Eliminating Racism in Construction: Industry-Wide Collaborative Action Is Imperative

Editor's note: This article is the fifth part of the "Racism in Construction" series. Click here to view the full series.

Racism is a problem in the construction industry. Since 2020, nearly 20 blatant racist incidents have been reported on North American construction sites, ranging from hanging nooses in visible places near workers of color to spraying hateful graffiti.

But as this series reveals, these recent incidents are nothing new in construction—racism has been tolerated on job sites for decades. It also flows as an undercurrent of systemic discrimination and entrenched hierarchies, reinforcing the status quo in the $1.3 trillion industry.

Many industry insiders say these hateful acts are a backlash to the global protests this year following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police. Additionally, interviewees point out that the country's divisive political climate, and a president who condones white supremacist ideals, have emboldened racists and hate mongers.

"Racist entities across the country have responded to the current administration's rhetoric on race," said Calvin Williams, CEO of a construction contracting services company in Lansing, Illinois, and Midwest vice president of the Associated Builders and Contractors, echoing several sources in this series. "I think it really emboldened some people in construction to express themselves in that way."

In the wake of these incidents, construction companies are stepping up efforts to address this issue in an industry that is overwhelmingly white. However, for some people of color, no amount of talk or action can solve racism in construction.

"Racism is rooted in people's hearts," said Delbert Jordan, a Black man and president of Pro Construction, a road construction company in Richmond Heights, Ohio. "You can't eliminate it; there's no way."

Others are more optimistic. "I don't have all the answers, but I guarantee that if enough people put their heads together, this problem can be solved," Williams said.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 88% of construction workers are white, compared with 78% of the workforce across all industries. In contrast, Black or African American workers make up only 6% of construction, while they account for 12% of the workforce in all industries.

Given these numbers, solutions to address racism in construction must encompass corporate decision-makers, middle managers, site supervisors, rank-and-file workers, suppliers, and subcontractors, sources interviewed for this report said. Here are some of their ideas:

Acknowledge that racism exists in construction

Deryl McKissack, CEO of McKissack & McKissack, a top-50 ENR construction management firm in Washington, D.C., released a seven-step plan this summer to combat systemic racism in construction. She said the first step to stopping discrimination is acknowledging it exists—something some respondents in a recent Construction Dive reader survey denied.

"First we have to acknowledge there's a problem," said McKissack, who is Black. "Just like an alcoholic has to admit they drink too much before they can start to sober up. Because if you deny it, you don't have to do anything."

Drew Avissa, a San Francisco Bay Area business consultant and former business development director for the Associated General Contractors of California in San Ramon, said construction leaders need to confront this "elephant in the room" on job sites. "We have to deal head-on with those uncomfortable and controversial topics that we're told not to talk about, like racism," Avissa said. "We have to be real and honest with ourselves."

Understand that you don't understand

After acknowledging that racism exists in construction, white workers and leaders need to recognize that they may never truly understand the experiences of people of color in the industry.

"For many Black people, it's like coming back from war," said Nate McCoy, an African American and executive director of the National Association of Minority Contractors' Oregon chapter. "We have PTSD from racism."

Leon Araiza, a Native American contractor in Salem, Oregon, faced threats of being thrown off a roof by two white journeymen during his apprenticeship. He said racism has an inherent impact that must be felt to be understood. "You can talk a big game about racism, but unless you've experienced it, you won't understand," Araiza said. "Unless someone is right in front of you, staring you in the face, telling you, 'You're lucky I don't throw your Indian ass off this building.'"

Melvin Norman, a Black scaffold worker, was once forced to sit in the back of a truck so white colleagues could have air-conditioned seats in the cab for lunch. He said white workers should imagine how angry they would be if someone threatened their spouse or children—that's how racism affects him. "I would try to get them to see it from a different perspective," Norman said. "How would you feel?"

Focus on the job site

The uncomfortable conversations in construction must begin where racism is most rampant—the job site. Sources interviewed by Construction Dive for this series said that while systemic racism and unconscious bias exist at all levels of the industry, racism is most visible and most widely tolerated on job sites.

"At the top of the company, there's one attitude toward diversity and inclusion, but often that attitude and culture doesn't translate to the field," said Greg Page, CEO of Page Building Group in Waldorf, Maryland, who is Black. "So we have good relationships with senior project managers during preconstruction and digital reviews, but when you actually get to the field, the culture is completely different."

In fact, for McKissack, who has worked in the industry for nearly 40 years, the perspective and attitude of the foreman or superintendent on a job site determines everything else. Still, she sees positive signs. "The new generation coming into the industry is really trying to be inclusive, and they're succeeding in many areas," McKissack said. "But when you encounter a baby boomer superintendent on a job site, you have to be prepared to hear crazy things come out of their mouths—not all of them, but some."

Fire racist foremen and superintendents

According to these sources, solutions to address the disconnect between corporate offices and job sites need to go beyond sensitivity training. Individuals involved in racist acts must be held accountable, including through zero-tolerance policies.

"Talking about more equity training and protocols is certainly good, and those are definitely positive," McCoy said. "But we need to make an example of the people who hang nooses on job sites. We need to hold them accountable, either by sending them to prison or no longer welcoming them into construction."

Kelley Hodge, a labor and employment attorney at Fox Rothschild in Philadelphia and former prosecutor, said it is precisely the lack of accountability in construction that may have led to this persistent behavior. "Generally, when people feel they won't get caught or face consequences, they do things they shouldn't," Hodge said. "Those who spread this hate do so because there's no accountability for doing it."

Turner Construction posted a video on YouTube making clear it will prosecute perpetrators of hate crimes on its job sites and terminate contracts with contractors that do not comply with its anti-discrimination policies.

Pat Daniels, executive director of Constructing Hope, a Portland organization that teaches job skills to formerly incarcerated people, said the key is refusing to let racists access the construction jobs her students are fighting for. "It has to start from the top down," Daniels said. "If it's the foreman doing it, or signaling to others that this behavior is acceptable, he has to be fired. There has to be action, not just talk."

However, Maura Kelly, an associate professor at Portland State University who has studied racism in construction, noted that zero-tolerance policies don't always succeed because construction faces another challenge: a chronic labor shortage. "If your best foreman makes a racist comment, he's not going to be fired for it," Kelly said. "Zero-tolerance policies can't be enforced."

Create incident reporting and tracking systems

For many, tracking racist incidents on job sites seems like a logical step. After all, the industry has successfully improved safety outcomes through similar means—taking a similar stance on hazardous conditions on site.

"Racist or harassment incidents can be reported as easily as safety violations," said Michael Meagher, president of James McHugh Construction in Chicago, who is white. "Our site safety managers conduct safety inspections to ensure compliance with OSHA standards. We can also conduct audits to ensure the work environment is free of racism."

Bryn Huneke, director of diversity and inclusion at the Associated General Contractors of America, said some member companies are setting up anonymous hotlines for workers to report racist behavior. Turner Construction, the nation's second-largest contractor, and Rosendin Electric, one of the largest subcontractors, have both done so. "They're enabling employees to raise these concerns so companies can investigate," Huneke said.

ABC Vice President Williams proposed tracking racism like any other key performance indicator. "You set up a reporting mechanism to track these incidents," he said. "Say in year one there are 10 incidents of verbal abuse with racial slurs, then you fire two people, and in year two there are only four. When you go two consecutive years with zero incidents, you've got it right."

McKissack said this approach could be layered onto processes already in the industry. "Some private companies actually use your safety rating to decide whether to work with you," McKissack said. "Maybe there should also be a racism rating."

Provide the right training

Kelly recommends the "bystander intervention approach." "Research shows that trying to tell people to stop harassing others isn't really effective," Kelly said. "But if you train everyone on a job site on how to intervene when they witness behavior they disapprove of, that's more likely to lead to change."

She also advocates integrating short trainings into daily workflows. "You don't have to go to a three-day training," Kelly said. "You can do it in small chunks, like an hour, or even use 10 minutes in a toolbox talk as a discussion topic."

AGC recently launched sample anti-racism toolbox talks for contractors to use, and Turner's YouTube video also advocates zero tolerance and bystander intervention approaches. Respondents to a recent Construction Dive reader survey said training—along with other strategies—is an important step in quelling racist behavior and attitudes on job sites.

Go beyond the job site

Many sources interviewed for this series said any solution to racism in construction must extend beyond the construction industry itself. "You have to go beyond the job site because you can't stop being yourself from 9 to 5," Araiza said. "It has to be a cultural change."

McKissack frames the issue for white colleagues with a simple question: "Have you ever invited a Black person to your home for dinner?" She said, "A lot of white people don't have Black friends. That's just the way it is, and it's overlooked. I think many people don't realize there's a certain bias there."

For Cadence Jimenez, a 33-year-old Mexican American craftswoman who once found a swastika on a piece of drywall at work, the solution to job site racism is simple, though harder to achieve: treat her like everyone else. "I'm not just what my culture or appearance suggests," she said. "Please hold me to my skills, not my cultural identity or the color of my skin."