Chicago’s procurement department will host women and minority-owned firms in its seventh annual conference intended to expand the list of companies qualified to do business with the city.
At McCormick Place South, vendors will be able to meet representatives from various city departments, agencies and other organizations to gain information about contracting with the city, said David Malone, chief procurement officer for the city.
During the first nine months of 2003, minority and women-owned businesses were awarded 48 percent of the city’s contract awards, according to the city. By ordinance, the city has an annual goal to award 25 percent of city contracts to minority-owned firms and 5 percent to women-owned companies. It has met or exceeded the goal since the program began in 1989.
Building New Partnerships 7 will kick off with a networking reception at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. The conference, at which Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Capital Management, is slated to speak, is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday.
Costly insurance leaves firms out
More than half of America’s small-business owners say they do not provide a company-paid health insurance plan for employees or themselves, and the rising cost is the main reason, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.
However, 12 percent of small-business owners responding to the survery said that they reimburse employees who purchase health insurance on their own.
According to the survey, less than 10 percent of small businesses provide a flexible spending account that seeks to provide employees with pretax dollars to pay medical bills.
The federation is backing legislation that would allow small companies to band together to obtain health coverage at a lower cost. It is being opposed, however, by the National Small Business Association, which argues that it would permit associations to “cherry pick” healthy groups of workers while leaving behind sicker groups.
The legislation passed in the House this year. No Senate hearings have been scheduled on the legislation.
SBA tells story in more languages
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The U.S. Small Business Administration, in an effort to reach a wider audience, has translated into six languages its introduction, which details the agency’s four program areas.
The introduction, which is available on the agency’s Web site, can be read in Spanish, Russian, French, Arabic, Chinese and Japanese, in addition to English.
Previously, the introduction was available only in Spanish and English.
The agency said that it intends soon to add translations into Serbo-Croatian and Vietnamese.