[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 25, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2861-S2862]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




THE HUMAN RIGHTS DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY OF DETROIT RECEIVES 2000 GENDER 
               AND RACE DIVERSIFICATION EXCELLENCE AWARD

 Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, on May 2, 2000, the Great Lakes 
Construction Alliance will hold its annual Gender and Race 
Diversification Excellence Awards dinner. Each year, the G.A.R.D.E. 
Awards are given to labor owners and contractor organizations which 
have made significant efforts in improving the recruitment and 
retention of women and people of color in the unionized construction 
industry. Each award winner has developed, or engaged in, some 
substantial program with the goal of furthering opportunities for women 
and people of color, which is one of the fundamental principles upon 
which the Great Lakes Construction Alliance was founded.
  Nominees are judged by a jury of construction industry 
representatives. To be considered for the G.A.R.D.E. Award, programs 
must show documentation, including numbers for minorities and women, of 
the number of people added to the organization's labor force, and 
promote quality, acceptable construction practices. Ultimately, the 
awards are given to those programs which have made the greatest efforts 
to improve the recruitment and retention of women and people of color 
in the unionized construction industry. The recipients of the 2000 
G.A.R.D.E. Awards are the Human Rights Department of the City of 
Detroit, the Great Detroit Building and Construction Trades Council, 
and the Comerica Park Construction Management Team.
  In 1998, the City of Detroit's Human rights Department, which is 
responsible for promoting and enforcing a construction workforce 
diversity program through its administration of Executive Order 22, 
recognized an increasing number of construction projects coupled with a 
shortage of qualified skilled trades people. Their solution to this 
problem was to implement a Construction Workforce Diversity Program, 
altering the monitoring guidelines of Executive Order 22. The new

[[Page S2862]]

guidelines aim at maximizing the number of Detroit residents, 
minorities, and women in the construction industry while maintaining 
the quality of the end product. They have achieved success in this 
regard through increased enrollment in pre-apprentice and apprentice 
programs; through the establishment of partnerships with residents, 
business leaders, trade associations, unions, and ecumenical community 
city agencies; through the development of an internal information 
network; and through the review and validation of certified payrolls, 
skilled trade reports and subcontractor reports.
  Mr. President, I applaud the efforts of the Human Rights Department 
to diversify the City of Detroit's workforce. Their efforts serve as a 
wonderful example to other agencies in Detroit and throughout the State 
of Michigan. On behalf of the entire United States Senate, I 
congratulate the Human Rights Department of the City of Detroit on 
receiving this year's Gender and Race Diversification Excellence 
Award.

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