Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Building trades press for community workforce agreements and apprenticeships in wildfire rebuild
Summary
Building trades leaders and union representatives urged state and local officials to attach community workforce agreements and apprenticeship requirements to disaster funding and rebuild contracts, saying the region has trained local workers able to execute the work if hiring standards and compliance are enforced.
Union leaders, contractors and workforce agencies told a joint Senate-Assembly hearing that Los Angeles has a trained local workforce ready to take on cleanup and rebuilding — but only if recovery contracts include enforceable local-hire rules, apprenticeship requirements and compliance mechanisms.
"If there's any type of public subsidy, may it be time or money to fast track these projects, make sure there's a community workforce agreement attached to it," Eddie Escoto Alvarez, a representative of the LA County Building Trades and Construction Council, told the committee. Alvarez and other building-trades witnesses said a state- or locally-mandated community workforce agreement (CWA) would secure local hiring, apprenticeship slots and safety standards.
Why it matters: Panelists said the…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
