It is likely the gaming commission will award operating licenses to casinos in the spring of 2014, the chairman said.
Megan Cleghorn, center, a lawyer from Delaware, speaks on a panel on Wednesday at a public forum by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on the need for casinos to hire minorities and women. To the left is Jodi Baier, program manager for the Women's Business Enterprise National Council, and to the right, Fred McKinney, president and CEO of the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council.BOSTON – Massachusetts gaming overseers on Wednesday pledged that casino licenses will go to operators with strong plans and track records for hiring women and minorities.
Members of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission held a four-hour symposium in Boston that focused on the need for “diversity and inclusion” in upcoming casinos.
Under the state’s casino law, the five-member commission, which will license casinos, must evaluate applicants based on their plans for contracting with companies that are majority owned by women, minorities or military veterans.
Stephen P. Crosby, chairman of the commission, said it will be critical for prospective casinos to demonstrate “diverse” suppliers and work forces.
“We think this is an important value,” Crosby said at the end of the public forum. “It’s the whole organization – top to bottom.”
The state’s casino law, approved 10 months ago, calls for the commission to license up to three casino resorts including one anywhere in Western Massachusetts.
Crosby said it is likely the commission will be awarding operating licenses for casino resorts in the spring of 2014.
People on two different panels offered advice on how the commission can craft regulations to maximize the hiring of blacks, Hispanics, Asians and other minorities as employees at casinos and as suppliers.
During the forum, the sixth in series held by the commission this year, Lisa Berry-Barbosa, a former director of the diversity program at the Foxwoods casino in Connecticut, said it is important for the commission to ensure fair bidding of contracts for goods and services. She also emphasized the importance of training and development and offering English classes to employees who mainly speak another language.
Megan Cleghorn, a lawyer in Delaware with the firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, said it's "a business imperative" for companies to focus on diversity and inclusion, especially with females constituting 51 percent of the Massachusetts population and racial or ethnic minorities, 25 percent of the population.
Crosby said the commission will work to make sure its own workforce is diverse. The commission, whose final members were appointed in March, only has five employees in addition to the commissioners. Eventually, the new agency might have 150 to 175 employees.
One commissioner, Gayle Cameron, is a woman; one, Enrique Zuniga, is Hispanic, and the three others, Crosby, Bruce Stebbins and James McHugh, are white men.
The forum included officials in the administration of Gov. Deval L. Patrick such as Reginald A. Nunnally, executive director of the state’s Supplier Diversity Office, and Ronald G. Marlow, assistant secretary for access and opportunity.
In Springfield, the Rev. Talbert Swan, president of the Springfield branch of the NAACP, met a week ago with James J. Murren, chief executive officer of MGM Resorts, which is planning an $800 million casino in the South End of Springfield’s downtown.
Swan said he is working to persuade Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno to mandate that a casino in Springfield have 25 to 30 percent minorities as employees, both permanent and in construction, and as vendors for goods and services. At least three casinos are competing in Springfield.
In a phone interview, Swan said he was impressed with MGM’s record and commitment to hiring minorities, especially at its casino in Detroit.
Swan said he is planning to meet privately Thursday in Springfield on the issue with leaders of Penn National Gaming, which is proposing a casino in the North End, including property owned by The Republican and Peter Bus Lines.
Troy A. Stremming, a senior vice president with Ameristar Casinos, which is proposing a casino off Page Boulevard in the eastern part of Springfield, said the company stresses “diversity and inclusion” in hiring and contracting with local businesses. “It’s something that is part of our core values,” he said in a telephone interview.