Increase access to quality and affordable healthy food.

Earmarked $3 million in federal aid money 2023 budget to create a food justice program designed to address food insecurity. This fund will provide grants to awarded projects and small community groups to improve access to quality health foods and consumer health.

• Supported and coordinated the passage of the Food Justice Fund.
• The City's Food Justice Fund Coordinator position has been filled!
• The City has a survey asking the community to complete and inform the priorities of the Food Justice Fund which will determine where grant money is awarded
• Currently filling positions for the Governance Committee.

Promote Paid-Sick leave to protect workers; strengthen paid sick leave legislation.

• Established the Office of Equal Protection and hired a compliance coordinator with an established system to receive and investigate complaints
• Convened restaurant leadership (40 attendees) to get policies in place and signs on site.

City of Pittsburgh Paid Sick Days Act 2020

• Employers must provide eligible employees with Paid Sick Time to care for the employee’s or a family member’s illness, injury, or health condition, or in the event of a public health emergency or a family member’s exposure to a communicable disease.
• As of April 2024, Paid Sick Leave policy reviews by the Mayor’s Office of Equal Protection (OEP) have assisted more than 100 business locations in ensuring their practices and policies around employee sick time comply with the Paid Sick Days Act (PSDA). The OEP has received and reviewed PSDA policies and practices from approximately 200 business locations so far. More than 100 of those locations now have compliant policies that meet or exceed the requirements of the law.
  

Revisit land-use practices (such as vacant lots that can support local farmers and Black owned-businesses).

• Supported and advocated for the passing of Municipal Claims and Tax Lien Law at the state level. Governor Shapiro signed the amendment into law and it took effect on September 5, 2023.
• Coordinated the passage of the Tri-Party Land Bank Agreement.

• The Land Bank was created in 2014 and moved its first property in early 2023, a mixed-use structure in Mt. Washington.
• So far, the Land Bank has successfully moved an additional 22 properties.
• Eight have been sold, 14 are in the closing process, and17 additional properties have been transferred into the Land Bank from the City.
  
• Types of projects include: community gardens, urban agriculture, side yards, affordable housing, parking, greenspace, and recreation.

Promote family-friendly workforce policies

In partnership with Trying Together and Allegheny County Department of Human Services, the City of Pittsburgh is working on an extension to bring additional funds to continue the Childcare Quality Fund program.

• The fund was established to support childcare programs’ ability to improve or maintain high-quality (as designated through Keystone STARS [Standards, Training/Professional Development, Assistance, Resources, and Supports]) and to ensure children from families with lower incomes have access to high-quality early learning experiences.
• Eighty childcare providers, and $1,725,495.12 have been awarded to improve or maintain quality to date.

Promote better employment opportunities and programs to assist Black women as they try to enter the workforce.

• The City was selected in May 2023 as one of five hubs across the county.
• The City identified Partner4Work as the anchor institution and holds weekly coordination meetings. There’s ongoing collaboration between the White House, U.S. Department of Labor, Mayor's Office and Partner4Work.
• We’ve developed Pittsburgh's Good Jobs Principles, building on the Biden administration’s Good Job's Principles to ensure accountability on all projects receiving federal funding in the geographic footprint of the hub.

• Launched the Workforce Hub on EngagePGH for transparency and accountability.
• Selected two implementation projects: RAISE and Energize Pittsburgh.
• Reviewing more than 200 projects awarded in Southwestern Pennsylvania for additional implementation projects.
• Secured more than 60 commitments.
  • This equates to more than 1,000 new jobs
  • Organizations committed to the Pittsburgh Principles include:
    • 6 Local and International Unions
    • 1 Construction Trade Association
    • 3 Elected Officials
    • 4 Local Authorities
    • 8 Foundations
    • 22 Nonprofits and/or Training Providers
    • 5 Educational Institutitions
    • 5 employers
    • And counting!
      

Promote equal pay for public and private employees throughout the City of Pittsburgh.

For non-City employers:

• On March 14, 2023, Mayor Gainey called on Pittsburgh businesses to fix the gender wage gap. He hosted women leaders to speak on their experiences in a fight for equal pay.
• Mayor Gainey declared March 14, 2023, Equal Pay Day in the City of Pittsburgh.

For the City of Pittsburgh:

• Our nine (9) contract bargaining units dictate the salaries of our union employees for which all employees are paid the same salary
  • For example, all Payroll Technician's (AFSCME 2719) earn $40,332 regardless of gender or race and City department.

• Non-union employees receive flat-rate pay (each incumbent of the position receives the same rate of pay).
  • For example, all Department Business Administrators earn $75,710 regardless of gender/race and City department.

Promote pay transparency across all city-employers in job listings.

• The Gainey administration has removed salary history questions from applications and is providing salary transparency when recruiting for jobs and the City's annual budget.
• Salary for each position is set at a fair market rate and are non-negotiable.

Promote better employment opportunities and programs to assist Black women as they enter the workforce.

• Provide Fair Hiring Training to hiring managers.
• Survey Department Directors on processes to identify qualified talent
• Ensure hiring panels are diverse and setting value of diversity prior to screenings
• Develop specific strategies for ensuring equal opportunity, as required by law, while also combatting implicit bias
• Better support internal candidates to strengthen applications and preparation for opportunities for advancement.
• Strengthen pathways for applicants with adverse backgrounds.

Remove barriers to small business development for Black entrepreneurs.

• The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh's MWBE (Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise) Office assists minority- and women-owned businesses with building capacity and connection to resources.
• Under the Gainey administration, the URA has closely monitored and helped to facilitate the inclusion of minorities and women on URA-affiliated projects that exceed $250,000 or more in total project costs.

In 2022:

• 90% of business loans from the URA supported minority and women owned businesses.
• Over $1.3 million were invested in minority and women businesses to provide recovery and growth assistance

In 2023, Quarter 1:

• 68% of business loans supported minority-and women-owned businesses
• $184,000 were in invested in minority and women businesses to provide recovery and growth assistance

In 2023, Quarter 2:

• 75% of business loans supported minority- and women-owned businesses
• $705,000 were invested in minority and women businesses to provide recovery and growth assistance

In 2023 Quarter 3:

• 94% of business loans supported minority- and women-owned businesses
• $525,000 were invested in minority and women businesses to provide recovery and growth assistance

In 2023 Quarter 4:

• 95% of business loans supported minority- and women-owned businesses
• $400,000 were invested in minority and women businesses to provide recovery and growth assistance

The total investment in 2023 resulted in more than $1.8 million invested in minority and women businesses to provide recovery and growth assistance.

Remove barriers to small business development for Black entrepreneurs.

September 2022: City adopted the first Diverse Investment Managers Policy.

February 2023: City adopted process of annual review for existing managers to determine the diversity in the firm’s personnel and commitment to our policy on diversity and inclusion.

In October 2023, the CMPTF selected Xponance Asset Management and Investment to manage the City of Pittsburgh’s $195 million index portfolio. Xponance is an African American, Women-Owned S&P 500 Index Management firm and the first such firm selected in City history.

• Educate small businesses about the procurement process/opportunities.
• To modernize our procurement policies, process, and systems to maximize diverse business participation, create access to opportunities for local businesses, and remove barriers for businesses to scale and grow so that everyone has an opportunity to thrive.

2022 – 2023 YTD: Women Business Enterprises have received over $5 million in awarded contracts.

• We are exceeding our participation goals in MBE (minority-owned business enterprise) and WBE (women-owned business enterprise) companies (Invitation to Bid, RFP, and ITQ contracts).
• 34% MWDBE participation overall (subs and primes) in 2023, which is 3% higher than in 2022.

2024 Q1

• MBE 26%
• WBE 9%

2023

• MBE – 26%
• WBE – 13%

2022

• MBE – 17.6%
• WBE – 19%

Coordinate the publication of public resources that promote opportunities for entrepreneurs; Educate small businesses about the procurement process/opportunities; Remove barriers to small business development for Black entrepreneurs.

Developed a comprehensive pre-bid policy that:

• Improves awareness through clearly defined advertising requirements.
• Integrates Office of business diversity in the process.
• Structures and formalizes process, content, and standards.
• Requires pre-bids to occur for majority of our competitive procurement.

• Increased awareness
• Attendance increased from about five to 10 MWBEs in attendance to more than 20.
• In 2023, three Black-owned businesses were selected as primes. From 2017 to 2022, only four MBE primes were selected as primes.

Expand access to homeownership.

• The City of Pittsburgh and the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA) announced in December 2023 that the URA closed on a $31.6 million bond to support affordable housing in Pittsburgh. This is the first ever affordable housing bond in the city’s history, and the URA will have more than $30.6 million in net proceeds to make unprecedented investments into affordable housing to benefit Pittsburgh residents.
  
• Under the Gainey administration, the OwnPGH Homeownership Program was implemented through the URA, which provides up to $90,000 to first-time homebuyers seeking to purchase a home within the City of Pittsburgh.
  • First-time homebuyers making less than 80% of the Area Median Income may be eligible to receive up to $7,500 for down payment and closing costs in the form of a 0% interest, 5-year deferred loan.

• 83% of homeowners receiving consumer housing support from the URA, who provided demographic information, were women or minority heads of household in 2022.
• 80% of homeowners receiving consumer housing support from the URA were women or minority heads of house in Q4 of 2023.
  
• 80% of homeowners receiving consumer housing support from the URA were women or minority heads of house in Q3 of 2023.
  
• 82% of homeowners receiving consumer housing support from the URA were women or minority heads of household in Q2 of 2023.
• 92% of homeowners receiving consumer housing support from the URA were women or minority heads of household in Quarter 1 of 2023

Make it a priority to send employees to professional development opportunities.

• The Gainey administration has worked with each department to ensure they have the budget to send their employees to trainings, conferences, etc.
• Budgeted for Talent Coordinators.
• Human Resources is in the process of creating a Talent Management Program, which includes career development and will kick-off in early 2024.
• HR offers a minimum of two professional development trainings a month and are working to add more.