San Mateo, San Francisco Strike Deal on Local Hire

From the SF Appeal,

"Reciprocity Agreement" Reached Despite Hill's "Acrimonious" Bill

Turns out that San Francisco's local hire laws - billed as the toughest in the nation, which mandate city residents be hired on construction projects receiving city funds, and which triggered a reactionary anti-local hire law from a San Mateo Assemblyman -- aren't just for San Franciscans.

The local hire laws also apply to residents of San Mateo County, where San Francisco International Airport and bits of the Hetch-Hetchy Aqueduct are located, according to Supervisor John Avalos, who authored the legislation.

That local hire guarantees jobs for San Mateo County residents as well as San Franciscans is old news for Avalos -- but it was a harder sell to Peninsula politicians, who needed a signed-and-delivered "reciprocity agreement" which codifies the arrangement.

This agreement, negotiated by the City Attorney and San Mateo County counsel, could be signed as early as today, according to sources familiar with the arrangement, and will be unveiled by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and San Mateo politicians in the next few days.

More atthe SF Appeal

Mayor Lee Announces Implementation Plan for Local Hire Policy

The local hire ordinance has been a significant issue to workers, represented in demonstrations and negotions by Aboriginal Blacks United (ABU), who feel shut out of the Dogpatch construction of the new UCSF hospital at 16th and 3rd Sts. While UCSF has said it would do its best to hire locally, it is not required to under the local-hire law because it is a state project. Today's announcement by Mayor Lee that he is seeking to impose the local-hire ordinance on federally-funded transportation projects could potentially extend to the UCSF hospital project.

From the SF Sentinel,

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced San Francisco’s Local Hire implementation plan, a roadmap that will guide City departments, contractors and the broader community to ensure that the City’s local hiring ordinance is achievable, flexible and will succeed in boosting San Francisco’s economy and provide jobs for San Francisco residents.

Read more at SF Sentinel

The Bay Citizen reports,

Two weeks before a new law takes effect requiring San Francisco construction contractors to hire local workers, city officials will ask the federal government to allow it to impose local-hiring rules on federally funded transportation projects.

Read more at the Bay Citizen

San Mateo Co. supes urge Newsom to veto ordinance - KGO

David Louie at KGO writes,

SAN MATEO, Calif. (KGO) -- On a 4-0 vote, San Mateo County Supervisors today passed a resolution urging San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to veto an ordinance that calls for a 50 percent local hiring goal for all city-financed construction jobs within a 70-mile radius of San Francisco. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors' intent is to help provide jobs to building and construction trades people who live in San Francisco.

However, San Mateo labor leaders and the four San Mateo County Supervisors (the Board is currently missing one member with the election of former Board President Richard Gordon to the state assembly) argue that San Francisco's ordinance takes away job opportunities for its local residents. They point out the current jobless rate is close to 30 percent for construction and trades jobs.

Read more at KGO

But, as Sarah Phelan at the SF Bay Guardian asks,

Does Mayor Newsom represent SF workers or San Mateo politicians?