who seemed only there looking for a story and he did not state that this is why he was there; and 2) it was agreed to “no surprises” at the last meeting and this has been the fourth surprise from Mr. Chism; ground roles for media and the hard work going forth with all the project teams.
Note: The email above is just another example of bigotry at MnDOT for the acting civil rights director to single out two Black men, asking questions about a 17 year trend of failure in an attempt to address, solve and recommend a plan of action. This top-of-mind attention is not wanted at MnDOT, hence, 1% in federally funded contracts to minority contractors.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation employee base is a “protected class” of the government workforce. They have the “Cadillac” of benefits that aren’t affected by the current economic status of non-government working-class Minnesotans. Read more
Part Two – The Solution? Minnesota Department of Transportation – Executive Order 11246
By Donald W.R. Allen, II – Editor in Chief IBNN and USA Radical Black
“Taxes are collected in a non discriminatory manner. MNDOT discriminates when they only award contracts to White companies.”
From slavery to the civil rights movement “White Privilege” has sought to hide information in an effort to control, obstruct and delay deployment of “processes” put in place by overseers to avoid catastrophic failures, present and future.
One of the “processes” put in place to assist Transportation agencies across the United States in administering their respective DBE programs is Executive Order 11246. Again, MnDOT sidesteps the language of the order. Read more
H.I.R.E. Minnesota files “Missing Persons Report” on Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) – whose missing? …Hundreds people of color that should be hired by the agency to work on road construction projects throughout the state
Rally at MNDOT 11:45 am – 1 pm, Thursday, July 23, 2009. (Minnesota Department of Transportation is located at Transportation Building, 395 John Ireland Boulevard, Saint Paul, MN 55155. Click here for map.
Earlier this month, H.I.R.E Minnesota asked people from around the state to contact the Office of Energy Security to let them know that we expect them to be accountable to low-income communities and communities of color. Thanks to your help, we are moving negotiations forward to make that happen. We’ll keep you updated.
At the same time, there is another state agency we need to hold accountable: The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT).
Join us this Thursday as we file a missing persons report at MNDOT!
Meet on the lawn across the street from the MNDOT Headquarters (in the MNDOT cafeteria in case of rain)
Each year, MNDOT gives hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money to private contractors to build and repair our roads, bridges and transit ways.
They know they are supposed to meet their modest goals for women and minority contracting, hiring and training. They know because they’ve been told by the federal government, by community groups, by workforce development programs and by HIRE Minnesota, including many of you who came to hearings this spring.
Yet year after year MNDOT fails to meet its goals. Drive by any local construction site and you’ll notice whose missing: workers of color.
But MNDOT now tells us that we are asking them to move “too fast” to meet their goals!
We’d like you to help us file a missing persons report with MNDOT. Please join us at the MNDOT headquarters this Thursday. We need to remind MNDOT that they need to be accountable by giving opportunities to people from our community.
Speaker Pelosi’s National Energy Tax Will Cost 2.5 Million American Jobs, Hit Every Region of the Country – Is $2.5 million worth 2.5 million
By Steve Foley – Posted on June 23rd, 2009 – from the Minority Report with preface by IBNN’s editor in chief Donald W.R. Allen, II
“In the Twin Cities with information being distributed about MNDOT (Minnesota Department of Transportation) not following through – we (local OIC’c, Job Training Programs, OTJ initiatives) have missed the mark on holding the “right” people accountable for flaws in process.
MNDOT works feverishly to facilitate capacity building for DBE’s while our politicians sabotage efforts that might not even make it off the ground. Yes, Black people do suffer and are used to suffering – but one thing not being asked of the local Democratic infrastructure in the Twin Cities, “Who are you caring water for?”
A: “Certainly not us!”
From the Office of House Republican Leader John Boehner With Millions in Job Losses Already This Year, Is a Job-Killing National Energy Tax Really the Message Democrats Want to Send to Workers, Small Businesses?
Washington, Jun 23 – Speaker Pelosi’s national energy tax is a massive job-killer. According to a National Black Chamber of Commerce study, the devastating plan will cost 2.5 million American jobs thanks to the higher energy costs it will force consumers, small businesses, and other employers to pay. The impact will be felt from coast to coast – literally. The following chart shows the projected job loss in every single region, with especially large job losses in areas of the country already hit hard by the recession:
Source: CRA International Study Prepared for National Black Chamber of Commerce, May 2009
As the House prepares to vote on Speaker Pelosi’s national energy tax as soon as this Friday, are Democrats representing these regions of the country really prepared to vote for even more job loss? Is that a message they want to bring home to middle-class families and small businesses in their districts heading into the Independence Day recess?
House Republicans don’t think so – and in an op-ed published in this morning’s Washington Examiner, House GOP Leader John Boehner (R-OH) highlighted the job-killing nature of Speaker Pelosi’s national energy taxes and House Republicans’ “all of the above” plan for more jobs, lower energy prices, and a cleaner environment:
“On energy and the environment, under the guise of reducing carbon emissions, Democrats are poised to force anyone who drives a car, buys an American-made product, or flips on a light switch to pay a national energy tax.”
“Not only will this drive up prices for food, gasoline, and electricity, it will ship millions of jobs to competitors like China and India that refuse to take the same approach. A study by the National Black Chamber of Commerce estimates the Democrats’ plan will cost 2.5 million jobs.”
“House Republicans have a better way: An ‘all-of-the-above’ strategy to clean up the environment, lower energy costs, and create more jobs. Our legislation, the American Energy Act, will increase environmentally-safe energy production, promote alternative fuels to reduce carbon emissions, and encourage increased efficiencies and technologies to maximize America’s energy potential.”
All year long, Democrats have been promising more and more jobs, but nearly three million have been lost since January. After a record spending binge on the trillion-dollar “stimulus,” the $400 billion omnibus loaded with 9,000 earmarks, a $3.6 trillion budget that spends, taxes, and borrows too much, and endless bailouts, American workers are asking, “Where are the jobs?” If House Democrats get their way and pass Speaker Pelosi’s national energy tax, those jobs will be leaving America and headed to competitors like China and India, who won’t enact a national energy tax of their own. During this time of economic crisis, is this really a policy Washington Democrats want to pursue?
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