Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the First Source Local Hire topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Supervisors press event authority and city offices on First Source and small‑business compliance
Summary
OEWD and contract monitoring told the committee they lacked timely notification and procurement plans needed to verify First Source local‑hire and local business enterprise goals; the event authority presented local participation figures while city divisions said they have not received procurement plan documents or sufficient data.
Supervisors used the March 13 budget subcommittee hearing to press for clearer, earlier notification to the city's workforce and procurement offices so the First Source and local business inclusion commitments in the America's Cup workforce plan can be verified.
Pat Mulligan of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) reviewed First Source requirements embedded in the workforce plan: a 50% goal for new entry‑level hires and a 20% construction local‑hire target with apprenticeship and disadvantaged‑worker subgoals. Mulligan said the OEWD did not receive required notifications for employment opportunities tied to staging and temporary event work and therefore could not track hires under First Source protocols.
"We did not receive any notification for employment opportunities that may have arisen during the staging component of this event," Mulligan said. He added OEWD reserves the right to apply liquidated damages for violations but historically the office has focused on using CityBuild and program leverage to secure hires rather than penalizing employers.
The city's contract monitoring division told supervisors it had not received the event authority's procurement plan (the workforce plan called for a procurement plan by May 31, 2012) and had not seen the required bid advertisements or pre‑bid notices that would let local businesses participate. Solome/Salame Chikunu said the city therefore had no independent data to verify a 30% local business enterprise participation goal.
Steve Barclay, speaking for the event authority, disputed claims that local participation was lacking. He said internal counts showed about 80% of new entry‑level hires were local, 41% of vendors were local, and 51% of vendor staff were local. Barclay said the authority funds a liaison (via the San Francisco Chamber) who compiles procurement linkages and Business Connect registrations and that the authority had begun sharing data.
Supervisors and union speakers urged stronger enforcement mechanisms and transparency. Several labor and community witnesses at the hearing described instances where temporary construction workers received wages below prevailing rates and urged the city to require more timely, auditable reporting from the authority and its contractors.
The subcommittee requested that OEWD, contract monitoring and the event authority produce procurement and hiring data so the city can independently verify compliance before additional staging and construction work begins.
