Now the co-chairman of the Milwaukee 7, anorganization allegedly formed to promote economic development within sevensoutheastern Wisconsin counties, including Milwaukee, is publicly opposing anypreference in the city for hiring its own citizens hardest hit by unemployment.
Gale Klappa, chairman of We Energies and co-chairmanof the Milwaukee 7, attacked the city’s modest5% bidding preference for contractors located in Milwaukee as an “anti-regional attitude.”
Well, since when isn’t the city of Milwaukee part of the region?
The argument demonstrates the indifference of manyarea leaders to one of the most visible reminders to city residents about howlittle people in power really care about those suffering the worst economicdevastation in the region.
When work finally does come to Milwaukee, through major constructionprojects or even street repairs right in their own neighborhoods, Milwaukeeansof colorAfrican Americans, Latinos and othersrarely see anyone working onthose jobs who looks like them. That continues to be true even when city,county and state officials assure everyone that contracting requirementsintended to promote minority and gender fairness in hiring are not only beingmet, but exceeded.
Obviously, there’s a big difference between what acompany’s work force looks like on paper and what it looks like on the job.That’s why Milwaukee Alderman Ashanti Hamilton wrote legislation adding a localpreference, in which the city favors Milwaukee-based contractors whose bids arewithin 5% of the lowest bid.
The requirement has affected only two city contractssince taking effect in August, but losing bidders from outside the city sued,challenging the selection of a city-based construction company.
Milwaukee Needs Jobs
This issue becomes even more important as the citybegins receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in federal economic stimulusfunds to create more jobs here.
Milwaukeehas applied for nearly half a billion dollars in economic stimulus. So far,it’s been awarded $96.6 million. Decisions are still pending on applicationsfor nearly $300 million.
The awarding of federal stimulus dollars is based onneed. It may be one of the few times Milwaukee actually benefits from anappalling unemployment rate of nearly 50% among African-American males, thefifth worst among the nation’s 35 largest metropolitan areas, according to theUW-Milwaukee Center for Economic Development.
That would make it particularly ironic if thosehundreds of millions of dollars in federal stimulus money then went toconstruction companies located outside of Milwaukee instead of being used tohire city residents who are most in need.
Klappa’s charge that any city preference for hiringMilwaukeeans is “anti-regional” could perhaps best be described as anti-rational.
Golly, wouldn’t you think the co-chairman of anorganization that claims its mission is to create jobs in the region wouldwelcome the creation of as many jobs as possible where unemployment is highestin the region?
“It seems any type of legislation or policyobjective that benefits the city of Milwaukee…somehowgets deemed anti-regional,” Alderman Hamilton said. “As a region, for us not tofocus on those (with the greatest unemployment) is a detriment to the region.”
A co-chair of Klappa’s Milwaukee 7which includesMilwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Walworth, Racine and Kenoshacountiesis Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. With partners like that, Barrettdoesn’t need enemies.
The creation of the Milwaukee 7 was hailed at the time as some kindof regional breakthrough. For once, outlying counties that had built themselvesup economically by luring companies from Milwaukeewere going to be working with the city to create more employment for the entireregion.
That would be pretty radical if it were true. Butnow all the hollow rhetoric of regionalism has been exposed. Regionalcooperation on economic development seems to mean Milwaukee is supposed to do all thecooperating and outlying counties are supposed to get all the jobs. Jobs in Milwaukee areanti-regional.
If other counties in the region were really seriousabout regional economic development, they would favor increasing employment in Milwaukee to turn thestate’s largest city into a powerful economic engine driving the entire region.
Instead, regional leaders are demonstrating the samesmall-minded provincialism they did when they moved companies to remote areasaway from the city and then proceeded to fight the development of regionalpublic transportation that would give city residents any access to those jobs.
Some of those companies even began recruitingworkers from Eastern Europe instead of hiring Milwaukee’sunemployed just a few miles away in eastern Wisconsin.
Talk of regional development can’t be takenseriously until area leaders start taking concrete steps to improvetransportation, education and employment for those hardest hit economically intheir region.
