FRIDAY SHUTDOWN OF NEW MISSISSIPPI RIVER BRIDGE PROJECT POSTPONED.

MEBCO

METRO EAST BLACK CONTRACTORS ORGANIZATION

(618) 271-1974  (618) 271-0746 fax

President

Dr. William E. Mason

August 2, 2011

For Immediate Release

FRIDAY SHUTDOWN OF NEW MISSISSIPPI RIVER BRIDGE PROJECT POSTPONED

AS IDOT ACTING SECRETARY TO COME TO E.ST. LOUIS ON FRIDAY

     IDOT has agreed to the demand of MEBCO and E. St. Louis elected and community leaders that the IDOT Acting Secretary meet with them in E. St. Louis to seek a resolution in order to avert the shutdown of the Mississippi River Bridge Project planned for this Friday, August 5^th. 

     The meeting between IDOT officials and MEBCO, elected officials and other leaders will take place Friday, August 5^th at 2:00 p.m. at E. St. Louis City Hall, where it will be hosted by Mayor Alvin Parks.  A press conference will be held following the meeting to announce whether an agreement is reached or whether the shutdown will proceed on Monday, August 8th.

     For more information contact either MEBCO President Dr. William E. Mason at number above or (618) 670-1225, or MEBCO Counsel Eric E. Vickers at (314) 420-8700.

  

1801 Tudor Avenue

East St. Louis, Illinois 62207

FYI: This blog has already been sent to over 100,000 people including Illinois Governor, Senators & District Reps; Illinois US Senators and Reps, the Democratic establishment in Illinois, and pertinent federal agencies.

WE MEAN BUSINESS! WE WILL SHUT IT DOWN IF THERE IS NO COMPROMISE. WE ARE SICK AND TIRED OF WATCHING THE RACIST UNIONS FERRYING IN LABOR FORCE FROM RURAL ILLINOIS AND MISSOURI TO WORK ON THE MISSISSIPI BRIDGE YET OUR FELLOW EAST SAINT LOUIS CITIZENS HAVE NO JOBS. THIS CAN'T CONTINUE. JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL.

    

IDOT Signs $2M HCPTP Agreement with SIUE SWIC and MEBCO in 2008 but breaks promise.

 The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) announced a partnership with SIUE, Southwestern Illinois College and Metro-East Black Contractors Organization (MEBCO) in 2008 to help minorities achieve employment in local highway construction projects. The joint venture cost $2 million.

There are over 170 graduates of the construction program established by MEBCO and IDOT under the MOU, who are all trained-having obtained multiple certificates for various construction work-and who are prepared and eager to work to feed their families and contribute to the community.
IDOT has made no attempt to ensure that these 170 graduates are employed on IDOT projects because of the resistance and pressure from the unions and IDOT caving in to their discrimination.

Program graduate Tiama Dent (above) is among the graduates looking for work, She said “We worked our butts off. We want the same opportunity that they have.”

"Tiama Dent, a single mother of two, and a graduate of the Metro-East Black Contractors Organization training program, said she doesn't want government handouts such as food stamps and a Medicaid card.

Instead, she said she wants to work for what she gets and that's why she is willing to put her body in harms way to shut down the $749 million Mississippi River bridge project.

Dent, along with her fellow graduates, some local ministers and community activists want to halt construction if the Illinois Department of Transportation does not put more black people to work on the project.

Dent, flanked by East St. Louis City Manager Deletra Hudson, Alorton Mayor Randy McCallum, and pastors from across the metro-east, told reporters Friday she had a past that she wasn't proud of, but because of Metro-East Black Contractors Organization, she now has the education and training to be an apprentice under a journeyman." Courtesy of Carolyn Smith, Belleville News Democrat, 7/30/2011

IDOT and the white-controlled unions hire workers from outside East St. Louis while Tiama Dent is skilled and can't get a job at the Mississippi Bridge Project to feed her family, pay taxes, and support her community in East St. Louis. Ironically Ms. Dent was trained through the joint venture program IDOT put in place in 2008. Broken promises, lies, racism, that's what IDOT is all about.

The Metro East black community has vowed to bring IDOT to its knees if it doesn't give African Americans in these communities jobs and contracts.

"We will use litigation, protest, and blogging to fight and overwhelm IDOT", said Eric Vickers, the MEBCO counsel.

Metro-East Mayor threatens bridge project shutdown if more minorities aren’t hired.

Watch the video by clicking the link below:

Mayor Alvin Parks threatens Mississipi Bridge Project Shutdown.
(Courtesy of KMOV TV, St. Louis).

Black contractors to meet with IDOT chief on Friday

EAST ST. LOUIS -- "Members of the Metro-East Black Contractors Organization look forward to a meeting Friday with Illinois Department of Transportation's Acting Secretary Ann Schneider.


"IDOT has agreed to the demand of MEBCO, East St. Louis elected officials and community leaders to come to the table and talk to us about jobs for our people," said Eric Vickers, legal counsel for the contractors' group.


Schneider will meet with the group at 2 p.m. Friday at City Hall. Mayor Alvin L. Parks Jr. will serve as host.


The group said last month it will shut down the Mississippi River Bridge construction project if more minorities are not hired for the $749 million project.


A spokesman for IDOT has said the project exceeded federal requirements for minority participation as of the first quarter of this year.


The president of the group, Bill Mason, said it's a first step and he is optimistic that the meeting will lead to more minority participation on the Mississippi River Bridge project and other construction work that is going on in East St. Louis.


Mason said he knows of only seven individuals who completed the Highway Construction Preparatory Training Program and have been given IDOT jobs.


Beverly Greer Bush Russell, a former educator in East St. Louis School District 189, who tutored many of the graduates, said they are ready to go to work and should be given the opportunity.


She said the students showed up two days a week for two-hour periods for tutoring. "They were eager to learn mathematics to pass the adult basic education test at SWIC so they could get into the construction apprentice program," she said.


"We want to get more blacks working on this project and the training program they terminated reinstated. They took the program from East St. Louis and give it to SWIC," Vickers said". Courtesy of Carolyn P. Smith, Belleville News Democrat

Fact Sheet For Mississippi River Bridge Shutdown Protest

1. In June 2011, Illinois Department of Transportation awarded three (3) contracts for construction work on the Mississip River Bridge Project that runs through East St. Louis totalling over $141 million.

2. IDOT has made no special provision for hiring black and minority workers for this construction work-as MODOT did on the Missouri I-64 project just completed-despite IDOT acknowledging that blacks have been excluded from construction work in the Metro area because of discrimination.

3. IDOT has not tried to remedy this discriminatory exclusion, claiming that whites receiving 85.3% of the construction jobs is the law it is required to follow.

4. Despite blacks being systematically shut out of the construction unions, IDOT signed a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with the unions for the MRB project, guaranteeing that 100% of the construction jobas would be union, while not getting any guarantees from the unions that they will hire blacks.

5. In June 2005, IDOT, after being threatened with the shutdown of I-64 by MEBCO, signed a memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with MEBCO and the U.S. Justice Department that, among other things, called for IDOT to establish a 5-year pre-apprentice construction training program in East St. Louis, and to increase the number of black contractors working on IDOT projects (IDOT Signs $2M HCPTP Agreement with SIUE, SWIC, and MEBCO, 09/12/2008, scroll down until you see the article, see picture of MOU on the right column of this blog).


6. IDOT has terminated the pre-apprentice construction training program after only 3 years in operation and at the point where the MRB project is getting fully underway, thus, violating the MOU
and ending the initiative to get blacks into the construction unions' apprentice programs.


7. IDOT has refused to meet with the U.S. Justice Department to review the status of IDOT failing to fulfill its commitments and obligations under the 2005 MOU.

8. IDOT has failed to create separate goals for minorities and women on its projects to prevent the pattern of white women receiving almost all the work meant for blacks and minorities, and has failed to use any other means to remedy blacks being excluded because of white women contractors-often front companies-being utilized instead.

9. According to the Director of IDOT District 8 (which encompasses the Metro area), IDOT will award $500 million in construction work in District 8 for the 2011 construction season-with no assurance that blacks in East St. Louis and the surrounding areas will be included in this work.

10. There are over 170 graduates of the construction program established by MEBCO and IDT under the MOU, who are all trained-having obtained multiple certificates for various construction work-and who are prepared and eager to work to feed their families and contribute to the community.

11. IDOT has made no attempt to ensure that these 170 graduates are employed on IDOT projects because of the resistance and pressure from the unions and IDOT caving in to their discrimination.

12. Attitude of Protest:

If We Can't Work, You Can't Work"

Let IDOT and the Racist white-controlled unions get this message loud and clear:

If We Can't Work, You Can't Work"

Dr. William E. Mason, MEBCO President
Phone: (618) 271-1974, Fax: (618) 271-0746.

What's Metro East Black Contractors Organization (MEBCO) all about?

Metro East Black Contractors Organization works hard to ensure employment opportunities to MBE (minority business enterprise) and MWE (minority workforce enterprise) contractors and our Graduates from MEBCO mentoring program on current and future construction projects. 

MEBCO has been and continues to be a strong advocate in community empowerment efforts.  We have committed ourselves to creating and providing opportunities to minority men and women.

Since MEBCO'S inception, our mission has been a constant one. Via community service and our empowerment efforts, we not only advocate, we are ever present and active in the facilitation of the inclusion of minority owned businesses on construction projects.

MEBCO has been in the business of inclusion and diversification for over 10 years: 

Hard work and Determination has built this business to the level of excellence that this region has come to know and trust. With our committment to detail and stronge worth ethic we thrive on healthy buisness relationships and encourage new ones. We have the ability and know- how to handle all of your construction and landscaping needs. Our company is insured and bonded as part of our commitment to service excellence to you. If we don't look good, then you don't look good. We take pride in you, our consumers. We encourage you to consider us for your next project.

Community Support and Advocacy is our mission:

We facilitate inclusion on all area and local construction and landscaping projects. Some of our recent efforts include the protest on the EADS Bridge , I-64 highway construction. We are currently traing local residents in highway construction to prepare them to work on the new Missouri/ Illinois Bridge Project. We believe preparation meets opporitunity.

Dr. William E. Mason is the President of MEBCO, phone (618) 271-1974, fax (618) 271-0746.

IDOT Signs $2M HCPTP Agreement with SIUE, SWIC, and MEBCO, 9/12/08

IDOT Signs $2M HCPTP Agreement with SIUE, SWIC, and MEBCO
(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Southwestern Illinois College and the Metro-East Black Contractors Organization (MEBCO) have formed an educational partnership to administer a new $2 million Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Highway Construction Preparatory Training Program (HCPTP) to help ensure a diversified road construction workforce by helping minorities gain employment in local highway construction projects.
The program was formed to ensure a diverse, properly trained workforce is in place for future road construction projects, including the proposed Mississippi River bridge. Illinois Sen. James F. Clayborne Jr. (D-East St. Louis) and Illinois Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Collinsville), working with MEBCO and IDOT, approached SIUE and SWIC to help administer the training program. At a news conference yesterday, IDOT Sect. Milton Sees thanked Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich as well as Clayborne, Hoffman, members of MEBCO for their vision for this program. He also stated, “The HCPTP is designed to provide opportunities for employment diversity and the preparation of individuals for placement and retention in highway construction apprenticeship programs associated with the highway construction industry.”
Clayborne called the HCPTP, “an opportunity for young people to learn the skills necessary to gain access to apprenticeship positions within the construction industry. The Mississippi River bridge project—and the expected shortage of skilled labor needed to complete the project—holds great hope that students enrolling in this program will help meet this workforce need.”
Under the HCPTP agreement, MEBCO will provide marketing, recruitment and mentoring resources for the program, while SWIC will provide admission procedures, conduct training classes, and also administer a scholarship/stipend component for the program. SIUE will have administrative overview responsibilities. MEBCO President William Mason thanked Sen. Clayborne, IDOT, SIUE and SWIC for helping provide “unprecedented job opportunities for minorities and women” in Metro East. “We look forward to the cooperation of the unions and contractors, and we are excited about the positive economic impact this program stands to have on East St. Louis and the surrounding communities.”
SWIC President Georgia Costello said the HCPTP agreement “extends our longstanding partnership” with SIUE. “More 2007 SIUE graduates transferred from SWIC than any other college, and this new program will benefit minority students. Contractors will serve to enhance that joint productivity between our two institutions.” SIUE Chancellor Vaughn Vandegrift echoed the sentiment. “SWIC and SIUE have had a longstanding tradition of working together for the benefit of the region,” Vandegrift said. “Our two institutions have not only helped students reach their full potential but the result of that endeavor has significantly strengthened the region’s workforce. The HCPTP also will go a very long way in helping further our economic development efforts.”
Also on hand was SIU President Glenn Poshard who said the joint venture, “between two of the leading educational institutions in the Metro-East area, represents a bold effort to close the opportunity gap that has historically existed for minority students interested in pursuing a career” in the construction trades. “I applaud Secretary Sees, President Costello, Chancellor Vandegrift, President Mason and area legislators for their vision and leadership on this very important social concern.”
As chair of the Illinois House Transportation Committee, Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Collinsville), who could not attend the news conference, praised efforts in a prepared statement in creating the HCPTP agreement. “We are all well aware of the economic benefits that are accruing to the Metro-East as a result of the expansion and reconstruction of I-64, but a fundamental part of that project was to also address community concerns about the low participation levels of minority workers and contractors,“ Hoffman said. “Today's announcement is a direct result of all parties sitting down and working together to put in place this very important job training initiative.”

SIUE, IDOT partner for construction education program

"A $2 million agreement among a joint venture including SIUE was finalized Thursday to improve the qualifications of minority construction workers.

The Illinois Department of Transportation announced a partnership with SIUE, Southwestern Illinois College and Metro-East Black Contractors Organization to help minorities achieve employment in local highway construction projects at a press conference Thursday.

IDOT Secretary Milton Sees has worked on this project since January 2006 and said the program is about enhancing minorities' employment qualifications.

"(The training program) will increase employment opportunities for minorities and women by preparing these individuals for placement and retention in the highway construction industry," Sees said. "This program will provide participants with realistic career paths."

MEBCO President William Mason said he believes theopportunities should become more available for minorities if they are properly trained in all aspects of the industry.

"Too often (construction projects) tell me that we just don't have qualified people," Mason said. "Well, we're going to provide for you people who are qualified now."

MEBCO will offer marketing, recruitment and mentoring courses as a part of the program, while SWIC will provide admission procedures and conduct training classes.

SWIC President Georgia Costello said the agreement was a necessary step to solving a long-time problem.

"We are so thrilled and excited that we're standing here today in a collaborative partnership," Costello said. "Ladies and gentlemen, I say to you today, this is the way it should be."

The idea for the program came about when MEBCO showed concern over local highway projects like the Interstate 64 expansion not having enough minority hires.

Southern Illinois University President Glenn Poshard said the agreement is an opportunity for minorities to level the playing field in attempting to find a career.

"We believe these agreements will lead to a more diverse workforce by broadening the pool of qualified applicant for construction related employment," Poshard said. "We're ready, we're willing and with the strong leadership present, we'll be able to make this effort a success."

SIUE's role in the partnership will be in an administrative overview capacity.

Both Poshard and Costello talked about the responsibility of their respective institutions to the area. SIUE Chancellor Vaughn Vandegrift said both schools have history on their side when partnering together.

"SWIC and SIUE have had a longstanding tradition of working together for the benefit of the region," Vandegrift said. "Our two institutions have not only helped students reach their full potential, but the result of that endeavor has created strong economic development for the region."

Clayton Harris, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Rod Blagojevich, was also present at the press conference and said while the program itself is something to be proud of, it also says a lot about the Metro-East.

"The fact that the program will be here and administered here speaks wonders to the area," Harris said. "We're very proud and very happy to be on campus." Courtesy of Alestlelive.com, 9/16/2008.

MEBCO pictures 1

MEBCO pictures 2