Project Background

Construction Careers and Green Jobs

Bringing Good, Green Jobs to Our Communities

As one of the most important sources of employment, the construction industry is central to the creation of a new economy. LAANE undertook the Construction Careers and Green Jobs Project to ensure that all construction jobs in our region are good jobs, that local residents have the opportunity to enter a skilled profession and that the construction industry rebuilds the nation’s infrastructure in a way that decreases the impact on the environment.

The centerpiece of this project is the Construction Careers Policy, which has two components: a Project Labor Agreement and a local hire requirement. Project Labor Agreements are partnerships between industry—most often developers—and the building trade unions. These agreements guarantee certain standards for workers on the job, such as access to quality health care and middle-class wages. Developers gain a highly trained workforce trained via apprenticeship programs, which means that projects are completed in a safe, timely manner by skilled workers.

The local hire element of the Construction Careers Policy ensures that 30 percent of the total workforce comes from the community most directly affected by the development. Ten percent of that workforce is comprised of disadvantaged workers—individuals who face high barriers to employment, including extreme poverty, lack of a high school diploma or a criminal conviction. Because of the local hire requirement, communities which have never before had access to construction careers are now able to enter union apprenticeship programs which provide lifelong skills.

In 2008, LAANE and its allies achieved the adoption of the Construction Careers and Green Jobs Policy at the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA/LA). The policy is the first program that ties a Project Labor Agreement and local hire requirements to privately developed projects which receive funding from local government. Its first-in-the-nation status highlights Los Angeles as a leader in the effort to strengthen America’s middle class. LAANE also advocated for the passage of Healthy Neighborhoods Policies throughout the city, which require that infrastructure and buildings be constructed using the newest green building standards.

In 2011, LAANE so far has successfully passed a Construction Careers Policy at the Port of Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Board of Public Works, and on the Exposition light rail project in West Los Angeles moving forward. The campaign to win a Construction Careers Policy at Metro is currently underway, with a recent Metro Board vote in September 2011 allowing negotiations with the Building Trades to move forward.

Los Angeles may be the first city to enact a Construction Careers Policy, but it will certainly not be the last: organizations in San Diego, Milwaukee and Atlanta are working to implement similar programs. Much as LAANE’s pioneering work in crafting one of the first living wage ordinances began a wave of similar legislation across the country, so too will the Construction Careers Policy in Los Angeles serve as a national model for rebuilding our middle class, greening our neighborhoods and ensuring that the most disadvantaged people have an opportunity to achieve the American Dream.