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Campaign for Economic Justice at NYU |
| -- "...we
are told by the contractors, unions
and developers that it is 'not your turn.'" -- |
New York University – The School That Racism Built
What does it mean when New York University, the fourth largest employer in New York City, refuses to
hire workers based on the color of their skin? When Chinese construction workers applied for work at a
NYU construction site in the spring of 1997, they were told "it’s not your turn," as they watched a
hundred other workers get hired. Now NYU is constructing a new dormitory at the former Palladium site
on 14th St. on this same policy of segregation.
NYU says in the same breath that it is not responsible for the racist hiring practices on its
construction sites while promoting itself as a liberal and diverse school "in the community service."
Its forked-tongue message is living proof of how the centuries-old system of segregation is alive and
kicking in this country, only masked by tokenism and lip service.
Decades ago, examples of racism were glaring: signs posted up at water fountains, blacks denied the
right to vote, lynchings. Today, these actions and displays are outlawed and at least publicly frowned
upon by most. A good deal of public outcry against racism is focused on a graphic symptom: police
brutality. But little effort is made to seriously address what is now the most widespread and
destructive form of racism which takes the form of a slow, tortuous death: whole communities of color
are denied the right to a job, sinking deeper into poverty and powerlessness.
Many people point to the individuals that have moved up into academia, business and government,
positions that have been gained as a result of the civil rights movement pushing for equal
representation. To them, this is evidence that racism is dead. But affirmative action only treats the
symptoms of racism. Affirmative action opens the doors to higher positions for a few token minorities
while ignoring the needs of the vast majority of our communities which continue to suffer from total
lack of employment or dead-end jobs that are dangerous or lack decent pay, decent hours or basic
benefits.
An industry graphically illustrative of the continuing and corrosive effects of segregation and
tokenism is construction. Here, developers, unions, contractors and mobsters maintain control over a
billion-dollar industry- and one of the most important money-making sectors in New York City and
preserve the profit and best jobs for select groups, which largely excludes workers of color and
women.
Like increasing numbers of businesses in today's expanding global sweatshop economy, NYU and
particularly its construction projects rely on the segregation of working people, whether they be
black from white, immigrant from U.S. born, men from women, overworked from under-employed, to get the
best price for its jobs. If workers remain divided and pitted against one another, the price for their
labor will continually be driven lower and lower, and corporations like NYU will benefit.
Moreover, NYU and firms in all types of industries are using subcontracting networks similar to the
"sweating system" in the garment industry to get the cheapest bid for their jobs. These networks span
the globe. In this "sweating system," while many workers are suffering a complete lack of control over
their time and the terms of their employment, the corporations at the top of the contracting system
are reaping huge profits with no legal responsibility for the working conditions under which their
projects and products are made.
NYU benefits from a divided and controlled workforce, building more dorms and offices at a cheaper
price, and depriving local working people of the ability to make a living and have some say about
their lives and communities.
Paving the way out of poverty and finally overcoming segregation at the workplace begins with setting
an example at NYU. If we succeed in getting NYU to take responsibility for its exclusionary
construction-hiring practices, we will be sending a strong message to corporations that are
increasingly contracting their work out and taking no responsibility for the conditions under which
their products or projects were made. We will be saying that working people and students will hold
developers like NYU and retailers/manufacturers like DKNY which have sold garments made in
sweatshops-as the entities that make the key decisions and benefit, accountable to us for the racism
and the sweatshop conditions they promote.
Holding NYU accountable is the first step towards building a new civil rights movement of working
people and students-of all races-fighting together for economic justice for our communities, and for
the dignity and respect we should have.
-- "For years now, I have heard the word 'Wait.' This 'Wait' has
almost always meant 'Never.' We must come to see that 'justice too long delayed is justice denied'" --
Martin Luther King
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10013-0995office: 30 Third Avenue, Brooklyn (between Atlantic and State)
tel: 718-625-9091 • fax: 718-625-8950
• email: nmass@yahoo.com
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