WORKERS, CLERGY AND COMMUNITY CELEBRATE PASSAGE OF HISTORIC CRA CONSTRUCTION POLICY

In April, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to approve a landmark policy that ensures that low income workers and their communities benefit from the construction jobs created by city redevelopment projects. The Construction Careers and Project Stabilization Policy received initial approval from the board of the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) in February. Crafted by the agency in collaboration with LAANE and the L.A. County Federation of Labor, the policy will require most CRA-funded projects to hire local and low-income residents from the communities in which the project is being built. The policy also ensures that major new CRA developments will be covered by project labor agreements, which guarantee that the jobs are quality union jobs. Over the next five years, it is expected to result in over 5,000 new middle class jobs for Los Angeles residents and increase the number of African Americans working in the construction industry.