Central Corridor meeting minority hiring goals, officials say

Central Corridor light rail officials say the project's two prime contractors are meeting goals for hiring women and minorities as part of the workforce.

Metropolitan Council spokeswoman Laura Baenen said her agency and the state Office of Human Rights visit work sites to make sure the contractors are fulfilling the women and minority hiring goals set for them.

"[The agencies make sure] that they're doing what the contractors say that they are doing," Baenen said.

Baenen said the contractors' employees are doing a range of work.

"Each is working on replacing old utilities, installing new ones, removing the old roadway, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, replacing all of that," she said. "They will also be building be building the stations, the LRT stations themselves and working on the track."

Baenen said Walsh, one of the two prime construction contractors, is achieving nearly 19 percent minority workforce participation and nearly 10 percent female participation. The other prime construction contractor, AMJV, is 18.1 percent minorities and 8 percent women.

That accounts for just over 340 of the 1,200 workers currently on the job. The workforce hiring goals for the project are 18 percent for minorities and 6 percent for women.

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