March 22, 2017
edition
CAREERS special
Hire Diverse and Local
C ontinued froM p age 3
is now the Portland Harbor Super-
fund site.
“The fish were edible at one
time, and now they’re not,” she
said, explaining that many in the
community still rely on the river
as a means of supplementing their
diet. “I really am concerned that
people are going to get sick that
continue to fish there.”
She is wary of the EPA’s prac-
tice of turning to out-of-state con-
tractors to facilitate the rehabil-
itation at other Superfund sites,
employers who rely on their own
crews that travel with them from
job to job.
“Sometimes contractors come
in with their own people, and the
local people don’t get any jobs,”
says Alcock. “They don’t care
about investing in the local com-
munity.”
The coalition sees the potential
cleanup jobs as most valuable to
young people in our historically
disadvantaged communities who
would gain from learning lifelong
skills and receiving invaluable job
training.
Cohen hopes that by involv-
ing state and local agencies with
a push to hire locally, the overall
economic benefit of the EPA’s in-
vestment in Portland will be more
substantial.
Despite Mayor Ted Wheeler
and Commissioner Nick Fish af-
firming the city’s commitment
to including local laborers in the
cleanup, Cohen says that the city,
in recent history, has been reluc-
tant to enter into any formal com-
munity benefit agreement outlin-
ing hiring goals.
In January, Wheeler and Fish
issued a statement that said they
were “Prepared to lead in building
coalitions and partnerships to get
this cleanup done right.”
But as the EPA moves forward
with developing an exact strategy
for the cleanup, the coalition is
attempting to engage the city and
the other potentially responsible
parties in a good faith benefits
agreement.
The Portland Harbor Commu-
nity Coalition members are un-
sure of how exactly hiring and job
training for the cleanup effort will
eventually be carried out, but Co-
hen says that they are hoping for
“Some kind of partnership with
several different entities,” includ-
ing minority-owned construction
firms and local educational insti-
tutions, such as Portland Commu-
nity College.
The coalition believes that pair-
ing neighborhood residents and
nonprofits with local contractors
could result in permanent jobs for
many of those who participate in
the cleanup procedure. Even for
those community members who
only obtain temporary work as a
part of the harbor’s restoration,
Cohen states that possible invest-
ment will still have an immensely
positive impact on their future ca-
reer prospects
“New skill sets, new certifi-
cations… It makes them employ-
able, so they can find work,” she
said.
Besides the immediate and
obvious benefits of employment,
Cohen says that a community ben-
efit agreement would help to “Set
a precedent for any future major
infrastructure projects that go on
in this city,” and hopefully can in-
fluence how future Superfund site
cleanups in the country are carried
out.
In addition, Cohen explains,
participating in the clean-up pro-
cess can give local residents a
sense of ownership over their nat-
ural resources. “It makes them in-
vested in the place they live, in the
river that’s in their city, because
they’ve had a part in restoring it
and cleaning it up.”
Over the next 90 days, the co-
alition will continue to develop a
framework of dialogue with the
EPA and all parties involved in the
cleanup.
For people hoping to learn coa-
lition they can visit ourfutureriver.
org or email pdxharborcommuni-
tycoalition@gmail.com.
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