More than 5,000 good-paying building trades jobs appear to be on Detroit's horizon.
Critics say the city's plan to create minority construction jobs is floundering.
Then he looks at the present and sees mostly empty spaces where there should be a comprehensive plan to ensure that opportunity turns into reality. Long, who for 15 years has been running inner-city employment training programs, wants to make certain Detroiters get their fair share of those jobs. Moreover, Long maintains that special attention must be paid to minorities, who historically have been excluded from the building trades. Otherwise, there will be no guarantee they'll be in a position to start pounding nails and bringing home decent paychecks when the boom gears up. Long and others say the program Mayor Dennis Archer has been banking on to provide the big-picture, comprehensive approach to training that will open union doors is failing.