Airport Business - 19

CONSULTANT PROCUREMENT
In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court
barred cities from requiring general
contractors to set aside subcontracting
work for minority-owned firms. In the
decade that followed, Ward Connerly
of the American Civil Rights Institute
pushed for new state actions to limit
race and gender contracting preferences,
including California's Proposition 209
in 1996, Washington state's Initiative
200 in 1998 and the One Florida
initiative in 1999.
The net result is that only very small
firms tend to be certified contractors,
without a path to grow beyond a limited
subcontracting role. A local MWBE
program may cap receipts at $3 million,
yet a $3 million company may not have
the resources to bid as a prime contractor.
Helping minority contractors bridge this
gap and become direct suppliers is part
of the seven-step plan I've proposed for
increasing minority representation in the
AEC workforce.

Vanguard Diversity &
Inclusion Efforts in the
Aviation Workplace
Procurement leaders of aviation agencies
have produced new ways to bring in and
develop minority firms.
At Washington's Dulles and Reagan
airports, change started at the board level.
Warner Session, a mayoral appointee to
the Metropolitan Washington Airports
Authority, led an initiative to assure
minority participation on the MWAA
board and in contracts. In the late
1980s MWAA created a department
committed to ensuring supply chain
diversity. McKissack & McKissack's
long-running relationship with MWAA
is an example of an airport authority
increasing its commitment to minority
and local businesses.
"Diversity has been a multidecade
initiative and a focus of our board of
directors, to make sure the authority is
engaging with the small businesses in our
region," Julia Hodge, the MWAA's vice
president for supply chain management,
told me. They have really pushed to
create opportunities for local minority
and small businesses to be primes. Thanks
to their efforts, we are the prime on a $10
million contract for project controls and
project management at MWAA.
"We are taking active steps to create

opportunities to bring minorities to
Rhee sees O'Hare International
Airport's $8.5 billion terminal expansion
all of our goods and services," Hodge
said, "from AEC firms and consultants
plan as an opportunity to bring in more
to lawyers, f inancial advisors and
certified minority contractors. When
independent auditors." MWAA has
Chicago renegotiated its airport use
over 1,700 firms in its certification
and lease agreement in 2018, Rhee
database. Its outreach to minority firms
pushed for capital spending flexibility as
includes programs to build technical skills, chief procurement officer, limiting the
submit successful proposals and partner "majority in interest" (MII) veto power of
with a larger organization. "We provide
hub airlines. Its Terminal Area Plan sets
feedback early and often so that bidders
local participation by minority, women,
feel like they are getting a fair shake, disabled, veteran, returning citizens and
and if they aren't successful on the most
LGBTQIA businesses.
recent effort the opportunity will come
O'Hare brings Chicago more than
around again."
$8 billion a year in operating revenues-
In August, the FAA recognized
landing fees and terminal charges not
subject to federal Disadvantaged Business
MWAA for exceeding its minority
participation goals three years in a row.
Enterprise rules. The new lease agreement
McKissack has worked at O'Hare
gave Rhee immediate options as aviation
commissioner to consider minority and
International Airport for two decades
women-owned service businesses using
and is working with Austin Power
Partners and Turner FH Paschen JV, city bid incentives, which were opened
two of three construction managers at
up to South and West Side firms located
risk in the massive terminal expansion. where income and employment are
But Jamie Rhee, commissioner of the
lagging. In taking the aviation helm that
Chicago Department of Aviation put a
year, Rhee restructured contracts to be
Target Market program in 2018.
smaller in size and scope.
She developed the program to give
"The minute I walked in the door I
exclusive opportunities for women and
said, 'I want to see everybody's contracts,'"
minority-owned enterprises to be lead
Rhee said. "You are going to see diversity
contractors.
on every spectrum, every size of firm."
Target Market contracts go
With many five-year professional services
contracts expiring, Rhee gave small and
beyond custodial, secur it y and
midsize firms prime-level opportunities.
property management services to
Chicago airports now have qualified
include architecture, engineering
talent pools for construction managerand construction management. My
as-agent and quality-assurance or
inspiration for this piece was a Target
compliance work.
Market RFP the CDA has out right
now for construction manager-as-agent
McKissack has been encouraging
services. It's a significant opportunity
creative strategies to attract diverse
for a minority firm to work on major
workers, f rom inter nsh ips and
facilities at O'Hare.
mentorship programs to recruiting at
"Being a prime can put them in the
historically Black colleges and universities.
driver's seat to make decisions, instead of
Competition will drive lower costs for
always being looked at as a subcontractor," airlines and passengers.
said. "If you put out a $70 million bid
The aviation industry needs to renew
its workforce for a more diverse future.
for construction, I can count on my
hand who could bid on that and it's not
Boeing's pilot and technician outlook
minority and women-owned. So we have
predicts a need for 212,000 new pilots in
put programs in place to start unbundling
North America, plus 193,000 technicians,
these and build capacity."
176,000 cabin crew members and all the
services needed by the industry. Inequities
Deborah Flint, CEO of the Greater
uncovered by the pandemic and the Black
Toronto Airports Authority, undertook
a similar initiative while CEO at the Los
Lives Matter movement make this the
Angeles World Airports (LAWA) from
time to put in place programs committing
2015 to 2019, creating midsized contracts
not only to using minority suppliers, but
that minority firms could pursue at Los
changing the face of the aviation industry
for the next generation. 
Angeles International Airport.

OCTOBER 2020 \ AVIATIONPROS.COM / 19
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Airport Business

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