Contentions flare throughout Ward 8 in D.C., as Councilmember Trayon White (D) demands equal opportunity employment for all residents.
Leading day long protests on March 8 and 9, on 2300 Martin Luther King, Ave. SE, the D.C. native called for construction company Bozzuto and Chapman, who are currently developing the Maple View Flats, to hire and use the highly skilled workers already living inside of Ward 8. Maple View Flats development is a $50 million project expected to feature 114 affordable housing units, retail and parking along the same avenue.
Ward 7 and 8 residents huddle stand together to secure job safety in their area. (Courtesy Photos)
“They are not hiring locally and that’s a problem for me,” White said. “There are over five construction companies in Ward 8. There are hundreds of skilled workers. We are spending millions as a government to support development on these projects and it needs to be done in an equitable way. We have capable businesses and construction companies in Ward 8, but somehow we see people from Maryland and Virginia every day.”
Acquired by Chapman Development in 2012 for only $1.00, under ambiguous terms as reiterated by White, the acquisition of lands and controversial hiring processes has begun to surface, revealing unfair and unethical malpractices by Bozzuto and Chapman, in the once coined “Chocolate City.”
“Most of the contractors in general on this deal are not from D.C.,” White said. “And for the few that are, often times when these large companies do business with the smaller companies, they find a way to pay the workers late if at all… It’s stealing point blank.”
For over 3 months, White said he requested information from Bozzuto and Chapman, concerning development. While he was eventually able to secure a meeting with developer, Tim Chapman, in which he requested a list of Ward 8 employees and subcontractors working on the development project, there was still some unfinished business left.
White said that Chapman provided a list of 60 people, who were contacted by the Council member’s administration, however only three of the 60 people on the list were confirmed as actual employees. The remaining 57 contacts on the list reportedly denied having any employment status on the project at all and White says that when he brought the findings to Chapman, he agreed to an additional meeting that ended up being canceled.
In a statement released last week from the Mayor’s administration, Mayor Bowser plans to host an upcoming job fair with Chapman and Bozzuto. However, White said this is not enough.
“We don’t need a job fair,” White said. “Residents from Wards 8 and 7 have already put in over 100 employment applications to Chapman and Bozzuto. We need fair jobs and contracts for Ward 7 and 8 residents and businesses. We need to put an end to the “pay to play” politics in D.C.”