{"id":1730,"date":"2020-01-07T06:00:04","date_gmt":"2020-01-07T06:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uniontrack.com\/blog\/?p=1730"},"modified":"2020-01-07T01:43:02","modified_gmt":"2020-01-07T01:43:02","slug":"diverse-and-inclusive-workplaces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniontrack.com\/blog\/diverse-and-inclusive-workplaces","title":{"rendered":"4 Unions Pushing for More Diverse and Inclusive Workplaces"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ken Green
\nCEO\/Founder
\nUnionTrack, Inc<\/a><\/p>\n

For most businesses, the underrepresentation of minorities isn\u2019t for a lack of trying. It\u2019s just that actually achieving the goal of creating diverse and inclusive workplaces is more difficult than most anticipate, says Meir Shemla<\/a>, associate professor in the Department of Organisation and Personnel Management at the Rotterdam School of Management.<\/p>\n

Often, Shemla notes, when companies do attempt to create diversity and inclusion programs, the practices don\u2019t align with organizational goals, or the design of diversity policies make them too difficult to implement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is where labor unions can help.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For starters, workers and their unions can bargain for concrete, measurable diversity and inclusion from their employers, researchers Dorian Warren and Virginia Parks<\/a> write in a paper for the Roosevelt Institute. By including precise language in a negotiated contract with an employer, the union can position itself to be an arbiter and overseer of the company\u2019s diversity and inclusion initiatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beyond the contract, they can also oversee the hiring practices of the workplaces they represent. The union\u2019s own composition can be helpful when determining whether a company\u2019s hiring practices are reflective of the communities it serves.<\/p>\n

Here are four unions that are doing just this. As a result, they demonstrate how labor can push for better representation in the workforce.<\/p>\n

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers<\/h2>\n

The city of Boston\u2019s struggles to diversify its construction sector are ongoing. In spite of the city\u2019s requirements, passed in 2017, that private development projects that are more than 50,000 square feet and all public development projects must contain 51 percent Boston residents, 40 percent people of color, and 12 percent women, many projects have failed to meet these standards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Developers say the biggest issue is a shortage of skilled laborers coming up in the industry, former Boston.com reporter Megan Turchi<\/a> writes.<\/p>\n

To help fill that gap and promote diversity in local construction, IBEW Local 103 pushed its apprenticeship programs to recruit more minorities to the trades. This is key because apprenticeships are a major pipeline into construction jobs, writes Zeninjor Enwemeka<\/a>, reporter at WBUR in Boston.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The union ran an advertising campaign, dubbed the Opportunity Campaign, that targeted women and communities of color to boost the diversity of applicants. IBEW Local 103 Business Manager Lou Antonellis<\/a> says the campaign was a success because it saw a 95-percent increase in applicants from Boston over the previous year. Of those, 452 were people of color and 85 were women (including 57 women of color).\u00a0<\/p>\n

To reach more women, the local also hosts an annual Massachusetts Girls in Trades Conference and Career Fair. During the event, attendees learn about career paths in construction and the benefits of a union construction job.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These efforts are making a difference, notes Kenell Broomstein<\/a>, business agent at IBEW Local 103. \u201cIt\u2019s allowing people to come in and to create an opportunity for them that they never knew existed,\u201d Broomstein says.<\/p>\n

These efforts on behalf of the local build a more diverse pipeline for future construction jobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Workers<\/p>\n

American Federation of Teachers<\/h2>\n

Another sector that is struggling with diversity is education. A 2015 report from the Albert Shanker Institute<\/a> shows a significant lack of representation by minorities in classrooms. The report found that though the percentage of nonwhite teachers did increase over a 25-year period, it hasn\u2019t kept up with the increasing diversity of students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This lack of representation can create struggles for low-income minority students who actually benefit from having teachers who look like them, says education journalist Natalie Wexler<\/a>. The problem, Wexler posits, is the lack of diversity in the teacher pipeline.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

To combat this issue, the American Federation of Teachers has promoted Grow Your Own programs throughout states and school districts. These programs deliberately focus on recruiting teachers of color \u201ccity by city, community by community, neighborhood by neighborhood,\u201d AFT President Randi Weingarten<\/a> stressed at the 2017 Grow Your Own: Teacher Diversity and Social Justice Summit.<\/p>\n

AFT locals have successfully partnered with schools districts, administrators and union partners to push these initiatives. For example:<\/p>\n