Mortenson shares plans for diversity, awareness for Construction Inclusion Week

The construction industry’s internal effort to eliminate racist incidents from job sites and encourage diversity starts on Monday, and construction professionals in the Badger State shared how firms can create a simple plan before the week begins.

Construction Inclusion Week is a grassroots industry effort to give educational and business resources on diversity, equity and inclusion to construction professionals, the effort’s creators said. In turn, professionals can chart activities to their office teams and job site crews and set expectations for a workplace environment free of hate, bigotry and harassment.

In Wisconsin, Mortenson planned office and job site events like table talks, toolbox talks, educational meetings and team breakfasts and lunches, Milwaukee general manager Kurt Theune said. Activities include a company-wide lunch for mental health awareness in face of high suicide rates and stigmas of seeking help.

“The first step is participating in this groundbreaking awareness effort,” Theune said. “DEI starts with us.”

CIW’s online guide includes live-streamed content and curriculum resources in the form of free downloadable links and QR codes firms can use during the five-day week. Each day has a different lesson: commitment and accountability, belonging, supplier diversity, workplace culture and community engagement.

Not every project can have the largest plan to increase awareness, but it should have one, Theune said. Each project has unique challenges and varying sizes, he added.

“Start small – hold a breakfast or a toolbox talk,” Theune said. “As projects grow, engage the extended team to more actively get involved. Encourage small steps to cultivate an inclusive culture that values diversity while ensuring equitable opportunity for all.”

On top of opening conversations with its team, Mortenson invited women- and minority-owned businesses to talk and learn about successful partnerships and discuss the industry going forward, Theune said. The company also established local and national business resource groups led by DEI champions to engage diverse team members and allies.

Starting in 2021, CIW saw its number of participants double over the year and over 2,000 firms have registered for 2022, program officials said. The week is anticipated to reach over 500,000 workers on all levels of the industry at more than 5,000 project sites across the country.

The need for inclusion stemmed from racist and hateful incidents on U.S. job sites. In a survey on racist incidents, Construction Dive found 17 high-profile incidents in 2020 where someone had left a noose or racist graffiti at a job site or verbally targeted workers of color.

A Waukesha-based contractor paid a $140,000 settlement in July after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a federal lawsuit for racial harassment and retaliation. The EEOC accused the company of using racial slurs in the workplace and firing an employee who complained about racist treatment.

Construction Inclusion Week was created by a coalition with DPR Construction, Mortenson and Turner Construction, McCarthy Building Companies, Clark Construction Group and Gilbane Building Co. Mortenson president and CEO Dan Johnson will be a co-chair for CIW this year.