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SCHENECTADY
Female, minority jobs in city focus of council discussion
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Kathleen Moore at 395-3120 or moore@dailygazette.com.

    For once, the City Council is not planning to address a problem by studying it.
    A request to launch an “economic disparity” study to determine whether minorities and women get fewer jobs and fewer government contracts than whites was discussed without action by the council Monday. That discussion followed comments at a prior council session by Jason Planck, an advocate for the disabled, about the need for such a study.
    Instead, Councilman Thomas Della Sala proposed that the City Council go straight to the heart of the matter.
    “Rather than spending money proving something we already know to be true, we can work on solving it,” he said.
    Economic discrimination is a problem throughout the state, according to a study completed by the state. That study lays out the problems in detail.
    “Clearly Schenectady is no different from anywhere else in New York. I think we can conclude we have similar problems here,” Della Sala said. “So let’s fi x it.”
    Councilman Gary McCarthy agreed. “Let’s solve the problem as opposed to just studying it.”
    The question now is where the council will start.
    Councilwoman Denise Brucker proposed beginning with local businesses. “Who are they employing or not employing? What exactly are they paying and what percentage [of minorities] are they hiring?” she said.
    According to the 2000 Census, the city is 77 percent white and 15 percent black. Another 2 percent is Asian, and 6 percent is Hispanic.
    The latest Census figures may not be released for two years, council members learned Monday, so they will have to use the decade-old figures to determine whether minorities are gaining jobs and government contracts in proportion to their population.
    Councilman Joseph Allen said the council should start with Metroplex Development Authority. He wants the economic development agency to structure its loans and grants to force private developers to hire more minorities. Although Metroplex encouraged contractors to hire minorities, many of its construction projects have been criticized for a lack of minority hiring.
    McCarthy, a Metroplex board member, argued that Metroplex has little clout with the private developers who pay for most of each project.
    “A lot of times, you’re just doing financing,” he said. “If it was all public money, the rules are easier to apply. You’re leveraging a lot of private dollars.”
    Allen dismissed that, saying that Metroplex should require more minority involvement anyway. .................>>>>....................>>>>................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01002&AppName=1

I had a minority apply for a job in my business just once, and I hired her for a provisional part time job opening that I had. And that is in 21 years or so of business. Although I did have a young lady of Philippine descent part time but her Mom was a medical doctor and drove her to work in a BMW 7series so I don't know that would consider her any kind of underprivileged person. I think they are pandering again to get votes and feel good about being liberals.