Department of Urban Studies, School of Labor and Urban Studies
URB 651: Classical Approaches to Urban Studies
Professor: Rebecca Lurie
TESTIMONY TO NEW YORK LEGISLATORS
My esteem legislators, I must first thank you all for allowing me to speak to you today about why the Inclusive Procurement and Contracting Policies have done little if anything to aid in the financial recovery of cooperatives during this Covid 19 pandemic crisis. My name is Marlon Bailey, and as a member of the Garment Group Cooperative with members in the fashion, costume, and theatre industries. I am here to speak with you about the shortfalls of these policies passed by this same legislative body to aid cooperatives in their financial recovery during this pandemic. Unfortunately, they have fallen short of creating a successful inclusive procurement program , closing the wealth gap for employees owned and operated business. Failing to do so have jeopardized cooperatives businesses, the owners/workers children, families’, financial future and also the development of the communities they live and work in. These are the three reasons why the Inclusive Procurement and Contracting Policies are not suited for coops :
- There is no “one-size-fits-all” inclusion policy. The policy levers, revenue streams, business motives, historical precedents, and strategies to strengthen inclusive procurement differ for transportation, water, energy, public housing, health, educational institutions, and other sectors.
- Inclusive procurement policies and their realization in practice are disconnected. The adoption of the best policies does not guarantee that the policies will be enforced or effectively implemented.
- The threat of state preemptions by conservative state legislators, however, can undermine the ability of local governments to implement inclusive policies.
With these three points in mind I am here to tell you that I do not support the Inclusive Procurement and Contracting Policies. These policies lack clarity and structural guidelines and due to these defects, the Inclusive Procurement and Contracting Policies is not in line with existing federal standards. This absence of all the issues and non-clarification I have mentioned in the beginning of my testimony, does little if anything to facilitate and aid in the financial recovery of cooperatives. These policies are important to me because of their inadequate and lackluster nature and their inability to help in the financial recovery of cooperative businesses. These policies will only aid in their extinction.
Legislators must stop viewing co-ops as farmers markets and realize that like corporations they contribute one percent to the GDP of the United State’s, which is $654 billion in revenue,$133.5 billion in assets and $ 3 trillion in assets. So policies written for cooperatives, must also reflect the same legislative correctness that are input to the financial recovery policies written for corporation.
In closing I must thank everyone for taking the time and also giving me the opportunity to talk to you all who are elected representatives and members of the New York State Assembly. I hope my testimony will allow you all to pass policies more robust and also help cooperatives like corporations that in their financial recovery and in doing so realize the importance of cooperatives to the New York and United States economy.
Thanks again. And I will be here to answer any questions or concerns you may have in regard to my testimony today regarding this matter.
