Top U.S. official looks at BART’s innovative ways of creating jobs

The nation's top official in charge of helping minorities with big dreams but often little cash visited BART to look at the innovative ways the transit agency gives small business owners a leg up in a down economy.

David Hinson is the
national director of the U.S. Commerce Department’s Minority Business
Development Agency. Hinson runs the only federal agency whose sole focus is to
help minority business owners start and grow their business, which is why he
met with BART’s top officials to learn the creative ways the agency is reaching
out to small business owners – including those run by minorities and women – to
provide them with an equal chance at competing for millions of dollars worth of
BART contracts.

"BART is working to
set the standard on how to run non-discrimination outreach programs,"
Hinson said. "The key to creating jobs is by helping out small business
owners because they generate approximately 80 percent of all new jobs in
America – namely because they are more nimble and creative than large
corporations. My agency’s mission is to look for innovative ways to help
minorities realize the American dream. That’s why I’m impressed with BART’s
progress in this important effort and believe BART can serve as an example for
the nation."

Hinson also had the
opportunity to meet a Bay Area Black businesswoman who is a living legend.
Entrepreneur and icon LaVerda Allen, founder of The Allen Group, has built some
of the Bay Area’s most famous landmarks, including the Moscone Center expansion
project, the BART and AirTrain station at San Francisco International Airport
and the Yerba Buena expansion project. Allen talked about the discrimination
she faced 50 years ago in the construction world where there were few Blacks
and even fewer Black women.

"l jumped through
horrendous hoops just to get a few thousand dollars worth of subcontracting
work while the big boys easily won multi-million-dollar prime contracts with
minimal effort," Allen said. "Over the years, I built my business and
my reputation by hiring the best people and showing the world that not only was
my team more efficient than the big boys, we were more effective as well."

One of Allen’s first jobs
with BART was working as a subcontractor in charge of the Disadvantaged
Business Enterprise program as well as community relations for the BART to San
Francisco International Airport Extension. "It was a political minefield,"
she said. "We carefully navigated through issues ranging from neighbors
who didn’t want their homes taken away by eminent domain to calming the media
firestorm after a endangered snake was found dead in a nearby marsh forcing
BART to halt construction for 18 days."

Allen said these tests
proved her company was a formidable force. "Our hard work paid off. Little
by little we began earning the coveted prime contracting jobs. Today, we now
manage the community relations outreach for all of BART’s capital projects,
including the $1.2-billion Earthquake Safety Program and the $890-million Warms
Springs Extension."

Hinson learned about BART’s
techniques to spur the Bay Area job market by helping small businesses compete
for the hundreds of millions of dollars worth of contracts the agency offers.
BART’s efforts include:

* Matchmaking. BART
sponsors networking sessions and undertakes "matchmaking" efforts to
identify subcontracting opportunities and help small businesses, including
minority- and women-owned businesses, better market themselves.

* Removing Bonding Hurdles.
Bonding requirements can be expensive and difficult to obtain for small businesses
including minority- and women-owned businesses. So on larger contracts like the
BART Earthquake Safety Program, Warm Springs and East Contra Costa BART (eBART)
extensions, BART eased tiered bonding requirements (bond amounts tiered
according to the dollar amount of the contract) for subcontracted work up to a
ceiling of $500,000 – the "sweet spot" for small, minority and
women-owned subcontractors.

* A Business Advisory
Committee, BART’s Business Advisory Committee includes representatives from
local businesses and community organizations like chambers of commerce. The
Committee looks at contracting and business practices and advises on ways to
improve and promote opportunities for small businesses including minority and
women-owned businesses.

* Technical Support
Services. On larger contracting opportunities such as the Earthquake Safety
Program, BART also provides technical support services to small businesses,
including minority and women-owned businesses, to help them navigate the complexities
of the public works procurement process.

"No matter your race
or your gender, everybody has a right to have a job, which is why BART takes
the issue of nondiscrimination very seriously," BART Board President James
Fang said. "In Fiscal Year 2010 more than $19 million in BART
subcontracting were awarded to women and minority-owned business enterprises.
While we’re doing better than many of our peers, we’re still not doing enough.
The nation relies on small businesses to create 80 percent of the nation’s jobs.
That’s why it’s critical for us to keep reinventing ourselves to create
opportunities for those women and minorities who own small businesses so they
and their employees have an equal shot at the American dream."

As for LaVerda Allen, BART’s
actions are a significant step in the right direction – steps she wishes were
in place when she started 50 years ago. "All small businesses owners want
is to be given a chance," Allen said. "Nobody’s looking for a
hand-out, just a hand-up. I’m proud that BART is one of the few agencies doing
just that."