Dudley Workforce Initiative

In 2005, The Boston Salvation Army approached Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative to enter into a partnership to respond to a competitive national process to have a Ray & Joan Kroc Community Center built in the Dudley neighborhood.  At the end of 2006, the national Salvation Army made its largest Eastern Region allocation of $85.5 million for a center in our community, with the requirement that the local chapter raise an additional $25 million.  A world-class 90,000 square foot community center with a swimming pool, theatre, gymnasium, dance studio, a peace chapel, classroom space, and more is currently under construction.

Early in the process, the community wanted to ensure that this project would result in economic development for the community as well as community facilities and services.  Without this, the center could be a gentrifying force, threatening to displace low-moderate income families.  There was agreement between the community and The Salvation Army that community residents would get construction jobs as well as jobs in the new center.  It was agreed that the construction portion would adopt the standards set by the Roxbury Master Plan Oversight Committee: 51% local, 51% minority, and 15% women.  After Suffolk Construction Company was selected as the General Contractor they embraced these same targets.

To ensure that the 51% Boston residents, 51% minorites and 15% women workforce goals are enforced, DSNI convenes a broad collaboration of non-profit organizations, advocacy groups, and labor partners called The Dudley Workforce Committee (DWC).

The defining moment that lead to the formation of the Dudley Workforce Committee took place on January 24th 2007 at the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative office. Construction of the Kroc Community Center was still a few years away. However, individuals with development experience recommended that DSNI begin to meet with interested parties and explore what would be needed to ensure that our workforce goals of 51 percent Boston resident, 51 percent minority and 15 percent women was met. A group of approximately twenty-one individuals ranging from residents, elected officials and organizations dedicated to workers rights met that day to explore “best practices” for pre-construction and construction jobs at the Kroc Community Center. The discussion, which was moderated by DSNI, resulted in eleven suggestions for best practice success that served as a framework for the soon to be Dudley Workforce Committee moving forward.

Meeting times were irregular in 2007. Construction was still far off and items such as fundraising and programming needed immediate attention. However, like many years, 2007 seemed to fly by. In 2008 as construction became more of a reality DSNI reconvened that original group of twenty-one individuals to start to more seriously strategize around the workforce goals. Some members stayed on, others drifted. However, the core group stayed intact and grew as more people became interested. Soon we were meeting monthly, then bi-weekly and right before our eyes, the Dudley Workforce Committee was meeting weekly and became one of DSNI’s strongest and most active committees and is setting new ways to capture economic power for residents, minorities and women.

Presently, we meet every Monday, either at DSNI or on the construction site in the Suffolk Construction Trailer.