Mayor calls on construction firms to hire more minorities, women, residents
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh is proposing to raise the city’s goals for construction company hiring of residents, minorities, and women.
Since 1979, a city ordinance has required construction companies to demonstrate good faith efforts to guarantee that 50 percent of all hours worked go to Boston residents, 25 percent to minorities, and 10 percent to women. The companies must report to the city the progress they’ve made.
Walsh’s proposal, filed Monday, calls for increasing those goals so that 51 percent of hours to go to city residents, 40 percent to minorities, and 12 percent to women. The proposal would also apply the same goals to hours worked by apprentices.
The goals are intended to ensure that highly desirable building trade jobs are spread around to reflect the city’s diverse demographics.
“The success of Boston’s growing economy relies upon our ability to open the doors of opportunity to all our residents, and remove barriers causing economic inequity throughout our city,” Walsh said in a statement Monday.
“We must work to ensure that the construction industry reflects both the great talent and the great diversity Boston has to offer,” he added. “By setting new goals for ourselves, we honor our commitment to creating a more prosperous, more inclusive city.”
