THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY'S CROCODILE TEARS
Despite a crippling labor shortage, systemic racism in the construction industry continues to block qualified African Americans from accessing prized apprenticeship opportunities.
(by Isaias Gamboa)
February 13, 2022
As a real estate broker, investor, carpenter, construction trainer, and youth advocate, I have worked in and with the construction industry for over 30 years. In all that time, I have rarely spoken about the countless injustices, biases, indignities, and offenses I have personally experienced or witnessed. I wanted to believe these acts of discrimination were isolated incidents—random occurrences that did not reflect the industry as a whole. I gave repeat offenders the benefit of the doubt. I now know that I was mistaken.
What I had hoped was merely a a handful of racists here in hard hats here and there, turned out to be a deeply entrenched, industry-wide culture of racism and discrimination—one that actively fights to maintain generational wealth, institutional power, and so-called "cultural relevance."
Taking Action Against Discrimination
In 2012, while living and working in Los Angeles, I founded the Brother and Sisterhood of Minority Tradesmen in response to the blatant institutional racism I encountered throughout the construction and real estate industries. After relocating to Cincinnati in 2014, I established the Cincinnati Construction Academy and Mr. G's Home-Care Bootcampwith the goal of advocating for and securing employment for African Americans and other minorities who have been systematically exploited and excluded by the disproportionately white construction industry.
In the summer of 2020, through a U.S. Department of Labor-funded grant, I was hired to vigorously advocate for, recruit, train, and place African American men and women into registered apprenticeship jobs in the construction industry. As this is a taxpayer-funded initiative, I feel a duty to document and report the troubling discoveries I have encountered.
Systemic Barriers to Inclusion
In my work across the five-county Southwest Ohio region—Hamilton, Clermont, Warren, and Butler counties—I have found that my efforts to place qualified African Americans into registered apprenticeships have been consistently thwarted and undermined by the same systemic racism and bias I encountered in Los Angeles over 30 years ago.
Over the past 18 months, I have seen well-established and respected union and non-union construction companies with Department of Labor-registered apprenticeship programs go to extraordinary lengths to exclude Black applicants from obtaining and sustaining positions in this lucrative industry. Despite these companies’ blatant discrimination, they continue to secure massive local and state contracts, seemingly without consequence.
These exclusionary practices have become so normalized that many companies hardly attempt to hide them.
I have personally witnessed interviews where highly qualified Black applicants were discouraged outright, told they were unlikely to pass the entrance exam before even taking it. I have seen tests designed to ensure failure, and interview panels—composed entirely of white decision-makers—issue subjective interview scores that negate applicants’ passing test results.
A Case Study in Discrimination
One particularly egregious example involved a highly qualified Black applicant who aspired to be an electrician. He was a reliable worker with three years of experience at Ford Motor Company. He was prepped for the exam and interview by a 25-year active journeyman electrician and had received additional training from me in safety, hand tools, power tools, and basic carpentry. He arrived at the IBEW training center and aced his written exam.
A few weeks later, he was required to sit before a panel of six white board members, where he was subjected to a highly technical Q&A session with questions that only a working electrical apprentice would be expected to know. He was subsequently denied entry into the union, told that all the apprenticeship spots for the year had been filled, and advised to try again in six months. When pressed for an explanation regarding his rejection, union officials could not—or would not—provide one.
Yet, the IBEW simultaneously claims that the industry is suffering from a skilled labor shortage. In fact, their own January 2022 newsletter states:
"The IBEW and other trades have dealt with a skilled worker shortage for many years, a situation that may be exacerbated by the [Infrastructure] bill’s passage. The demand for skilled workers will be at its highest point ever." (see page 5: http://www.ibew.org/articles/22ElectricalWorker/EW2201/IBEW%20EW%20V16%20N01.pdf)
The "Catch-22" of Black, Apprenticeship Applicants
Another common tactic of exclusion is the infamous "Catch-22." When Black applicants go directly to the union to apply, they are told they must first find a contractor to hire them. But when they approach a contractor, they are told that company policy requires union membership before hiring. This closed-loop effectively blocks access to apprenticeships for qualified Black workers.
Not all construction companies engage in these discriminatory hiring practices. Some exceptional organizations are willing to hire based on merit rather than race and, ironically, even seek diverse candidates due to diversity requirements. However, registered apprenticeships—the industry's "sacred cows"—offer higher wages, contractual job security, and structured training, making them particularly valuable. And these are precisely the opportunities Black workers are systematically denied.
The True Source of the Construction Labor Shortage
The construction industry's so-called labor shortage is a self-inflicted wound. There is no shortage of hardworking, qualified Black men and women eager to start rewarding careers in construction as registered apprentices. The real problem, it seems, is that not enough of them are white.
Follow the Power
Now, let’s address the five-ton elephant in the room. Black union apprentices become Black journeymen, and as union members, they gain leadership roles and voting power. This power enables them to run for and vote for more diverse union leadership, which in turn could lead to equitable, industry-wide diversity in hiring. This is the power that the disproportionately white construction industry has held for generations and is now fighting—against its own best interests—to preserve.
Their weapons of choice? Discriminatory hiring practices, "Catch-22" loopholes, biased gatekeepers, stonewalling, implicit and explicit racism, intimidation, discriminatory testing, and old-fashioned job-site bigotry.
The racist and exclusionary employment practices ingrained in the U.S. construction industry are illegal and unconstitutional. These systemic barriers have been hardwired into the industry from the boardroom to the job site, ensuring the demographic status quo remains unchallenged for generations to come. While Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) officers are currently in vogue, they serve as little more than a public relations shield, deflecting attention away from these unlawful business practices.
I will continue to document these experiences and expose those responsible. I will speak for those whose voices have been silenced. And I will not give offenders a safe place to hide. Sunlight remains the best disinfectant. Stay tuned.
Sincerely,
Isaias Gamboa
Founder and President
We Shall Overcome Foundation
