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by NAACP Oakland Branch President George Holland Sr., Esq.
To: Oakland City Council and Citizens of Oakland
Jan. 14, 2021 – The Oakland Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce (OAACC), BuildOUT California (BuildOUT), National Association of Minority Contractors Northern California (NAMCNC), Oakland Latino Chamber of Commerce (OLCC), Bay Area Contract Compliance Officer’s Association (BACCOA), Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) and Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, Inc. (OLCCI) are calling on all City of Oakland business owners and fair-minded residents to stand up and voice their opposition to the City’s blatant disregard for its Local and Small Local Business Utilization Policy (L/SLBE) and demand an end to systemic exclusion of Blacks, other people of color and small businesses generally.
The recently-released (2021) City of Oakland 2017 Race and Gender Disparity Study of Oakland’s contracting programs documents that those most disadvantaged in the past have been Blacks – providing tragic evidence that the City has failed to fulfill its own L/SLBE Program mission, intentionally or otherwise.
The following is a detailed statement of the existing problem.
The City’s L/SLBE Policy states in part:
“There must be on all construction contracts over $100,000 a 50 percent minimum participation requirement. The 50 percent local business participation requirement must be met with a minimum participation of 25 percent Local Business Enterprises and 25 percent Small Local Business Enterprises.”
The recently-released (2021) City of Oakland 2017 Race and Gender Disparity Study of Oakland’s contracting programs documents that those most disadvantaged in the past have been Blacks – providing tragic evidence that the City has failed to fulfill its own L/SLBE Program mission, intentionally or otherwise.
In a blatant effort to bypass the spirit and letter of the City’s L/SLBE Program adopted February 2012 and amended May 4, 2021, the City’s Department of Transportation (DOT) is requesting Council approval, at its Jan. 18, 2022, meeting (City Council Agenda No. 2.18, “2022 As-Needed Pavement Rehabilitation Services. Transportation Department Recommendation” Numbers 1, 2 and 3), to Waive Further Advertising, Competitive Bidding, and the City’s Small-Very Small Local Business Enterprise Participation Requirement (Attachment A) and award five contracts totaling $59,702,530 to three non-minority contractors headquartered outside the City of Oakland: Gallagher & Burk (G&B), McGuire & Hester (McGuire) and O.C. Jones & Sons (OC Jones).
G&B and McGuire are certified by the City of Oakland. However, G&B is a fully owned subsidiary of DeSilva Gates, headquartered in Dublin, and McGuire is headquartered in the City of Alameda. OC Jones is located in Berkeley.
Waiving the L/SLBE policy requirement will also deny Oakland residents the opportunity to earn income, as the L/SLBE requires that 50 percent of work on a craft-by-craft basis and 15 percent of apprenticeship work be performed by Oakland residents.
The City’s Department of Workplace and Employment Standards (DWES), in accordance with City policy, analyzed the three bidders’ SLBE compliance and deemed all three nonresponsive for failure to meet the SLBE requirements. Rather than require compliance with the SLBE requirement, DOT is asking the City Council to ignore the DWES non-compliance ruling and suspend its own L/SLBE policy to allow five multi-million-dollar contracts to be awarded to three non-Oakland businesses.
We are hereby demanding that the City select one of the recommended options below:
- Delay award for 30 days to allow bidders time to meet the SLBE requirements and work with certified, licensed contractors like those identified in Table One below;
- Reject all bids and rebid projects under the L/SLBE requirements; or
- Reject all bids and rebid projects with revised scope awarding contracts in Council districts.
Table One: List of Recommended Subcontractors
| Contractor | Scope | ||
| Cooper Construction & Engineering, VSLBE, A License | Concrete curb ramps, sidewalks, driveways, curb and gutter | ||
| Focon, Inc., SLBE, A/B license | Concrete curb ramps, sidewalks, driveways, curb and gutter | ||
| Giron Construction, LBE, A license | Concrete curb ramps, sidewalks, driveways, curb and gutter | ||
| Hartle Construction, SLBE, A/B license | Concrete curb ramps, sidewalks, driveways, curb and gutter | ||
| Light Frame Construction, VSLBE, B license | Laborer | ||
| RF Contractors, VSLBE, B license | Laborer | ||
| Tulum Engineering, SLBE License C-10 | Electrical | ||
| Curbside Trucking, SLBE | Trucking |
Waiving the L/SLBE policy requirement will also deny Oakland residents the opportunity to earn income, as the L/SLBE requires that 50 percent of work on a craft-by-craft basis and 15 percent of apprenticeship work be performed by Oakland residents.
How your voice can count
- Contact the following city officials to express your outrage over DOT’s plans and recommend the City vote in favor of one of the three recommended options above:
- Mayor Libby Schaaf, 510-238-3141, officeofthemayor@oaklandca.gov
- Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas, District 2, 510-238-7002, nfbas@oaklandca.gov
- Vice Mayor at Large Rebecca Kaplan, 510-238-7008, atlarge@oaklandca.gov
- President Tempore Sheng Thao, District 4, 510-238-7004, district4@oaklandca.gov
- Councilmember Dan Kalb, District 1, 510-238-7001, dkalb@oaklandca.gov
- Councilmember Carroll Fife, District 3, 510-238-7003, district3@oaklandca.gov
- Councilmember Noel Gallo, District 5, 510-238-7005, Ngallo@oaklandca.gov
- Councilmember Loren Taylor, District 6, 510-238-3141, district6@oaklandca.gov
- Councilmember Treva Reid, District 7, 510-238-7007, district7@oaklandca.gov
- City Administrator Ed Reiskin, 510-238-3301, cityadministratorsoffice@oaklandca.gov
- Attend the Oakland City Council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022, 1:30 p.m., via Zoom. Click https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89766790483 and if asked for ID or code, press #. Public comments will be taken only at the beginning of the meeting.
If you have any questions, please contact Stanley Cooper, chair of the NAACP’s Oakland Labor and Industry Committee, at 510-415-3654 or at stanleycooper34@yahoo.com.
Respectfully Submitted,
George Holland Sr., Esq. President
NAACP Oakland Branch, P.O. Box 1319, Oakland, CA 94604, 510-465-4100, georgehollandattorney@gmail.com
Supported by:
- Cathy Adams, President, OAACC
- Paul Pendergast, President, BuildOUT CA
- Michael Spencer, President, NAMC NC
- Joe Panida, President, HCCAC
- Estela Tarano, President, BACCOA
- Cloudell Douglas, President, CBTU
- Joe Hawkins, Co-Founder, Oakland LGBTQ Community Center
CC: Mayor Libby Schaaf, Oakland City Council Members, City Administrator Edward Reiskin, Department of Workforce and Employment Standards, Department of Transportation
Oakland Black contractors demand access to construction contracts and jobs
Oakland’s Black contractors got massive support at their Jan. 18 press conference to demand equity in City construction work. Public construction has long been some of the most lucrative work for the Black community because, unlike private construction projects, the public can pressure their elected officials for a fair share.
None of the huge construction firms operating in the Bay Area is Black owned, and racism reigns on most construction jobsites. See “Noose at SF highrise reaffirms lockout of Blacks from construction” and “New racial discrimination claims filed against Clark Construction.” As Black contractors organized and grew during the 1990s, the “good ol’ boys” began to fear Black competition, and in 1998, nearly all the Black contractors in San Francisco were put out of business; though they were only a handful of contractors, they had kept some 600 Black families thriving. The subsequent 23-year lockout from construction is a major factor in the catastrophic exodus of Black families from San Francisco.
‘Black contractors are taxpayers in Oakland and deserve work on City of Oakland funded projects. These Black contractors provide jobs for Oakland Black residents.’
Now, the Black community is fighting back, with Oakland in the lead. Participating in the press conference, the Oakland Post reports, were “the NAACP Oakland Chapter, representatives from the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Minority Contractors Northern California, BuildOUT California, Oakland Latino Chamber of Commerce, Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, Bay Area Contract Compliance Officer’s Association and Asian Inc. They were joined by Councilmembers Loren Taylor (District 6) and Treva Reid (District 7), (Sheng Thao, District 4,) who each addressed the importance of honoring the City’s commitment to distribute contracts in an equitable manner.
“Oakland NAACP Chapter President George Holland noted that this item was ironically scheduled a day after MLK Day. ‘It is a shame that we are still fighting for the same things that Dr. King fought for nearly five decades ago. We will not concede the progress we have made and understand we have a long way to go.’
“Councilmember Taylor’s office released a statement: ‘If we were to approve this waiver without pushing for higher levels of participation from our local, small and diverse contractors, it would undermine the work that we have been doing over the past year. That is why I proudly stand with the community members calling for us to have a more concerted effort to seek out diverse contractors and will not support the requested waivers.’
“Although unable to attend the press conference, Ed Dillard of the NAACP LIC stated, ‘Black contractors are taxpayers in Oakland and deserve work on City of Oakland funded projects. These Black contractors provide jobs for Oakland Black residents.’
“When reflecting on her work to address the City’s contracting issues, Cathy Adams, president of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce, notes: ‘We are committed to ensuring Black businesses receive their fair share of City contracts.
“‘We were successful in our fight for the Disparity Study to be released. We were successful in establishing a better L/SLBE policy. We will be successful in our fight to eliminate current contracting disparities,’ Adams said (L/SLBE refers to Oakland’s Local and Small Local Business Enterprise program).
“(Oakland Councilmember Treva) Reid stated, ‘It is an honor to stand with you all today and agree that we have to unite our power to deliver votes that delivers for us, our communities and our City to ensure we have an equitable outcome for all.’ She also indicated that she would vote against the waiver.
“Each organization echoed the sentiments expressed that the proposed waiver means a loss of opportunity, a loss of local businesses and a loss of jobs for Oaklanders.”
The Bay View thanks Ed Dillard and the Oakland Post for their generous assistance on this story. It was initially published on Jan. 16 under the headline “Black leaders protest big white contractors’ move to bar small businesses from $60 million in Oakland paving contracts.”
