The Delaware Valley Alliance

Economic Justice for All:
Empowering Lives, Strengthening Communities

The people building regional infrastructure should share its economic rewards. The Delaware Valley Alliance, led by OIC of America, is a coalition of clergy, business leaders, elected officials, and community partners fighting to make that a reality across Pennsylvania.

What is the Delaware Valley Alliance?

The Delaware Valley Alliance (DVA) is a regional public-private collaboration dedicated to ensuring equity, transparency, and accountability in publicly funded infrastructure projects. As an outgrowth of the Sullivan Training Network—powered by OIC of America—the DVA brings together industry leaders, government officials, and community partners to tackle a stubborn regional problem: the 27% poverty rate facing Black and brown communities across the Delaware Valley.

Our mission is simple but urgent: align regional infrastructure investment with community-based talent, so that the people building Pennsylvania’s roads, bridges, and buildings can also build lasting economic futures for themselves and their families.

The Problem We're Solving

In Pennsylvania, the people who pay the most into the transportation system too often see the least benefit. The state funds most of its infrastructure work through a regressive gas tax that takes the biggest bite out of the lowest-income households—yet for years; the construction workforce doing that work has looked like nothing like the communities paying for it.

The data tells a stark story. Across heavy equipment operators, skilled laborers, foremen, and supervisors, Black and Latino workers have been dramatically underrepresented on federally funded Pennsylvania highway projects. In some of the highest-paying categories, Black representation has been stuck in the low single digits for years.

This isn’t just a workforce problem. It’s an economic justice problem—and it’s one we can solve.

Three Things We're Fighting For

To fix a system, you have to name what it needs. The Delaware Valley Alliance is organized around three clear demands of state government:

Transparency

Pennsylvanians deserve to know who’s working on the projects their tax dollars fund. Every state agency should make workforce composition data publicly available—along with clear information about how to access the certifications and training needed to qualify for state jobs. Other states, like Minnesota, have already published this data on public dashboards. Pennsylvania should too.

Accountability

Public agencies funded by taxpayer dollars must be accountable for their hiring practices and workforce representation. That means regular reporting to communities—through public meetings, hearings, and published data—about who’s being hired, who’s being trained, and who’s being promoted. When government agencies reflect the communities they serve, public trust follows.

inVestment

Transparency and accountability are the floor, not the ceiling. Pennsylvania also needs to invest in training new workers—especially in the Black and brown communities hit hardest by the region’s 27% poverty rate. Building equity in the construction trades is how we turn infrastructure spending into economic mobility, and how we turn economic mobility into political power.

Our Fight for Transparency

Getting answers shouldn’t be this hard. When OIC of America set out to understand PennDOT’s workforce composition, we expected a state agency funded by public dollars to share public data. What we got instead was a two-month runaround.

• October 10, 2024 — We filed a Right-to-Know request with PennDOT for budget, project, and workforce data.

• October 17 & 22 — PennDOT requested 30-day extensions on our requests.

• November 19 — We filed a new request for federal EEO reporting data (FHWA Form 1392).

• December 5 — PennDOT responded: no records available.

• December 20 — The Federal Highway Administration released the data to us directly—in full.

The data we needed to evaluate PennDOT’s workforce composition didn’t come from PennDOT. It came from the federal government after months of persistence. That’s not transparency. That’s exactly the problem we’re fighting to fix.

Our Training Partners

The DVA’s work on the ground is powered by a coalition of local training organizations—each rooted in the communities they serve, each bringing decades of experience in workforce development and adult education.

Together, these partners form the backbone of the DVA’s training pipeline—preparing Pennsylvanians for living-wage construction careers tailored to their local economies.

Want the Full Story?

The Delaware Valley Alliance briefing booklet lays out the full case: the data behind the disparities, our fight for transparency, the 10,000 Jobs Campaign, and the specific questions we’re asking PennDOT and other state agencies to answer.

Join the Alliance

The Delaware Valley Alliance is powered by people who refuse to accept that poverty and exclusion are permanent. Whatever your role, there’s a place for you in this work:

Clergy & faith leaders—help us organize your congregations and communities.

Business leaders & employers—partner with us to build the workforce you need.

Elected officials & civic leaders—stand with us for transparency, accountability, and investment.

Community members—raise your voice, share your story, and help us advocate for economic justice.

The People Who Build Pennsylvania
Should Share in Pennsylvania's Future

That’s the simple principle behind the Delaware Valley Alliance. Ready to build? Join us.

Ready For talent solutions?

Let’s talk about the workforce you need and how OIC of America can help you build it.

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Fuel the Future of Skilled Trades

Your contribution supports training and mentorship programs that prepare individuals for construction careers, strengthening America’s workforce pipelines.

Whether you’re an employer, a prospective student, or a future supporter—we’d love to hear from you.