One major issue facing the country is that of race and diversity.
Recent events continue to bring this sensitive topic to the front pages, where it is hard to ignore. Cultural and social changes have made this something all companies need to address. Like all of its members, ABC had to address it as well. It did not take a long study to realize that ABC membership and leadership positions were almost exclusively "old white guys," and we needed to make some changes to stay relevant. An association that is pale, stale and male is not going to be successful in the future.
ABC has tried to start diversity programs in the past without much success. The focus was on helping minority companies and giving them resources that were unavailable to the average member. This was actually the opposite of the ABC philosophy that all contracts should be awarded on merit to the best contractor for the project. Consequently, the programs did not get much support from ABC members, received little attention from the minority community and were ultimately abandoned.
I am sure most people in business are familiar with HUB, MWBE and similar programs. They were started about 35 years ago in an effort to help small, women and minority-owned companies get their share of construction work by setting quotas to force companies into subcontracting or purchasing products from these businesses. This raised some legal issues as majority companies felt they were being discriminated against, and the law was settled in 1988 by the Supreme Court in a landmark decision known as Crosan.
In Richmond vs. Crosan, a 6-to-3 decision, the Court held that "generalized assertions" of past racial discrimination could not justify "rigid" racial quotas for the awarding of public contracts. Justice O'Connor's opinion noted that the 30-percent quota could not be tied to "any injury suffered by anyone," and was an impermissible employment of a suspect classification. O'Connor further held that allowing claims of past discrimination to serve as the basis for racial quotas would actually subvert constitutional values: "The dream of a nation of equal citizens in a society where race is irrelevant to personal opportunity and achievement would be lost in a mosaic of shifting preferences based on inherently unmeasurable claims of past wrongs."
This last quote falls directly in line with ABC's merit shop philosophy that all work should be awarded on the basis of merit. Whether it is an individual competing for work or a company bidding for the contract, everyone should have an equal chance to compete. Minority contractors also realized that this was the problem with the discrepancy between the amount of work contracted to minorities and the general population. The help they were supposed to get was not really helping but instead working against them. ABC companies resented being forced to help minority contractors and failed to reach out to them to truly help them grow. They relied on the same contractors they had done business with in the past.
More ABC members have become aware of the many new and different construction companies that bring innovative methods and materials to the jobsite. Some of these contractors are owned by minorities and that alone should not disqualify them as it has in the past. Without receiving any special help from any entity, these contractors are competing and winning work on their own merits. As one contractor told me, "We do not want special treatment; we just want to be invited to bid." The focus was more about inclusion and not about diversity for the sake of diversity.
That slight change in thought process has created a major change in how ABC looks at this issue. Our focus is on inclusion. Our diversity and inclusion committee has many members who are very enthusiastic about creating new opportunities for all contractors. Minority contractors are now finding open doors that used to be closed. There is renewed excitement that there really is a dream that all people are selected on their merits and all contractors are not disqualified before the competition starts. All it took was a little honest and open discussion that was prompted by the diversity and inclusion committee.
For more information, contact Russell Hamley at (713) 523-6ABC [6222] or r.hamley@abchouston.org.
