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Jeff Moreland has led Raimore Construction through two decades of growth, from a small trucking and flagging outfit to a formidable heavy civil contractor that recently was awarded an approximately $60 million contract 鈥� the largest ever in Oregon for a minority-owned contractor 鈥� for transit improvements.

Despite his prominence within Portland’s building industry, Moreland 鈥� who is Black 鈥� still experiences racism on jobsites. Oftentimes, he said, it’s from people who don’t even realize that it’s going on.

鈥淚 can walk into a trailer as the owner of Raimore Construction with one of my project managers who’s white, and they talk to him the whole meeting until they realize that I’m the decision maker,鈥� Moreland said. 鈥淭his is just systemic.鈥�

Robert Camarillo, an ironworker who now serves as executive secretary of the Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council, has experienced similar discrimination during his 25 years in the industry.

鈥淪ome of us are just used to being invisible,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s not just what is said, but it’s the actions that are hurtful. This is an industry issue that’s plagued not just the construction industry, but all levels of the business, from the developers to the engineers to the architects. All levels.鈥�

Racism in the building industry takes many forms, including the implicit bias experienced by Moreland and Camarillo, discriminatory practices and a lack of opportunities for minority workers and business owners, and symbols of racial violence being placed on jobsites in Portland and other parts of the country.

As the nation comes to a reckoning on racism and discrimination in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, leaders in the local building industry are working to create a dialogue to address causes and potential solutions to racism in construction. Moreland and Camarillo were among multiple panelists who spoke Tuesday during an that drew more than 300 participants. The session was held by the National Association of Minority Contractors‘ Oregon chapter.

The first step to prevent continuing racism and discrimination on jobsites, Moreland said, is to acknowledge that it is a widespread problem, and not try to sweep it under the rug. An open dialogue is necessary, he added, because minorities in the industry often don’t feel safe speaking out for fear of being penalized or ostracized.

鈥淵ou have to realize that this has been cultivated over a long period of time, and the discriminatory, racist behavior that you see has become normalized,鈥� he said.

Andrew Colas, president of Colas Construction, said the industry needs to adopt a zero-tolerance policy for racist behavior and prioritize enforcement in the same manner that it has for safety. Decades ago, injuries and deaths were considered an acceptable risk to construction work before the industry took a stand and decided to make a change. Now, it’s common to see companies with multiple safety directors.

鈥淚 don’t think we’ve ever stopped and assessed how bad it is in regards to racism in this industry, and really decided that we’re going to make a fullhearted effort to change,鈥� Colas said. 鈥淵ou have to put time into it, just like you spend time on making sure safety is important, we have to put time and focus into this.鈥�

Forming bias incident response teams could make victims of jobsite racism more likely to report the abuse, said Willy Myers, executive secretary-treasurer of the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council. Then workers experiencing racial harassment could work directly with the general contractor and would have an intervenor to turn to who is not a direct supervisor or business representative.

鈥淎 lot of times there’s a fear of being excluded from the next job or being excluded from a team that’s already built on a jobsite because they’re the person pointing out a problem,鈥� he said.

Further, penalties are needed for people terminated for bias issues, Myers said. Moving them to another jobsite or placing them on the out-of-work list and allowing them back after a short suspension isn’t fixing the problem, he said.

Diversifying the ranks of those working in the industry is crucial, Colas said, calling for labor unions to recruit minorities who are already in their ranks to fill leadership roles on jobsites. Young people of color need to see people who look like them not only in roles as tradespeople, but as foremen and women, estimators, project managers and executives.

鈥淚f you can’t see it, you can’t be it,鈥� he said.

Investing in local, minority-owned businesses needs to be a priority for banks and governments that are funding projects, said Alando Simpson, CEO of City of Roses Disposal & Recycling. Using public resources to elevate minority-owned firms and hire more people of color would mean those dollars stay local and benefit the overall community and create a more self-sustaining economy in the Portland-metro area, he said.

Colas agreed, calling on public agencies to help create an atmosphere that is more inclusive and allows everybody to achieve the American Dream, which he argued isn’t as accessible as people believe. Colas Construction is one of the largest Black-owned companies on the West Coast, he said, but their revenues pale in comparison to those of their peers.

鈥淚 can tell you five companies that do double our revenues that we’ve been in business 15 years longer than,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he reality is there are barriers. When you look the way I look, there are barriers. And we need to work to get rid of those.鈥�

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