In the name of minority residents, Wayne R. Frazier is waging a war against Port Covington's project labor agreement ("Port Covington labor agreement threatens minority businesses," July 29). His fight could not be more ironic.
The proposed community benefits agreement, the work of a city-wide community coalition, specifically includes a "contractor boot camp" — a six-week program to provide small contractors with the necessary tools to improve their competitive capacity. It is explicitly intended to expand Baltimore's pool of minority-and-women-owned contracting firms.
Secondly, the proposed collective bargaining agreement is designed to promote career training pathways via apprenticeship-readiness and formal apprenticeship education for Baltimore residents — especially minorities, women and military veterans.
The agreement seeks to bring Baltimore a new, "high road" business model for public construction dollars — one that more than 20 economic studies have deemed cost-effective. Its mission is to work on behalf of Baltimore and its citizens, not at their expense.
Mark Coles, Baltimore
The writer is executive director of the Community Hub for Opportunities in Construction Employment.