Fall 2020

September 8, 2020
7:00pm – 8:00pm

Welcome to a new semester! The AGC officers at the meeting — Kevin, Eric, Kitty, Noah, and Nate — welcomed our new and returning members and presented slides about AGC, including its goals, why students should join, and AGC’s plans for the semester. So far, we are planning on hosting two virtual construction site tours, a guest speaker panel, and a guest lecture on race and discrimination in construction. Ideas for Spring 2021 were also discussed, and questions were taken at the end of the presentation. The event was not recorded.

Slides

September 22, 2020
4:00pm – 5:30pm

UMass AGC members had the opportunity to join AIA Western Mass and their virtual tour of the Student Union building on the UMass Amherst campus. There was first a presentation that described the renovations planned for the building, the purpose of the building, the goal of the renovations, some technical aspects, and before and after photos. Then we were joined live by two workers who led us through the most-completed building and answered questions along the way. The event was recorded, but we do not have access to it.

September 30, 2020
2:00pm – 3:30pm

Turner Construction, an international company based out of New York, is one of the top companies in construction. During this event we were able to virtually tour one of their projects in Cambridge, MA. MIT’s SoMa Site 3 project consists of multiple floors of core and shell vertical construction, as well as several floors of tenant fitout projects such as state-of-the-art biology labs. Detailed in the tour were the mechanical systems of the building and their installation, as well as the curtainwall system which made extensive use of prefabrication.

At the end of the virtual tour, a Q&A session was offered both with pre-prepared questions and live questions. The event was open to both UMASS Amherst AGC students and Turner’s current Interns and Co-ops.

October 6, 2020
7:00pm – 8:00pm

Event Goal: To provide students with an opportunity to learn and hear from construction professionals, especially about day-to-day activities, social interactions, and workforce environments in the construction industry. Students do not often have the opportunity to hear real experiences, so we hope students gain more exposure and insight to the construction industry from your perspective.

Event Summary: Nate gave an introduction, a quick recap of the club’s recent events, and some information about the rest of the semester, including the upcoming lecture on November 9. Then, we had the guest speaker panel answer students’ questions. On the panel we were joined by Jack Harney (Vice President at D.W. White Construction), Christa Spedding (Project Coordinator at On Point Construction) and Harvey Oribhabor (Project Superintendent at STV, Inc.). All are UMass alumni.

Here are some of the questions that were asked:

• How has race or gender influenced your experiences?
• In the construction industry, is there any room for creativity? What about expansion (technological, methodological)?
• How do you handle “difficult” conversations (uncooperative coworkers, leading coworkers who are older than you)?
• What do you think the industry will look like in 10-20 years?
• What was your most interesting day of work?

Overall, the event was very successful. The atmosphere was conversational, educational, lighthearted, and funny. Thanks to all who joined and participated, and a big thanks to Jack, Harvey, and Christa for spending some time with us!

Flyer ? Recording ? Notes

November 9, 2020
7:00pm – 8:00pm

In this meeting we were joined by Ken Canty and his associates John Bacon and Anthony (Tony) Robinson. Tony called in from Baltimore, Maryland, and Ken and John called in from Florida. Ken presented first, describing his experience working on the Boston Big Dig, the positive coverage of his company’s historical event, and the subsequent events including sabotage of his construction site (caught on video) and lack of payments. Ken and John then discussed the deeply rooted racial issues in the construction industry, and Tony spoke about the politics related to minority-owned businesses and the 8(a) program. This meeting was not recorded, however, many expressed interest in recording events like this in the future!

UMass AGC hopes to continue offering events similar to this one; It is important for students to gain an understanding of the social and political aspects of the industry that are widely unknown and not often discussed and to be inspired to make positive change regarding the injustices and divides within the industry.

Here are some notes we compiled from the lecture:

• Evidenced by Kenneth Canty’s experiences in being the CEO of an African-American-owned company and a wealth of statistics, racism and discrimination continues to exist in the construction industry

• Minority-owned firms, especially African-American-owned firms, have experienced a delay of payments while on jobs, especially after receiving the spotlight in the media.

• In Ken’s case, after positive coverage of his company’s demolition of the old Wando River Bridge, he experienced a delay in pay applications and a lack of payment. This led to his company’s termination off of the next project by the contractor.

• Luckily, with outside funding, Ken was able to buy a new company after the old one, Freeland Construction, Inc., shut down. However, the issues didn’t stop. Ken was vigilant this time and caught an act of sabotage on video.

• Ken Canty in an interview by Carolina Panorama’s Kiara Lewis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR1zRVd_cMI&feature=emb_logo

• Black and latino construction workers face barriers of union discrimination and a lack of access to capital.

• Racial discrimination originates from fear, prejudice, bias, and greed.

• Prejudice will cost you money and your job.

Tony Robinson on Legislation:

• Some legislation exists, but more enforcement is needed.

• Starting with Public Law 95-507 in the 1960’s, the law was used to fight social injustices. Today, companies like Ken’s still face similar issues. It begs the question: why hasn’t anything changed?

• The 8(a) Program was established to help small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged people financially in an effort to make the business world more equitable.

What can you do to make change?

1. Educate yourself.
   Being aware of the racial and social injustices in construction and the world is the first step.

2. Understand that YOU are a part of the industry, and you have a say.

3. Purposefully hire a diverse group of workers.
   Ken mentioned in the past he has hired returning citizens. One who they hired eventually started their own company. If the person can get the job done, that’s the end of the story.

4. Make friends with coworkers who don’t look like you.

5. Have the integrity to stand up when you see discrimination.
   During the meeting, John quoted Martin Niemöller:
   “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
   
   Decide to get involved. Because so many people remain in the shadows on these issues, or look the other way, is exactly the reason why these issues persist in today’s society.

6. Have a sense of personal responsibility. Change begins with you.

Flyer