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Authorizing City Council Commerce and Economic Development Committee to conduct Public Hearings to investigate the underutilization of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) and the underemployment of women, disabled and minority residents of the City of Philadelphia on local construction projects and city procurement contracts, and further authorizing the Committee to issue subpoenas and such other process as may be appropriate to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents in furtherance of the investigation to the full extent authorized by Section 2-401 of the Home Rule Charter.
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WHEREAS, The US Department of Labor estimates indicate that Blacks and Latinos have experienced unemployment rates 3 times greater than the non-minority counterpart; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia's workforce diversity does not reflect the latest census data which reveals an aggregate minority population equal to 55% of the City's total population; and
WHEREAS, An affirmative action (AA) report prepared by City Councilman Angel Ortiz, entitled "The illusion of inclusion" reported that government funded construction and service contracts were awarded disproportionately to non-minority firms and the majority of those firms were also located outside the city limits; and
WHEREAS, The same AA report demonstrates that a disproportionate number of employment and apprenticeships opportunities available as a result of government assisted projects were awarded to non-minorities a majority of which were also not Philadelphia residents; and
WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia's Procurement Department, instead of leading by example, awarded only 10% of it's fiscal 1998, Public Works and Service contracts to DBEs and exhibited an AA performance which was worse than the one performed on private sector and CDBG funded construction projects; and
WHEREAS, The Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition (GPUAC) has reported favorable progress in adva...
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