Since this is one of the largest projects in city history and equity is all the rage, you’d think we’d have a proper equity analysis, no? No. Here’s what we do have.
Spoiler alert! It ends with this statement.
As stated at the outset of this document, this is not a racial equity analysis. A racial equity analysis would begin much earlier in the development of a project and incorporate a significant community engagement component. City staff and policy-makers should continue to consider how projects, policies, and procedures intersect with racial equity and the impacts they may have on people of color and those living with lower incomes. That consideration should become routine and automatic at the individual, departmental, and legislative levels, and be informed by the voices of those most affected by the decision at hand. The RESJI Tools and Training Action Team strongly recommends that formal analyses begin as early as possible in any process and include a full community engagement component.
For what it is worth . . . here is the (not) equity analysis.
TO: Mayor Paul R. Soglin and Members of the Madison Common Council
FROM: Racial Equity and Social Justice Initiative (RESJI) Tools and Training Action Team
RE: Review of Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the Judge Doyle Square Project
DATE: September 25, 2015
INTRODUCTION
The City of Madison grounds its approach to racial equity and social justice in the following definition of equity:
Equity is just and fair inclusion into a society in which all, including all racial and ethnic groups, can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential. Equity gives all people a just and fair shot in life despite historic patterns of racial and economic exclusion.
(PolicyLink)
The RESJI Tools and Training Team was asked to review the Judge Doyle Square Project from a racial equity perspective after the City of Madison Board of Estimates meeting on August 24, 2015, in which questions were raised about how racial equity analysis had been incorporated into the project. The purpose of this document, therefore, is to highlight features of the Judge Doyle Square Project that address racial equity, diversity and inclusion. In addition, while this memo does not recommend any renegotiation of the agreement between JDS Development, LLC and the City of Madison, it does suggest additional ways for those involved in the project to further partner in their efforts to advance racial equity, diversity and inclusion in Madison.
This document should not be mistaken as a racial equity analysis. For a project of this size and scope, a racial equity analysis should begin early in the planning of a project and include a robust community engagement element with individuals who stand to be affected by the project – particularly with people of color and individuals and families living with lower incomes. In addition, such an analysis would more comprehensively consider possible benefits and burdens related to race and socioeconomic status as well as the potential for unintended consequences. Nonetheless, the RESJI Tools and Training Action Team has identified several core aspects of the project that afford the City of Madison the chance to invest in a jobs-creating venture that will provide opportunities for people of color to increasingly participate in the Madison economy.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS ADDRESSING RACIAL EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION
The merits of the Judge Doyle Square Project with regard to racial equity, diversity, and inclusion relate primarily to employing a racially diverse workforce in downtown Madison – a central and easily accessible location. This would occur both during the construction period of the project as well as once Exact Sciences begins operations in its new facility. As a result of a proactive approach going beyond a simple compliance model, JDS Development, LLC and Exact Sciences have developed goals and strategies with regard to achieving diversity in contracting, sub-contracting and hiring that go beyond what is typically seen in projects of this type. Especially significant is Exact Sciences track-record of employing a diverse workforce which speaks to their commitment on this front as well as their ability to deliver on their stated goals.
Transportation and workplace accessibility often arise as significant barriers toward employment for people living with lower incomes. Given the racialization of poverty in Madison, this results in many people of color with limited transportation options and who may be employed or seeking employment in entry level positions relying on Madison Metro for their main mode of transportation. The problem arises when one’s job is in outlying areas or on the other side of town and getting to work involves a long bus-ride with multiple transfers.
A major employer that is committed to diversity and that offers a broad array of job options establishing its headquarters in downtown Madison provides a level of accessibility that will translate into people having much shorter and more direct routes to work. This has the potential to radically shift the employment experience for individuals who may currently have to transfer between multiple routes in what may be a one-way commute over an hour. If Exact Sciences were to locate its headquarters in a neighboring municipality or in a less central location, easy access to high-quality family-supporting jobs would be lost for Madison residents with limited transportation options.
Staff from community-based organizations throughout Madison, Dane County’s Joining Forces for Families program, and the City’s own Neighborhood Resource Teams consistently cite the lack of job opportunities as one of the core barriers of achieving racial equity in Madison. According to the 2013 American Community Survey (ACS), unemployment in Madison is 17% for African-Americans and 9% for Latinos compared to 5% for their White counterparts.
Despite the extent of these racial disparities, the absolute numbers of unemployed individuals are small enough that an ambitious employer could have a significant impact on reducing unemployment rates for people of color. If Exact Sciences continues to maintain a workforce that includes 15% people of color and, in fact, builds on that based on the strategies outlined in their Memorandum of Agreement with the Urban League of Greater Madison, they could help shift employment prospects for people of color in Madison. For this to happen, explicit efforts to employ individuals from the African-American, Latino, Hmong and other communities of color are necessary. This is the type of economic growth Madison as a whole should embrace if it is serious about addressing the racial economic disparity in our community.
Details on the employment-based components of the Judge Doyle Square Project are available in the August 20, 2015 Judge Doyle Square Negotiating Team Report. Included below are those aspects of the project specifically addressing issues of racial equity, diversity and inclusion:
Construction phase commitment to diversity
– JDS Development, LLC has set a targeted business participation goal of 10% to include businesses owned by people of color and women in overall contracting.
– JDS Development, LLC has set workforce goals of 6% employee hours for people from under-represented racial and ethnic groups and 4% employee hours for women.
– JDS Development, LLC has set a workforce goal of 5% employee hours for employees trained in any of the following programs funded by the City of Madison: Construction Trades, Inc.; Latino Workforce Academy; Construct-U; Workforce Development Board Foundations for the Trades; WRTP-Big Step; Operation Fresh Start; and the Urban League of Greater Madison.
– JDS Development, LLC will hire a Targeted Business Coordinator to manage and ensure compliance with the plan objectives.
Workforce development for Exact Sciences
– Two-part jobs guarantee with Exact Sciences and JDS Development
– – 1. Exact Sciences will retain and/or create 300 living-wage jobs in Madison by the time of occupancy on July 1, 2017 which will grow to 400 living-wage jobs located at the Block 88 facility by January 1, 2019.
– – 2. The lease between JDS Development, LLC and Exact Sciences will include a relocation penalty in the event of relocation of the jobs by Exact Sciences.
– Exact Sciences and the Urban League of Greater Madison have executed a Memorandum of Agreement detailing strategies to draw more people of color into training programs and jobs at Exact Sciences.
RECOMMENDATIONS
This section of RESJI’s review of the Judge Doyle Square Project is not intended to recommend any renegotiation between JDS Development, LLC and the City of Madison. Rather, the RESJI Tools and Training Team recommends strategies to advance racial equity, diversity, and inclusion through a deeper partnership between all the parties involved and via direct efforts by the City of Madison.
1. In order to promote racial equity, diversity, and inclusion as much as possible in as many aspects of the Judge Doyle Square Project as possible, the City of Madison should further develop methods of accountability, tracking, and support for the project. To this end, it is recommended that City staff meet regularly with JDS Development, LLC; Exact Sciences; and the eventual operators of the hotel to monitor progress and provide support. This same level of monitoring and support should be applied internally as the City assumes operations of the parking structure.
Beyond monitoring progress on meeting diversity goals, the City and the different employers and contractors involved in the Judge Doyle Square Project entities should work together to outline what support might look like. Possibilities for this support might include City staff connecting the respective employers and contractors to additional adult and youth employment and workforce development agencies; helping them provide outreach to Madison residents seeking employment; assisting the employers and contractors to develop internship opportunities; and assisting them to develop equitable workforce development plans.
2. Successfully employing a racially and socio-economically diverse workforce requires many supporting elements outside the actual workplace. As stated earlier, for individuals with limited transportation options, there is exceptional value in an employer committed to diversity locating its headquarters in an easily accessible location such as downtown Madison. Adequate transportation is one of the elements necessary to ensure that individuals living with lower incomes are actually able to take advantage of jobs that pay enough to support their families. As with transportation, easily accessible and affordable child-care and housing are critical as well. City of Madison staff, in partnership with a broad group of stakeholders, should examine strategies to ensure people seeking jobs and employed downtown, and elsewhere, have access to affordable childcare. City staff should also ensure our Affordable Housing Strategy includes adequate measures to increase the amount of housing available for individuals with lower-incomes and ensure it is located with easy access to affordable healthy food, employment, transportation, and other community resources.
3. The City of Madison should fully chronicle and evaluate those strategies used in the Judge Doyle Square Project that address racial equity, diversity, and inclusion. That review should then be used to inform future efforts to support businesses working to improve their workforce diversity and other aspects of equity and inclusion.
4. As stated at the outset of this document, this is not a racial equity analysis. A racial equity analysis would begin much earlier in the development of a project and incorporate a significant community engagement component. City staff and policy-makers should continue to consider how projects, policies, and procedures intersect with racial equity and the impacts they may have on people of color and those living with lower incomes. That consideration should become routine and automatic at the individual, departmental, and legislative levels, and be informed by the voices of those most affected by the decision at hand. The RESJI Tools and Training Action Team strongly recommends that formal analyses begin as early as possible in any process and include a full community engagement component.
