Council asserts jurisdiction and rejects Harbor Commission contract over labor probe

The Los Angeles City Council on a special action asserted jurisdiction over and rejected a one-year custodial contract that the Board of Harbor Commissioners had awarded to Metro Building Maintenance, after council members were told the firm was under investigation by the California Labor Commission for alleged overtime-law violations.

Councilmember Glanter told colleagues the Board of Harbor Commissioners had asked the council to reverse the contract after receiving new information. "This should be viewed as a friendly Prop. 5. The Board of Harbor Commissioners has basically said, on the basis of new information, we think we made a decision that is not a good decision," Glanter said, urging the council to assert jurisdiction and reject the award.

Port staff told the council they received notice late Friday that Metro Building Maintenance was under investigation and said if no action were taken the contract would be final that day. The port asked the council either to assert jurisdiction (which would place the contract in limbo) or to reject the recommendation outright so the board could proceed to select a different vendor. Port representatives and councilmembers said the board planned to re-evaluate the procurement at its March 15 meeting.

The council voted to assert jurisdiction and to reject the Harbor Commission’s recommendation, with the roll call recorded as 11 ayes. Councilmembers said port staff would maintain temporary operations until a replacement arrangement could be selected.