Several construction and labor representatives used public comment at the Nov. 5 Albuquerque Public Schools board meeting to ask the board to adopt a Community and Student Workforce Agreement (CSWA) for large district construction projects.

Rosendo Najar, who identified himself as president of Carpenter Local 1319, described CSWA as a mechanism to ensure that projects above a $5,000,000 threshold include project labor agreements, state-certified apprenticeships, and local workforce development benefits. "The purpose of the community and student workforce agreement is to ensure that the community and the students actually benefit from the investments being made into the communities via their tax dollars," Najar said.

Other speakers including Omar Talamantes, David Ortiz (chair of the Carpenters local political action committee) and Lawrence Goyce said the agreement would create clear employment pathways for students, support career-technical education and preserve pension and benefit standards for construction workers. Speakers repeatedly told the board that project labor agreements do not exclude nonunion contractors and, they argued, would not raise project costs while increasing local apprenticeship opportunities.

No formal board action or ordinance on CSWA was taken at the meeting; the comments were part of the public forum.

Speakers asked the board to consult existing local models (the City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County), continue community outreach and consider memorializing support for workforce provisions in district contracting policies.