6 months ago
1,300 acres, 33,000 jobs, new opportunities
The lower Schuylkill property is 1,300 acres a sprawling maze of oil drums and industrial infrastructure that occupies 2% of the city. It’s in a strategic location between Center City, University City, Philadelphia International Airport, and the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Hilco’s plan for a modern logistics center is estimated to create 13,000 construction jobs, and nearly 20,000 permanent jobs when completed.
Workers at the refinery historically came up through a union system with a long history of exclusionary politics and racial segregation. In the 1960s, the NAACP led demonstrations against racist hiring practices. President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 signed Executive Order 11246 in an effort to end such hiring practices in the construction fields. It was widely recognized as the “Philadelphia Plan,” connoting the city’s national reputation of union racism. In 2009 two Philadelphia unions reported a 40% minority