LA City Partnership for Construction Careers

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LA City Partnership for Construction Careers

• U.S. Department of Labor Webinar
• June 19, 2009

2
LA Partners

• Office of the Mayor
• Larry Frank
• Department of Public Works
• John Reamer
• Community Redevelopment Agency
• Alex Paxton
• LA City Workforce Investment Board
• Gregg Irish
• Community Development Department
• Robert Sainz

• California Construction Academy State
  Building Trades Council
• David Sickler
• LA/Orange County Building Trades Council
• Richard Slawson
• Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy
• Flor Barajas-Tena
• Los Angeles County Federation of Labor
• Myung-Soo Seok
• Community Benefits Law Center
• Julian Gross

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Background

• History of PLA targeted hire in LA
• Why construction?
• Huge federal investment
• Green jobs
• Family-supporting, upwardly-mobile
• Opportunity for people with barriers to
  employment
• Career-based strategies vs. job-based

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Why a PLA?

• On time, on budget, high quality
• Targeted hiring / access for underrepresented
  populations
• Prevailing Wage/Davis-Bacon
• Training career ladder
• Accountability

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Definitions

• Project Labor Agreement (PLA)
• Project Stabilization Agreement (PSA)
• Community Benefits Agreement (CBA)
• Targeted or Local Hiring

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Key elements of LAs program

• Targeted hiring
• PLA (Master PLA)
• Letters of assent
• Core workers
• Jobs coordinator and pipeline
• Monitoring and consequences

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Key considerations

• Interests and roles responsibilities of each
  stakeholder group
• Legal questions
• Monitoring/implementation
• Lessons learned
• Other models

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Interests and roles responsibilities of each
stakeholder group

• Public agencies
• Community
• Workforce Development System
• Labor
• Employers

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Interests and roles responsibilities of each
stakeholder group Public Agencies

• Interests
• Safe and quality construction delivered on time
  and on budget
• Rebuild middle class
• Diversity
• Improve tax base, encourage reinvestment in
  community
• Decrease reliance of residents on public
  assistance programs
• Grow local, trained workforce
• Roles Responsibilities
• Policies to support responsible contracting
• Transparent monitoring
• Outreach and education to employers

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Interests and roles responsibilities of each
stakeholder group Community

• Interests
• Open door to middle-class career path for
  residents of high-unemployment areas and people
  with barriers to employment
• Creates alternative pathway of education for
  those who only have a H.S. Diploma
• Reinvestment into low-income communities of color
• Diversity
• Roles Responsibilities
• Support related public policies educate
  electeds
• Recruit targeted workers
• Realistic depiction of construction work
• Realistic assessment of interest, ability

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Interests and roles responsibilities of each
stakeholder group Workforce Development System

• Interests
• Partner in high-road, sector-based strategies
• Access network of quality placements for clients
• Roles Responsibilities
• Realistic assessment of interest and ability of
  potential new entrants
• Realistic depiction of construction work
• Workforce readiness
• Understand apprenticeship standards, connect with
  unions
• Provide supportive services

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Interests and roles responsibilities of each
stakeholder group Labor

• Interests
• Succession planning
• By diversifying membership, create broader base
  of support
• Expand level playing field for bidding
• Ensure construction industry has a high-skilled
  labor pool
• Roles Responsibilities
• Educate membership and leadership re benefits to
  unions
• Create internal mentoring support programs for
  underrepresented populations
• Communicate requirements
• Support related policies educate electeds

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Interests and roles responsibilities of each
stakeholder group Employers

• Interests
• Access employee tax credits
• Source for local, trained workers
• High quality work
• Less liability, lower workers comp rates
• Labor peace
• More opportunity to hire trained apprentices at
  lower pay rates
• Minimizes risk and levels the playing field-
  everyone knows what the requirements are
• Roles Responsibilities
• Understand program, adapt business as usual
  practices
• Support related policies educate electeds

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• Fundamental shared interest
• Continuing public support for public investment
  in construction projects

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Legal Questions

• Proprietary interest vs. regulation
• Privileges Immunities
• Competitive bidding requirements limits on
  local hire
• Former federal restriction on required PLAs

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Monitoring Implementation

• Enhances credibility through project by project
  reporting for public review
• Establishes consistency through standardized
  contract language and reports that facilitate a
  uniform contracting process
• Provides ongoing opportunity to educate
  contractors on process
• Encourages communication through regular meetings
  with stakeholders to discuss program strengths,
  weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

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Lessons Learned

• Ongoing education of all stakeholders is
  necessary
• Job readiness vs. pre-apprenticeship
• Constant vigilance, attention to unique issues of
  each project
• Implementation takes resources
• PLA is the best path to success

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Other models

• See Partnership for Working Families website for
  info on other tools to achieve goals such as Best
  Value Contracting, Responsible Contractor
  Policies, Apprenticeship Utilization, etc.
• www.communitybenefits.org (under Construction
  Career Opportunities Project)

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More information

• www.bca.lacity.org (under Local Hiring PLA)
• www.crala.org (under Policies)
• www.laane.org
• www.labor.ucla.edu (Construction Careers Policy
  Report)
• www.sbctc.org
• http//www.communitybenefits.org/article.php?list
  typetype40

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LA Partners contact info

• Department of Public Works
• John Reamer
• john.reamer_at_lacity.org
• Community Redevelopment Agency
• Alex Paxton
• apaxton_at_cra.lacity.org
• LA City Workforce Investment Board
• Gregg Irish
• gregory.irish_at_lacity.org
• Community Development Department
• Robert Sainz
• robert.sainz_at_lacity.org
• Office of the Mayor
• Larry Frank

• California Construction Academy
  State Building Trades Council
• David Sickler
• ddavidsickler8_at_aol.com
• LA/Orange County Building Trades Council
• Richard Slawson
• laocbtc_at_earthlink.net
• Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy
• Flor Barajas-Tena
• fbtena_at_laane.org
• Los Angeles County Federation of Labor
• Myung-Soo Seok
• mseok_at_launionaflcio.org
• Community Benefits Law Center
• Julian Gross
• jgross_at_communitybenefits.org