NCWCC SIGN ON LETTER WITH 117 NATIONAL ORGANIZATION TO SAFEGUARD JOBS FOR WOMEN

December 18, 2008
The Honorable Barack Obama
President-Elect
United States of America


We, the undersigned organizations, applaud your commitment to creating or saving 2.5 million jobs at this critical juncture. An investment in infrastructure, school modernization, and the retrofitting of public buildings for energy efficiency will stimulate the national economy and contribute to the economic security of the newly employed workers and their families. However, specific provisions are needed to guarantee that women have fair access to the job opportunities created through the economic recovery plan, to preserve and create jobs in fields where women currently represent a majority of the workforce, and to provide work supports essential to vulnerable families.
We urge you to work with Congress to ensure that the economic recovery legislation benefits all Americans and takes positive steps to eliminate the workforce segregation that exists today in many of the infrastructure and green jobs that will be funded through the economic recovery package. To that end, we recommend the following:
I. Set goals for women’s hiring and retention in nontraditional jobs funded by federal contracts, and ensure compliance to reach these goals. In nontraditional job categories, employers who receive federal economic recovery funding should be required to set ambitious goals for the hiring of qualified women. Women continue to be underrepresented in many of these jobs, particularly in the construction industry. Typically, these jobs provide family-supporting wages and benefits far beyond those earned by other women with the same level of education. Contract compliance should be enforced both by on-site independent monitors and by the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCCP), which must be given a mandate and funding to engage in meaningful oversight and enforcement activities.
II. Ensure funding for recruitment, training, and supportive services programs for women in nontraditional occupations. Dedicate funds within each project funded by the economic recovery package to recruit women, support a range of training programs dedicated to preparing women for these projects, and provide necessary work supports including child care and transportation assistance. Short-term skill training programs exist and should be funded to meet the requirement of getting employees to work quickly and to respond to employers’ concerns about the shortage of skilled workers. The contractor selection process should give priority to projects and contractors that provide family-supporting wages, good benefits, and family-friendly leave policies.
III. Fund programs that will create quality jobs in human service fields that currently employ large numbers of women. For instance, investments in education, libraries, child care facilities, and domestic violence prevention and treatment programs will not only promote important policy goals, but also increase job opportunities for women. Legislation creating such jobs should include provisions to encourage self-sufficiency-level wages, benefits, and career pathways.
IV. Increase funding for safety net and education programs. Dollars spent on Unemployment Insurance modernization, TANF, nutrition and energy assistance, child care, child support enforcement, housing, health care, transportation assistance, and education assistance are vital to supporting women at work, will increase our nation’s human capital, and will be quickly channeled back into the economy.
We look forward to working with you and Congress to enact these provisions and contribute to an economic recovery that works for all Americans. Additional information can be obtained from Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) and Women Work! The National Network for Women’s Employment, co-chairs of the National Coalition on Women and Job Training. Please do not hesitate to contact Joan Kuriansky, Executive Director of WOW, at (202) 464-1596 or jkuriansky@wowonline.org or Tiffany Boiman, Women Work! Director of Programs and Policy, at (202) 467-6346 or tboiman@womenwork.org.
Sincerely,

9to5, National Association of Working Women
American Association of University Women
Americans for Democratic Action, Inc.
Business and Professional Women/USA
Coalition on Human Needs
Community Action Partnership
Compliance USA
Equal Rights Associates
Healthy Teen Network
Legal Momentum
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Ms. Foundation for Women
National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity
National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health
National Association of Social Workers
National Coalition of Women of Color in Construction
National Congress of Black Women, Inc.
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of Women's Organizations
National Education Association
National Employment Law Project
National Low Income Housing Coalition
National Organization for Women
National Women’s Law Center
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
The New Agenda
Tradeswomen Now and Tomorrow
Tradeswomen Inc.
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
USAction
Wider Opportunities for Women
Women Employed
Women Work! The National Network for Women’s Employment
Women’s Law Project

Women's Research & Education Institute
Women’s Voices. Women Vote Action Fund
YWCA USA
Arizona Advocacy Network
9to5 Colorado
Colorado Progressive Action
Connecticut Association for Human Services
Connecticut Citizen Action Group
Connecticut Permanent Commission on the Status of Women
DC Jobs Council
Florida Consumer Action Network
Florida Federation of Business & Professional Women, Inc.
Georgia Rural Urban Summit
Bridge to Hope, University of Hawaii System
United Vision for Idaho
Citizen Action/Illinois
Iowa Citizen Action Network
Maine Centers for Women, Work and Community
Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Maine People’s Alliance
Maine Society of Women Engineers
Women's Employment Issues Committee, Maine Jobs Council
Progressive Maryland
Public Justice Center, Maryland
Michigan Citizen Action
Missouri Progressive Vote Coalition
Missouri Women In Trades
New Hampshire Citizens Alliance
New Hampshire Commission on the Status of Women
New Jersey Citizen Action
NDPeople.org
Center for Women in Government and Civil Society, New York State
Citizen Action of New York
NorthEast Women in Transportation
Ohio Women Work!
ProgressOhio.org
Oregon Action
Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc.
Ocean State Action (Rhode Island)
South Dakota Women Work!
Tennessee Alliance for Progress
Tennessee Citizen Action
Vermont Works for Women
State of Washington Employment Security Dept. WorkSource Standards & Integration
Washington Community Action Network
West Virginia Citizen Action Group
West Virginia Women Work!

Citizen Action of Wisconsin
9to5 Bay Area, San Jose, CA
9to5 Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Coalition for Equal Pay, Campbell, CA
San Francisco Department on the Status of Women, San Francisco, CA
Women in Industry and Technology, El Camino College and Compton Educational Center, Torrance, CA
YWCA of Darien/Norwalk, Darien, CT
Bread for the City, Washington, DC
Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care, Washington, DC
Atlanta 9to5 Working Women, Atlanta, GA
Veterans Social Justice Program, Morrow, GA
Women’s Policy Group/Women’s Policy Education Fund, Atlanta, GA
Chicago Women in the Trades, Chicago, IL
Des Moines Human Rights Commission, Des Moines, IA
Family Crisis Services, Portland, ME
Mainely Girls, Rockport, ME
Training & Development Corporation, Bucksport, ME
Women’s Resource Center, University of Maine, Orono, ME
Crittenton Women’s Union, Boston, MA
Oakland Community College Womencenter, Farmington Hills, MI
Office of Special Populations, Lake Michigan College, Benton Harbor, MI
Women’s Resource Center, Grand Rapids, MI
Center on Women and Public Policy, Minneapolis, MN
META 5 Displaced Homemaker Program, Central Lakes College, Brainerd, MN
Career Futures, Inc., Butte, MT
Career Training Institute, Helena, MT
Women’s Center of Fayetteville, Fayetteville, NC
Cleveland ACORN, Cleveland, OH
Hard Hatted Women, Cleveland, OH
Southern State Community College, Hillsboro, OH
Downtown Shawnee, Inc., Shawnee, OK
New Choices/New Options, Altoona, PA
New Choices/New Options, Butler, PA
Southeast Technical Institute, Sioux Falls, SD
Apprenticeship and Non-Traditional Employment for Women, Seattle, WA
9to5 Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI

NCWCC Shares USWCC Special Report 2006 Contracting Data Grossly Overstates Spending $150Billion Women Owned Firms

NCWCC Shares USWCC Special Report 2006 Contracting Data Grossly Overstates Spending $150Billion Women Owned Firms

NEWS ALERT!!!!!! from our SISTER OF THE PWC IN NEW YORK

The National Coalition of Women of Color in Construction , Inc is leading the Charge for Reform on behalf of women of color in contracting and with other women organization that understand that the launching of the T.R.I.M. Campaign is a matter of urgency. We cannot allow the release of more money with the same system in place that's discussed in the report
The READY to DIG MONEY for projects especially to the states like Georgia , Tennessee , Alabama , and the Carolina's, Ohio ,Minnesota should not be receive any money . A over site czar should be appointed also for the construction industry Every form of EEOC programs , inclusion programs for women have been compromise by corruption . We are assembling a International Coalition of Women of Color in Construction governing board. The practices of the State Revenue Departments not aggressively pursuing over $85 million in loss payroll taxes not collected due to 1099 scams by the current administration .The states have a formed a monopoly , from the exploitation of illegal workers woven directly into the infrastructure of the industry , to the new pre-qualification requirements, to the reduction of minority only being reduced to marking up the materia. Transparency , Reform, Information , Measuring.Now a matter of millions of women business owners - their families , their employees and their communities - who are being block from fair access to federal / state contracts. The SBA does little to assure the veracity that a firm is women owned and Congress has done little to force the SBA to support the very small businesses that are tasked with championing.U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce Finds Billions Falsely Attributed As Contracted to WBEs Margot Dorfman, CEO of the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce (USWCC) — of which PWC is a member — is getting the word out about a new report which finds that potentially billions of dollars in reported spending with women-owned firms may be grossly overstated as dozens of firms with male CEOs are included. In 2006, 27 of the top-fifty firms attributed as "women-owned" may have male CEOs. These (and other top 50 companies in 2005, 2007, and 2008) show similar miss-attribution.” I am appalled by the ... sheer gall of erroneously designating billions of dollars in contracts ..." said Margot Dorfman, CEO of the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce. "The Bush Administration has failed to come close to meeting the decade old goal for contracting with women-owned firms. And instead of telling American women the truth, has manipulated the federal data reporting system to try and hide their failures. ... We will not let them hide any longer.” In 1994, the federal government established a paltry goal of five percent for contracting with women-owned firms. ... Women are now the majority owners of twenty-nine percent of all firms in America Even with this growth, and ownership of nearly one-third of all businesses in America , the federal government has failed to provide women with fair access to federal contracts. While total federal spending grew from $200 billion in 1999 to over $340 billion in 2006 — an increase of $140B — spending with women-owned firms increased only $5 billion.READ THE REPORTS !!!!!!!!See http://www.uswcc.org/report.pdfand www.uswcc.org/report2.pdf. Margot Dorfman, CEO, (888) 41-USWCC contact the NCWCC 866-956-2922 or http://www.ncwcc.org/

Labels: Billions did not get to women of color firms

Women of color in construction blog talk radio

The National Coalition of Women of Color in Construction , Inc aspirations is to Change the Face of the contracting / construction industry attracting a different value system that will focus on building high-impact sustainable businesses , creating social capital and human capital systems and be a catalyst in re designing pilot programs that work.

CWBR Research : " enterprises Women "
The challenges of women of color face regarding lack of business know how or lack of access can be addressed by training and ameliorating program initiatives. Designing programs and creating polices is the usual response to fixing problems. These can make a positive differences , but the Center's research shows that the existing programs and strategies need to be improved. Furthermore, to design a truly effective strategy to create a level playing field for women business owners of color we also need to change the perception that being a women of color is incompatible with being a successful.

We look forward to you tuning in the women of color in construction/contracting radio forum. Airing each week. Callers are welcome to join the conversation during the show by calling (347)-324-3032 on October 29 , 2008 at 5:30 pm.

The live internet talk show will stream line from the host page http://www.blogtalkradio.com/NCWCC--Inc remember to tune into your interim host
co founder Kareema Ali and co host Kerline Astre . An archive will be available at the same link immediately following the show .
Visit our website : www.ncwcc.org
email: ncwcctalkradio@gmail.com
visit our blogs: http://360.yahoo.com/ncwcc08

We dedicate our first spark to all the sponsors of the Center for Women Business Research its data driven knowledge. Lauren Sugerman of Chicago Women in the Trades for 30 years of dedication to so many women of color in nontraditional trades she has served.

NCWCC Building Positive Enviroments & Networks

Changing the Face of Our Industry:
NCWCC aspirations is to Change the Face of the contracting / construction industry. We will attract a different value system that focus on development to build a high-impact, sustainable economic development systems and programs that work.

Historically the programs don't work because they are not suppose too!!!
This has fueled NCWCC, Inc desire and vision to be a leading organization for women of color in the construction/ contracting community.
To that provide interdependent environment which are elements for success . We must depend on each other because what we do affect each one of us..
Show Topics Letting Go Negative

Negative - Independent environments: " I am the only women in my field"

Negative- Social capital network: " Why should I listen to her she is my competition"

Negative- Human capital networks: " What can she bring to the table I make more money than her"

We look forward to you tuning in for the first of many women of color in construction/contracting radio show forum. Airing each week.

Callers are welcome to join the conversation during the show by calling (347)-324-3032 on October 22,2008 at 5:30 pm.

If you want to speak on a topic please contact us : ncwcc@bellsouth.net or
Our toll free 800-218-9684

The live Internet talk show will stream line from the host page http://www.blogtalkradio.com/NCWCC--Inc remember to tune into your interim host co-founder Kareema Ali . An archive will be available at the same link immediately following the show .