Minority Contractors

* The paltry 4% employment of ethnic minorities and the single subcontract for one African American firm on the Museum of Science and Industry project provide a clear indication of what will become the standard practice if affirmative action is dismantled in California (May 16). Despite the state’s statutory authority supporting good-faith efforts on affirmative action, the number of subcontracts awarded to minority and women businesses (MBE/WBEs) is declining. The trend indicates a return to business as usual; that is, dominance by majority-owned businesses.

The Century Freeway project (Interstate 105), where prime contractors subcontracted work to MBE/WBEs under federal court supervision, clearly shows that affirmative action can work for the entire community. It also showed that there is a significant number of qualified MBE/WBE firms to build a major construction project. There can be no excuse that the prime contractor on the museum project could not locate highly skilled and qualified MBE/WBE firms in Los Angeles County.

The museum project shows that without affirmative action majority-owned prime contractors have no inducement and will not reach out and negotiate subcontracts with MBE/WBE firms. With Gov. Pete Wilson’s disbanding voluntary affirmative action commissions, there will be no monitoring to maintain some semblance of “fair play” or a reasonably level playing field. There should be little doubt that a return to a contracting system based on a “meritocratic” theory without MBE/WBE goals will quickly result in a system devoid of people of color once again.

JOSEPH S. AVILA

Legal Counsel, Latin Business Assn. and

Hispanic Contractors Assn.

Los Angeles