The Metro board of Directors unanimously approved a historic Project Labor Agreement (PLA) and Construction Careers Policy on Thursday, January 26, that will significantly increase the number of workers from disadvantaged areas to be hired on the agency’s multi-billion-dollar transit projects. The agreement, sponsored by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and supported by a broad coalition of labor organizations, community activists and other elected officials, turns the transit agency into one of the most powerful job-creation and anti-poverty engines in the country.
Under the provisions of the labor agreement, 40% of workers hired must come from low-income neighborhoods, and 10% must be disadvantaged — meaning they meet at least two of nine criteria, including homelessness, chronic unemployment, and are veterans.
“This is a matter of justice,” said the Supervisor to cheers during a rally after the vote. “As a result of this groundbreaking victory, Los Angeles is now a model for the rest of the nation. We have demonstrated that job creation — and not the creation of just any jobs, but highly skilled union jobs that lead to a middle class standard of living for workers — can and should be a standard component in transportation infrastructure projects.” The Crenshaw-to-LAX Light Rail Line, expected to break ground this winter, will be one of the first projects under this new policy.
