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In May, when a noose was found at the 4th and Montgomery project in downtown Portland, executives at general contractor Andersen Construction remained unaware of the racial intimidation incident for weeks.

When the noose was discovered at the construction site on May 20, an employee of subcontractor TCM Corp. brought the matter to her foreman, who said he would discuss it at that day’s foremen’s meeting but didn’t do so. The employee also notified her union, but nothing came of that.

It wasn’t until 20 days later that Andersen executives became aware of the incident from a Facebook post by an employee of another subcontractor, Cherry City Electric, Andersen CEO Joel Andersen said this week.

鈥淚 was dejected, embarrassed, frustrated by all of it,鈥� Andersen said during an industry Zoom call Tuesday. 鈥淓very safeguard along the way failed.鈥�

Andersen Construction is now leading an effort to fight hate crimes and racial bias in the construction industry. Called Safe From Hate, the effort envisions contractors sharing best practices and embracing zero-tolerance policies.

Andersen Construction would have launched an immediate investigation if it had been notified of the incident, Andersen said. When Andersen became aware of the noose incident on June 9, the company filed a police report and started internal and third-party investigations.

Andersen is organizing the effort in conjunction with construction industry peers. Many of the industry’s heavy-hitting Portland executives took part in Tuesday’s Zoom meeting, including Hoffman Construction CEO David Drinkward, Colas Construction President Andrew Colas, P & C Construction President Steve Malany, Lease Crutcher Lewis President Matt Pearson and Walsh Construction President Matt Leeding.

The program has four 鈥減illars鈥� 鈥� zero tolerance, education, recruitment and advancement. Supporters said they hope that Portland’s construction industry 鈥� big enough to matter, but small enough to have tight-knit relationships 鈥� could become a national model for anti-bias and diversity efforts.

Industry groups such as the National Association of Minority Contractors of Oregon and Associated General Contractors Oregon-Columbia chapter are also involved.

鈥淚t’s time to walk the walk,鈥� Drinkward said. 鈥淚t’s not just putting some paper up on the wall.鈥�

Safe From Hate supporters acknowledged they have a long road ahead.

鈥淚t’s no small thing, and it’s going to be the work of the better part of our careers,鈥� Andersen said.

One of the program’s goals is to ensure that 鈥渋f someone is committing a racist or sexist act 鈥� an act of bigotry of some kind 鈥� that that’s not going to be accepted, that that’s going to be elevated immediately to the top of the project, to the tops of the organizations,鈥� Andersen said.

Colas said his company, the largest Black-owned construction firm in Oregon, has long dealt with racism.

鈥淚t’s not the first time a noose has been hung on a job site,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hese things happen more often than people would think.鈥�

Colas said widening recruitment will lead to a more diverse workforce. Safe From Hate is working to build a website and put forth a pledge that companies can make. The group plans to hold regular meetings in 2021.

鈥淚t’s a long journey,鈥� Colas said. 鈥淚t’s not going to change overnight. But every day we can get better.鈥�