City Councilor Lydia Edwards (District 1) and City Council President Kim Janey offered a hearing regarding biannual review of the Boston Employment Commission (BEC) and Boston Residents Job Policy (BRJP) at the City Council’s weekly meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
In 2017, Mayor Marty Walsh revised the Boston Residents Jobs Policy Ordinance, originally enacted in 1983, that monitors the compliance of developers and contractors on private and public development projects in the City of Boston. Mayor Walsh added new employment standards that raised the percentage of total work hours in each trade that must go to Boston residents to 51% (up from 50%), total employee work hours in each trade that must go to people of color to 40% (up from 25%), and total employee work hours in each trade that must go to women to 12% (up from 10%).
However, Councilor Lydia Edwards raised the issue that violations by Boston contractors weren’t being properly enforced, and noted that the different offices responsible for ensuring enforcement weren’t effectively communicating with one another. Therefore, the Councilor urged for a better process of reviewing contractors to ensure those committing violations such as wage theft, OSHA violations, etc. are not able to win contracts for construction projects.
“This is an economic and racial justice issue; ensuring that construction jobs created by this booming economy that we have here in Boston[…] are actually going to Boston residents, people of color, and women,” added Kim Janey.
Janey expressed the need for monitoring construction jobs in each district in order to protect construction jobs for Boston residents. The next hearing will be scheduled sometime in April 2020.
GOD BLESS YOU LYDIA.