New Haven Independent

Jefferson, executive director of the city’s Commission on Equal Opportunity, revealed the figures during an appearance Monday evening before the BOE’s administration and finance committee on behalf of renewing her commission’s $295,000 interagency contract. The commission monitors the board’s compliance with the city’s ordinances that require businesses working on city projects employ a minimum of 25 percent racial minorities, 25 percent city residents, and 6 percent women. The lion’s share of those projects are in the $1.5 billion citywide school construction program.

“Many of the contractors far exceed these minimums,” said Jefferson, whose commission is empowered to monitor not only these areas but also wages and labor standards. “We interview every single contractor that works on your schools. We do inspections at all the sites. And, best of all, we recruit and train workers who will ultimately join apprenticeship programs and then the unions to help everyone fulfill the ordinances, and to improve people’s lives.”

Jefferson said that as a result of these jobs, there was a transfer of wealth to residents through school construction projects to the tune of more than $5 million.

Minority contractors and advocates have been critical of the city’s record on hiring for construction projects.

“So much has to do with our relationships with the contractors,” she said. “It hasn’t always been like this, but these days it’s just like butter. And for those critics who are skeptical about minority employment on school construction projects, these figures, well, tell the truth. We have the name and address of every person who works, and we track them. So the idea that some firms are just hiring people to fulfill the requirements and letting them go doesn’t hold water.”

One of Jefferson’s favorite contractors, Giordano Construction, which is building the new Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School (having completed John Daniels and other projects), was at the table to receive her praises in the person of Joe Luciano, a project manager (pictured on the left with NHPS construction manager Tom Smith). “Giordano’s minority and city resident participation on their work at John Daniels was really superior,” Jefferson said.

Rich Abbatiello, the new chair of the committee (replacing John Prokop) and the only BOE member in attendance at Monday’s meeting, asked Jefferson to explain how she achieves her goals.

“We recruit twice a year, job fairs,” she said, “and we put people through rigorous screening: They have to have a high school or GED. They must attend pre-work training that is sometimes seen as a kind of boot camp. Three latenesses and the potential worker is out,” she told Abbatiello, “and that means if they are to arrive at 7:00 and they get there at 7:01, that’s late. Believe me, people hate me because I make them obey the rules. But that’s the way it has to be. When they go on Joe Luciano’s construction site, they are expected to be on time.”

In turn, said Luciano, “We know how important this relationship is, so that if we’re working at the site and a community resident knocks on the door and asks about working, and learning, we help as much as we can. We direct them.”

Of the 460 or so people who fill out applications, only 80 make it into the jobs themselves, but for these the opportunities are life changing. Almost all make it into union training programs. “Just last Thursday,” she said, “the sprinkler-fitters union took 12 of our people.”

One of Jefferson’s newest projects is a co-venture with the Housing Authority of New Haven, a pre-apprenticeship construction school in which 25 HANH residents are being taught the various construction trades by the apprentice schools of the unions. A number, including women, are already working as electricians and carpenters. The statistics that Jefferson keeps are also indispensable for the grants the BOE produces for state and other funding for the school projects

Was the agreement approved by the committee for review by the full board? All that was missing was an ovation.