Hundreds of job seekers converged on the last Las Vegas Stadium Authority board meeting, drawn by a flier that promised a chance to help build the Raiders new home.
The flier, which had been distributed in the mostly black neighborhoods near downtown, turned out to be bogus and there were no jobs to be had.
The episode illustrated two things: the great interest in working on the stadium project, and that many in Southern Nevada feel they have yet to share in the economic recovery.
“There’s clearly some folks that have been left behind. There’s still unemployment, and underemployment,” said Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak, who spearheaded the effort to build the stadium and bring the NFL’s Raiders to Las Vegas. “These are good, quality construction jobs, they pay a good wage, and there are people looking for that type of employment.”
A community benefits plan is being developed to set goals for the stadium construction contractors in their hiring of minorities and women on the $1.9 billion project, which is receiving a $750 million subsidy from taxpayers.
African-American males have the highest unemployment rate in Southern Nevada and “there is a lack of job opportunities for those individuals,” said the Rev. Ralph Williamson, head of the Faith Organizing Alliance, a group of activist churches that supports a robust benefits plan.
“How do we allow them the opportunity without having the skill base?” Williamson said. One answer, he said, would be for them to “be a part of an apprenticeship program that will allow them the training and opportunity … to earn a living wage.”
The community benefits plan was required as part of enabling legislation passed by state lawmakers in 2016. The measure calls for “the greatest possible participation by all segments of the local community in the economic opportunities available in connection with the design, construction and operation” of the stadium.
Steve Sisolak, Clark County Commission Chairman; the Rev. Ralph Williamson, Faith Organizing Alliance; Peter Guzman, Latin Chamber of Commerce