The UJAMAA Way
Our Commitment to the Community
REBUILDING OUR COMMUNITY,
ONE BLOCK AT A TIME
- How can we help with your construction project?
Our commitment to the community goes far beyond construction work. UJAMAA supports foundations, charities, and educational initiatives with volunteer efforts, resources, and monetary donations.
We strive to be the leaders in developing new and improved programs that have far-reaching and longer-lasting impacts on the workforce and business communities.
We call this “The UJAMAA Way.”
Our team brings the right principles, structure, and tools to facilitate the type of culture that will contribute significantly to the success of the projects we execute while putting social responsibility at the forefront.
Our Program’s Three Key Components — Advocate, Teach, Sustain
Advocate
- Maximize workforce diversity participation for the community, and city residents through our community hiring initiative.
- Proactively institute recruiting and hiring initiatives with project partners and subcontractors through outreach events within the community.
- Provide a workforce that reflects the diversity of the community, with a focus on residents from the local communities.
- Create opportunities for ex-offenders and returning citizens.
- Review field employee headcounts, verify residency and foster dialogue with foremen and superintendents so that new hires are processed through the hiring initiative program and that area residents are given priority consideration.; Generate awareness about the project and the MBE and WBE subcontracting participation goals.
Teach
- Maximize apprenticeship opportunities to create long-term career options for area residents particularly for laborers and carpenters.
- Negotiate contractual commitments with sub-contractors regarding community workforce hiring; Each large subcontractor will be committed to hiring at least 1 member from the surrounding community.
- Facilitate meetings with contractors, subcontractors approved pre-apprentice programs, and union representatives to discuss workforce community hiring opportunities.
- Lead by example, ensuring that all general conditions work self-performed by our team members exceeds the commitments therein.
Sustain
- Verify that standard workforce minimum percentages are met or exceeded by subcontractors.
- Monitor compliance, administration, and reporting throughout the project via FieldEase.
Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI)
UJAMAA is the premier diversity construction contractor in the city of Chicago and is fully committed to supporting diversity initiatives within the construction industry.
We’ve bolstered our business and reputation by supporting diversity contracting, and building the capacity of smaller MBE/WBE General Contractors and subcontractors in the communities in which we work.
We work tirelessly with several inner-city agencies and advocacy groups, providing equal business opportunities for disadvantaged contractors and vendors while encouraging minority and local workforce hiring practices. UJAMAA has always met the diversity goals set by our clients.
Certifications
- Certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) firm
- City of Chicago, Established Business Enterprise (EBE)
- Central Management Services – State of IL (CMS)
Alliances & Associations
- African American Contractors Association (ACCA)
- Black Contractors United (BCU)
- Builders Association (AGC Chapter of Il)
- Chicago Urban League
- Association of Subcontractors & Affiliates – Chicago
- Healthcare Engineers Society of Northern Illinois
- U.S. Green Building Council
Our Employees, JV Partners, Subcontractors, & Vendors
UJAMAA itself represents a diverse and representative mix of employees, subcontractors, and suppliers. A sampling of the partnerships we have been a part of includes diverse businesses like Brown & Momen, Live Wire, Turner Construction, Trice Construction, Safeway Construction, and much more. These partnerships have produced some of Chicago’s finest multi-family, industrial, retail, and other construction projects.
UJAMAA Construction is committed to equal and representative employment, as well as business and community opportunities for local residents, minority and women-owned businesses. UJAMAA maintains the highest standards in all efforts related to equal employment opportunity including substantial participation by Minority Business Enterprises, Women Business Enterprises, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (MBE/WBE/DBE, respectively). We will provide a reciprocal effort to mirror the community being served during the construction of our projects, continually bettering the communities in which we live and work.
Taking a proactive approach to providing opportunities for minorities and women is an essential element with any project and UJAMAA will establish and implement a results-oriented program to achieve our client’s specific goals.
Community
UJAMAA is rebuilding our community one block at a time. The commitment to the community goes far beyond the company’s construction work. UJAMAA supports foundations, charities, and educational initiatives with volunteer efforts, resources, and monetary donations.
Social Responsibility
Inner City Job Training
UJAMAA is proud to coordinate the youth-build program with Genesis Housing Development Corporation (GHDC), an organization that works with inner-city youths and introduces them to the construction environment. Teens work alongside UJAMAA construction crews to renovate residences for the Home Repairs for Accessible and Independent Living (HRAIL) program. Jimmy Akintonde, CEO of UJAMAA, also sits on the Board of Directors for GHDC.
Developing Future Engineers – IIT & Chicago Public Schools
UJAMAA continues to offer support to IIT and the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) pre-transportation and engineering programs. These one-day outings provide high school students with hands-on project engineering and project management experience at the corporate office and on various UJAMAA job sites. IIT and CPS launched this program in 2006 and UJAMAA has been a hosting company since its inception.
Vocational Training – ACE Tech
As a company-wide initiative, UJAMAA and our employees support ACE Tech, a vocational school founded in 2004 to introduce minority and low-income youth to architecture, construction, and engineering (ACE) careers.
Simeon Career Academy
Recently, UJAMAA partnered with Simeon Career Academy’s high school construction class and hosted two groups of students for a walk-through and onsite tour of the Motel Sleepers Incorporated (MSI) construction project being built by UJAMAA at 8538 S. Holland Rd. in Chicago’s West Chatham neighborhood. During the walk-through, the students were able to gain a first-hand perspective on the daily activities of a construction site and also learn about how they could explore career opportunities in the field.
Education & Training – Builders Association of Greater Chicago
Jimmy Akindonte currently serves as the Treasurer for the Builders Association of Greater Chicago’s newest educational program, the Builders Education & Training Foundation (BETF). The BETF implements programs, services, and partnering support for emerging contractors.
Disaster Relief Housing
After the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, UJAMAA mobilized volunteers and resources to support the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) Gulfport Housing program. These efforts included the construction of prototypical modular, environmentally friendly houses as a solution to the temporary housing shortfall.
Southside Neighborhood Gospel Festival
UJAMAA Construction continues to support the communities it works in through its recent participation in the Southside Neighborhood Gospel Festival. This annual event was held on July 19 at Ogden Park in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood and featured a variety of local gospel music performing acts, business exhibitors, and a Kid’s Zone area with games and activities.
Our People and Employees
Our internal employees are a mix of local and non-local talent across all aspects of our business. We hold community and local hiring as a top priority and reach our goals through training events, career fairs, community event sponsorships, and other local outreach programs.
Over our time in the industry, we have been able to cultivate a strong internal culture from the ground up, which produces more informed and fulfilling work as we enrich the very communities that we live in.
Strategic Partnerships
At UJAMAA Construction, we promote a culture of trust, learning, collaboration, and innovation. As such, we’ve built strategic partnerships with workforce development and pre-apprenticeship agencies throughout the nation. Through these partnerships, we have been successful in transforming and creating opportunities and job training for the underserved in our communities.
- Take a look at a handful of our partners, below:
- Revolution Workshop
- Saint Leonard's Ministries
- Opportunity Advancement Innovation (OAI)
- Inner-City Muslim Action Network
- Employment & Employer Services
- Build, Inc.
- SAFER Foundation
- Austin People’s Action Center
Learn More About UJAMAA & Our Team Today!
Through our hundreds of projects, we’ve connected with countless subcontractors, associations, government agencies, educational institutions, and much more. To learn more about the work we do on and off the construction site, contact our team today. We can’t wait to get started on your project!
