FLAGGING DOWN UNEMPLOYMENT
Citing ‘systemic racism,’ councilors propose civilian flaggers
City Councilors are bringing back the idea of civilian flaggers for construction projects, arguing that it’s a great way to help with Black unemployment in the city.
City Councilor Kendra Lara entered the hearing order, which cited “systemic racism” and the murder of George Floyd in her appeal for civilian flaggers.
The order called for “a hearing to discuss the creation of a new department for civilian construction details dedicated to providing stable, union jobs to people in the city that have been most affected by incarceration and policing.”
The order isn’t a specific policy proposal, but calls for a public discussion about what could come next.
Lara and others did cite that about half of construction details end up not getting picked up, as there aren’t enough available and interested cops to fill them all. So a program like this, she said, would enable those positions, which right now are only available to police officers, to be filled — preferably with Bostonians and people of color, who have higher unemployment rates.
“The fact is that our people need jobs and we have work to give them,” Lara said, with Councilors Tania Fernandes-Anderson, Ricardo Arroyo, Julia Mejia and Kenzie Bok speaking up in support of this type of program.
Lara said the detail office “could operate on an annual budget of… millions of dollars with a mission of gender and racial justice and equity, to employ hundreds of residents who are most harmed by state violence, over-policing and mass incarceration.”
Asked about the issue, Wu’s office didn’t take a side, instead saying, “We look forward to working with the council to ensure residents and visitors are safe on City streets.”
Bok, who over the past couple of years has advocated for the council taking stronger stances on police union contracts that the city negotiates, said this is a good opportunity for the body again to be “articulating its interest in reforming the police contracts, because some of the provisions that shape the way these get allocated are in there.”
The various police unions, like many of the labor groups that represent city workers, have expired contracts that they have to negotiate.
Asked about the flagger topic, the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association said that this is a collective-bargaining issue.
“When discussing safety at construction sites and how best to staff unfilled paid details, undoubtedly, the BPPA should be at the table sharing ideas and solutions to the issue,” BPPA president Larry Calderone, whose union includes about 1,600 officers, said.