Santa Ana Community Workforce Agreement

The agreement exists with the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council, which represents about 140,000 workers in dozens of unions. Companies hired by Santa Ana for urban construction and public works projects must use unionized workers to work after the city council unanimously approved a far-reaching agreement with the unions. No one spoke out against the deal at Tuesday`s council meeting, though there was some disagreement over the extent to which it will increase the city`s construction cost. In the last fiscal year, the City had contracts worth at least $27 million that would meet the agreement threshold. He called the deal “historic” and said Santa Ana was the first city in Orange County to have such a contract, known as a project employment contract or community employment contract. “What this agreement provides for you is local hiring, mainly for the residents of Santa Ana. It provides for the hiring of veterans and the preferences of veterans,” Medrano said. Dozens of union members and leaders came to the meeting to support the agreement and applauded when the board approved it. The unions also agreed that apprentices would represent up to 30% of the workforce in the projects. In addition, employees said they would have to hire a contract manager to oversee the deal, at a cost of $134,000 per year, which employees said would “increase the budget deficit.” The city council also agreed. The comprehensive agreement will go into effect once city and union officials sign it, and the contract administrator position was immediately included in the city`s budget on Tuesday. Each of the seven council members took turns praising the benefits of the agreement and thanking the unions for their patience in the development of the city.

Instead, disputes are settled through a private law process called binding arbitration, in which the final resolution is decided by one of the five arbitrators listed in the agreement. Union members celebrate August 15, 2017, when the Santa Ana City Council unanimously approved the project`s employment contract. “Even if there were additional costs, I think it would be offset by the benefits it brings to our community, with jobs, with jobs, with people spending money in our city and keeping the dollars locally. and make people work,” he said. The agreement requires contractors to hire workers for urban projects through a union referral system known as the Union Hiring Room. Contractors have the option to reject applicants and can find employees elsewhere if unions do not meet the contractor`s standards. The agreement applies to municipal construction contracts valued at $250,000 or more, as well as construction-related contracts valued at $100,000 or more that involve a single trade or trade. “All of this is done for the same total labor costs set by the current [state] wage in effect for public works, so there is no additional cost to the public,” Daly said of the deal. Sarmiento said the benefits outweigh the potential cost increases. But, he added, these numbers are not “absolute” and employees plan to review each future contract to see if there are any additional costs.

However, a union leader and a state legislature said the cost would be the same. Nick Gerda reports on the county government and Santa Ana for Voice of OC. You can contact him at [email protected]. And one city councillor, Vicente Sarmiento, suggested that the increase in costs could be zero. “It was a team effort,” said Mayor Miguel Pulido. “I think it was done very well. I hope it can be used by other cities, it`s something they want to emulate. Because I think it`s well thought out. Deputy City Manager Robert Cortez responded that staff research found that there were “a number of different areas” to increase costs, from zero to 20 percent, and felt it was important to disclose this in their report. “We think it`s a very good thing if one of our interns.

become a person traveling and earn over $60,000 a year and not need a university degree because that`s the other four-year university degree. About one-tenth of that amount, or $270,000 to $540,000 a year, would impact the city`s overall fund, which faces a persistent multi-million dollar deficit, according to employees. The move was welcomed by all seven council members, as well as union leaders and workers, who said it would provide apprenticeship training and well-paying jobs for city dwellers. Rep. Tom Daly (D-Anaheim) repeated this point in a letter read at the meeting by one of his employees. “This provides opportunities for young people here in Santa Ana who choose not to go to university, but to work with their brains and hands and participate in our education programs,” he added. Sarmiento pointed to the estimated increase of 10 to 20 percent, telling city staff that these results “could vary from zero to, you know, no matter how many. You know, you could distort things in a certain way. “All of this comes for the same labor costs that you`ve already paid — that`s the current wage set by the state of California,” said Ernie Medrano, who represents Orange County unions on the Building Trades Council. It also sets a target for 30 percent of the working time to be done by workers living in Santa Ana or by military veterans who live somewhere.

“What I don`t want is that it`s misleading that we increase costs,” he added. In return, unions have agreed not to promote or participate in activities that disrupt projects, such as strikes, work stoppages, slowdowns or pickets. “Going forward, I feel much better that our residents are doing some of this work,” said Councillor Jose Solorio. In addition to shortening travel times, he said, “it will keep more money in the local economy.” City officials have estimated that the city`s total construction costs will increase by 10 to 20 percent, or $2.7 million to $5.4 million per year. .