Supervisors approve deal with trade, union organizations

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion authored by Supervisor Kathryn Barger and co-authored by Supervisor Janice Hahn that will result in the county executing a first-of-its-kind agreement with trade and union entities that will bring thousands of trade and skilled labor jobs to Los Angeles County, according to a statement released by Barger’s office.

“This motion will build up the future of the county’s workforce so we can offer good-paying and stable careers for the next generation of skilled labor and trade workers,” Barger said in the release. “We’ve been working on negotiations for six years to get all the components of this labor agreement right because cultivating a strong local economy means we need to offer diverse and attainable career paths, especially for individuals who choose to not attend college, those seeking a fair chance after past mistakes, foster youth, individuals experiencing homelessness, and veterans. This is an important win we can all be proud of today.”

“This countywide project labor agreement is going to open doors for so many people who have been locked out of these good-paying construction careers for too long,” Supervisor Janice Hahn said. “The apprenticeships, job training and opportunities included in this policy are pathways to life-changing jobs for our residents and make it the most important workforce development policy our county has done in decades.”

Chris Hannan, executive secretary of the Los Angeles and Orange Counties Building Trades Council, addressed the Board in person to share his thanks.

“On behalf of the 140,000 members of the Los Angeles and Orange Counties Building Trades Council, I would like to thank the Board of Supervisors for their leadership today and for the many years leading up to this motion,” Hannan said. “This is going to create thousands of opportunities for county residents in the years to come.”

The Countywide Community Workforce Agreement will be effective for five years and will apply to L.A. County projects that have a minimum construction contract value of $5 million.

Local unions will be required to provide project contractors who enter into a business agreement with Los Angeles County with sufficient qualified local and targeted workers to meet the new labor requirements established by the agreement, the statement from Barger’s office said.