Clark Construction Denying Local DC Residents Construction Jobs

DC Residents from East of the River and Shaw Demand Jobs on the City Center Project

WASHINGTON D.C. -- Hundreds of DC Residents marched on Thursday, October 13th to demand the hiring of African-American District of Columbia residents to work on the local $700 million-dollar City Center Construction Project. Clark Construction has made minimal efforts to hire local DC residents on one of the largest construction projects in the country.

The rally began at 12pm at St. Philips Baptist Church on 1001 North Capitol Street NE, and proceeded to the City Center Clark Construction gate on 9th Street NW between H Street and New York Ave. The march was intended to call attention to the paltry number of DC residents who are hired to work on the multimillion-dollar projects built by Clark Construction, contrary to the promises made by local officials and construction company executives before these projects begin.

"Clark Construction continues to ignore the high unemployment rate of local DC residents, particularly African-Americans, regardless of their qualifications and experiences," said Richie Armstrong, of the DC Jobs or Else Coalition. He continues, "The DC community is tired of developers and contractors ignoring local workers in order to fill their pockets through the use of outside labor."

Reverend George Gilbert Jr., Assistant Pastor and Organizer of the Holy Trinity United Baptist Church of Washington DC adds, "The building of this facility can provide long term career opportunities for local residents, and these opportunities must go to those who live in this city. These large construction contractors need to understand that the local community no longer will sit on the sidelines while vital employment opportunities are squandered on non-district residents!"

Participants in the march began assembling at 12 noon at St. Philips Baptist Church, where speakers addressed the demonstrators. The speakers included: Pastor Andre Owens, Reverend George Gilbert, and Richie Armstrong, community activist. The march was organized by DC Jobs or Else, religious, community, and labor leaders.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• WashingtonDC
• Jobs
• Recession
• Economy
• CityCenterProject
• DC
• Ward8
• Shaw
• Organizing
• Localgrassroots
• career
• construction
• clarkconstruction
• progress