A lot of rich people want a new hotel in downtown Detroit next to Huntington Place (formerly Cobo Hall). It will be called Hotel Water Square. But as usual, rich people want the public pitch in. Maybe the people of Detroit should get a little something in return for the tax abatements and things like that.
Like maybe construction jobs for Detroiters. The hotel will be built by the Sterling Group. The people representing the Sterling Group at the community benefits ordinance (CBO) meetings held so far have said all the right pretty words about diversity and inclusion.
There will be lots of construction job opportunities for Detroiters, like there has been on previous Sterling Group projects. At one Hotel Water Square CBO meeting with public comment, the Sterling Group gathered up several black men and women to enter into the CBO’s public record glowing testimonials for the Sterling Group.
But then what happens when the hotel construction is done? Will Detroiters have any chance at the top-paying hotel jobs? Or will they have to be content with cashier and janitor jobs?
I’m talking about jobs like
- Hotel controller, average annual salary $90K
- Hotel executive chef, average annual salary $88K
- Chief concierge, salary ranges in the mid eighties
- Lodging manager, average annual salary $75K
- Housekeeping manager, average annual salary $61K
I think all jobs at the Hotel Water Square that pay more than $50K according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics should go to Detroiters, as well as any jobs with subordinates (such as the housekeeping floor managers). And the job applications and interviews should be monitored by someone with the authority to ensure that each Detroiter applying for a job at the hotel gets full and honest consideration for the highest paying job he or she is qualified for.
This is where the excuses start. The Sterling Group will not operate the hotel. The Sterling Group will build the hotel and then hand it off to an operator who has not been announced yet. The CBO negotiations are with the construction company, not the hotel operator.
Therefore, the hotel operator will be free to ignore everything that has been said at the CBO meetings about hiring Detroiters for the top jobs, or for any jobs, at the hotel.
The Sterling Group will encourage the hotel operator to hire Detroiters. But that’s going to be about as effective as encouraging Donald Trump to drop out of the Republican primary and go hide out in St. Helena.
Essentially, the Sterling Group will take on the nuisance of hiring Detroiters so that the hotel operator doesn’t have to.
There are going to be at least two more Hotel Water Square CBO meetings, including one tonight at 6:00 p.m. at Huntington Place. You can RSVP to tonight’s meeting on SmartSheet.
UPDATE: 7:00 p.m. The meeting just concluded. Most of the meeting consisted of members of the neighborhood advisory council reading their requests of the Sterling Group and the city for this project.
I was wrong about the name, “Hotel Water Square” is kind of like a working title. A few different permanent names have been proposed. “Joe Louis River Hotel” is the one I like the best of the ones I’ve heard.
Also among the requests is that 100% of the artwork in the hotel be by Detroit artists. I like that one. In regards to permanent jobs at the hotel, the request is that 51% of the positions be given to Detroiters. I worry those are going to be the 51% lowest paying positions.
Of greatest importance for the impact zone residence are the measures to manage dust, noise and light pollution, and limiting weekend work. I have great confidence in the Sterling Group to properly address these points. But then again, I live a couple of miles away.
The expectation for next week’s meeting is that the construction company and the city will present a tentative agreement. You can RSVP to next week’s meeting with the same link posted above.