Pomona Unified board approves workforce agreement to reserve apprenticeship seats and prioritize local hires

The Pomona Unified School District Board of Education on June 24 approved a Community Workforce Agreement (CWA) designed to link district construction projects to local apprenticeships and priority hiring for Pomona residents and PUSD graduates.

District negotiators and representatives from the Los Angeles and Orange County building trades told the board the agreement will create reserved apprenticeship seats for qualified Pomona Unified students and graduates, and give local residents priority on project hiring. "Qualified Pomona Unified students, graduates, and city of Pomona residents will have apprenticeship seats reserved for them," said Ronald Lawrence, a lead presenter for the building trades coalition.

Proponents said the CWA will expand local training opportunities and help graduates find family-sustaining work close to home. Eddie Alvarez of the LA and Orange County building trades said the pact will generate opportunities for apprentices and reduce long commutes for local workers.

Contractors and a representative of the Western Electrical Contractors Association warned that some non-union apprentices could be excluded from projects and that bid costs could change under a CWA-style arrangement. "This isn't about pay. These are all prevailing-wage jobs," said a contractor representative during public comment, and he cautioned the board about potential cost and bid impacts.

Board members pressed staff on implementation details, including how the local-hire mechanism would be administered and how students would be connected to training. Staff explained contractors would be required to make a good-faith effort to fill calls with Pomona residents and PUSD graduates via hall lists and local zip-code prioritization; an implementation date of October 1 was discussed.

Superintendent Darren Nolles said the district would work with trade partners and nonprofit intermediaries to build pre-apprenticeship and recruitment pipelines. "Partnerships with MC3 and pre-apprenticeship programs will be essential to make sure students can access seats," a district staffer said.

The board approved the agreement on a 5-0 vote. The resolution includes safety, background check and dispute-resolution provisions the district said are intended to protect students and project continuity.

The agreement will take effect per the timeline in the contract and staff said they would return with implementation details on outreach, apprenticeship seat allocations and reporting milestones.