General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Trump Admin Poised To Give Rural Whites A Carve-Out On Medicaid Work Rules [View all]BumRushDaShow
(128,357 posts)There is a natural assumption, that has generally drawn people to cities for work, that this is where the "jobs" are. But the reality is that unless you are "skilled", you are left with McJobs that of late, have in many cases been filled by seniors whose pensions and/or SS don't provide enough to live (let alone any who actually lost their pensions during previous downturns when companies went bankrupt).
And because many states (as you have seen with WV and AZ) cut funding to urban schools, those schools not only cut arts/music and language programs, but they cut voc-tech programs, and don't even have enough to get new books (and forget about any computers or tablets). And in some cases, you have trade unions who only offer training/apprenticeships to their own families (or friends), most of whom are white because for decades, unions managed to keep blacks out.
There was a huge transit strike here in Philly in 1944 because white transit drivers didn't want black drivers, and the feds had to call out the National Guard to sit on the trolleys and buses. My mother was 14 then and would occasionally talk about the Guard on the trolleys.
And just last week, our mayor here in Philly had to re-do an initiative (he will go through a capital budget instead) to improve the city recreation centers, libraries, playgrounds because City Council basically told him there were no guarantees the unions that would do the work would have enough workers to reflect the POC population here -
I think thats the straw that broke the camels back, a City Hall staffer unauthorized to speak on the record said, referring to the scene in chambers last week. Its clear the administration is frustrated.
http://planphilly.com/articles/2018/05/12/philly-mayor-threatens-council-over-lagging-rec-center-rebuild
Earlier our City Council had dealt with this union issue when it comes to a lack of diversity -
Despite the 16-to-1 passage of the legislative framework governing Rebuild last year, Council members arent convinced that the mayor is doing enough to ensure that goals are met. Kenney came into office with the support of the citys white labor establishment, along with unprecedented levels of black support for a white candidate. We went out on a limb, big time. Some of us took a very difficult vote because we did see a pathway to get people into family-sustaining jobs in the building trades union, something we havent been able to achieve before, Council President Darrell Clarke said.
For the better part of three hours on Thursday, council members raised concerns about negotiations with the unions and mechanisms for accountability, once the project gets rolling. We really need to get some clarity before we get out here today, said Clarke. Ive been hearing different iterations of the path to union membership all along this process. But without anyone from any of the regions building trades unions there to testify at the hearing, the answers sought by the council remained elusive. The Philadelphia Buildings Trade Council did not return phone calls from PlanPhilly.
The Rebuild team spent the hearing on the defensive, reintroducing previously discussed strategies in play to help the city realize its diversity goals. These include mandating that 45 percent of the workforce consists of minority laborers on all Rebuild sites, and 50 percent live in Philadelphia. Beyond increasing the number of Philadelphians of color on worksites, the city has designed pathways to permanent union membership via brokered pacts with building trades organizations. One route will be through a partnership with the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (PRA). The city redevelopment agency will employ an estimated 40 individuals with experience in skilled trades and no union card to work on a select number of Rebuild projects. According to the administration, after a period of time (which is yet to be finalized with the unions and subject to negotiation), those individuals will be granted a permanent union card.
http://planphilly.com/articles/2018/03/23/parks-rec-makeover-caught-in-clash-over-union-diversity-rules
So being in an urban area doesn't automatically equate to availability of a job - particularly when you have the majority population working overtime to keep POC out of them.