Residents, building trades push for local-hire language and transport for green-job training in Imperial County

Multiple public speakers on July 8 urged the Imperial County Board of Supervisors to prioritize local job pathways and transportation for workforce training tied to emerging green and lithium-related projects.

William Cooper, executive director of Becoming Project, said his organization was named a recipient of a state Jobs First initiative award to build an indoor, solar-powered closed-loop farm called Forever Green Farms and requested county assistance to provide transportation so trainees and retrained farmworkers could attend classes and certification programs. Cooper said he had attempted to get on the board agenda and had not received a formal response.

Hector Mesa, business agent and delegate for Imperial Valley building trades and an IBEW-affiliated representative, told the board that the county must adopt stronger language to ensure local residents benefit from construction work tied to lithium projects. "The county is still missing stronger language to make sure that the local residents benefit from the upcoming construction of these projects," Mesa said.

Fabiola Moreno, representing IBEW Local 569, cited the Lithium Valley specific-plan grant the county received and said the grant includes $6,500,000 for infrastructure development. She and Mesa both urged use of project labor agreements and state-registered apprenticeship programs so local residents can access skilled, high-road jobs.

Board members did not take a formal vote on transportation requests or on project-labor language during the meeting. Staff and labor representatives have discussed workforce provisions and local-hire language in other planning venues, but speakers at the July 8 meeting urged the board to accelerate local-hire guarantees and to make training access clear for residents without college pathways.