SAN FRANCISCO — Earlier
today, the Board of Directors of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority
(TJPA) approved an historic agreement with organized labor (*see list of
signatory unions below) designed to ensure labor peace and equal
opportunity for small, local, disadvantaged, union, and non-union
businesses throughout the construction of the $4 billion Transbay
Transit Center Project.
Construction
of the Project will create more than 125,000 jobs. The Project Labor
Agreement (PLA) is a pact that all construction and trade workers, both
union and non-union, must abide by while working on the Transbay site.
Under the pact, all workers agree to work by the same rules, on an equal
playing field. In return, workers are provided uniform benefits and
protections.
The
Transbay Transit Center Project will require workers from diverse
crafts, including plumbers, carpenters, operating engineers,
ironworkers, sheet metal workers, electricians, and laborers. These
workers are represented by 28 separate unions, each with its own
separate contract. Because of the Project Labor Agreement, all unions
are now bound to a single labor agreement, maximizing the economy of
operations.
The
nature of this construction project will require that multiple
contractors and multiple crafts work on the job site at the same time,
over an extended period of time, creating a substantial potential for
work disruption. The PLA ensures that construction of the Transbay
Transit Center will not be delayed due to strikes or other labor-related
issues.
“This
is a critical tool for us,” said Maria Ayerdi-Kaplan, TJPA Executive
Director. “Project Labor Agreements have been used successfully since
the New Deal to complete major public works projects. A PLA was
critical to the construction of BART, and more recently played an
important role in the renovations at the San Francisco International
Airport and in the seismic upgrades to the Hetch Hetchy water system.”
“The
Project Labor Agreement is a testament to the commitment and hard work
of both the Transbay team and organized labor,” said Supervisor and TJPA
Board Chairperson Jane Kim. “Fostering harmonious labor relations on
the job site is critical to the success of this transformative project.
I’m particularly happy to see the PLA promotes job opportunities for
young people and workers from disadvantaged communities.”
The
PLA provides a range of benefits to the Project: standardizing working
conditions and wages; minimizing uncertainty about the supply and cost
of labor during the project; preventing work stoppages; fostering
productive labor relations; reducing the likelihood of cost over-runs;
increasing the likelihood of on-time performance; increasing
productivity and job site safety; and many others.
The
agreement is especially notable for its commitment to small and
disadvantaged business enterprises. It ensures these businesses can
compete effectively with large-scale, national construction companies by
creating equal opportunity. The PLA also contains strong, enforceable
protections against discrimination, a top priority for the TJPA.
In
addition to these benefits, the TJPA is proud to announce a series of
provisions that seek to assist veterans and disabled veterans through
the “Helmets to Hardhats” non-profit organization and the “Wounded
Warrior” program, which connect National Guard, Reserve and
transitioning active-duty military members with career training and
employment opportunities in the construction industry (for more
information, visit http://www.helmetstohardhats.
"The
Veterans Affairs Commission of the City and County of San Francisco
extends its hearty congratulations to all parties to the Project Labor
Agreement for the massive construction project which will, under the
Transbay Joint Powers Authority bring a modern Transit Hub to reality,"
said Raymond Wong, President of the Veterans Affairs Commission of San
Francisco. "We are particularly gratified that all parties to the
agreement have seen fit to insure that under the Community Outreach
terms of the agreement, concrete efforts are made to insure that area
veterans are afforded specially identified employment opportunities
under the Helmets to Hardhats program..." said Wong.
Additional unique and innovative aspects of the agreement include sections that will:
· Assist
local youth to pursue careers in the trades, by a commitment to engage
in outreach efforts with high school students to promote involvement in
pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs; and
· Assist
women and economically disadvantaged individuals to pursue careers in
the trades, with a commitment to recruit applicants for apprenticeship
programs from appropriate community-based programs.
The
Transbay Transit Center is a visionary, $4 billion transportation and
housing project that will transform downtown San Francisco and the Bay
Area’s regional transportation system by creating a “Grand Central
Station of the West” in the heart of a new, transit-friendly
neighborhood surrounding the Transit Center. Phase 1 of the project
(the Transit Center) is set to be completed by 2017 and will serve up to
45 million people annually.
The Transbay Transit Center project is managed by TJPA staff and is overseen by its six-member Board of Directors.
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