July 25, 2020,
In times where the American public needs to preserve and increase her workers and their family’s ability to make a living, a substantial and often historic public works program is necessary and vital.
It is a great deal for the government and organizations involved.
We can look to history for a much appreciated example.
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939.
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It responded to needs for relief, reform, and recovery from the Great Depression.
Major federal programs and agencies included the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Farm Security Administration (FSA), the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) and the Social Security Administration (SSA).
They provided support for farmers, the unemployed, youth and the elderly.
The New Deal included new constraints and safeguards on the banking industry and efforts to re-inflate the economy after prices had fallen sharply. New Deal programs included both laws passed by Congress as well as presidential executive orders during the first term of the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The programs focused on what historians refer to as the "3 Rs": relief for the unemployed and poor, recovery of the economy back to normal levels, and reform of the financial system to prevent a repeat depression.
“Ours was not always a nation of homeowners; the New Deal fashioned it so, particularly through the G.I. Bill of Rights.”…Matthew Desmond
From 1929 to 1933 manufacturing output decreased by one third, which economist Milton Friedman called the Great Contraction.
Prices fell by 20%, causing deflation that made repaying debts much harder. Unemployment in the United States increased from 4% to 25%. Additionally, one-third of all employed persons were downgraded to working part-time on much smaller paychecks.
In the aggregate, almost 50% of the nation's human work-power was going unused.
That was over 80 years ago but during these pandemic times, does it sound eerily familiar?
On July 17, 2020, the team at npr.org posted, “Millions of American workers have been receiving $600 from the federal government each week during the pandemic in the form of unemployment assistance. But that's set to expire by the end of the month, leaving many in a high state of anxiety.”
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They add that Americans are facing income losses of up to 70% without federal pandemic unemployment assistance.
On July 23, 2020, the financial team at yahoo.com reported, “The weekly jobless claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday, the most timely data on the economy's health, also showed nearly 32 million people were collecting unemployment checks in early July. Cases of the respiratory illness have exploded across the country, prompting some authorities in the hard hit South and West regions to either shut down businesses again or pause reopening.”
Dire news indeed.
As with other major American cities, San Francisco’s economy has been greatly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic as well.
On July 7, 2020, as shared by courthousenews.com, “Aiming to recharge a faltering tourism economy hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, San Francisco city officials on Tuesday unanimously approved a set of aggressive new cleaning standards for hotels and large office buildings.”
This too.
The San Mercy News cited, “United Airlines has issued a formal notice to state officials that the reeling air carrier intends to chop more than 6,000 jobs at San Francisco International Airport through temporary furloughs, dealing a fresh blow to a Bay Area region attempting to battle the economic effects of the coronavirus.”
So what are some possible solutions to revive and sustain the San Francisco Bay Area economy?
Often innovative, the San Francisco leadership is proposing a bold new deal that will help boost the local economy.
Please read on.
Mayor London Breed and City Administrator Naomi Kelly Announce Finalized Citywide Project Labor Agreement to Support Working People and Small Businesses on Public Construction Projects
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Friday, July 24, 2020
Project labor agreement promotes efficiency in public construction projects, supports small businesses, and expands opportunities for graduates of the City’s job training programs
San Francisco, CA — Mayor London N. Breed and City Administrator Naomi M. Kelly today announced San Francisco has finalized a citywide Project Labor Agreement for public construction projects, which supports working people and small businesses.
The 20-year agreement was negotiated and executed on behalf of San Francisco by the City Administrator following legislation that Mayor Breed advanced and signed in January 2019, which created a structure for this negotiated Project Labor Agreement. The legislative framework was the result of input from Mayor Breed, the Board of Supervisors, City Departments, labor leaders, community stakeholders, and small and local business owners.
“I am committed to making sure that working people can continue to live in San Francisco and I am proud that we finalized this Project Labor Agreement, which is good for workers, the City, and provides opportunities for our local small businesses,” said Mayor Breed. “San Francisco has a long economic recovery ahead of us, and using our public construction projects is a key way that we can provide good-paying jobs and economic opportunity.”
“We look forward to the continued work to deliver the many public works projects under the finalized Project Labor Agreement,” said City Administrator Naomi M. Kelly. “Thank you to the San Francisco Building Construction Trades Council for their valued participation throughout the process to ensure stability and continuity of public work and improvement projects.”
“This Agreement is very important in that it will protect all workers to make sure that they receive the pay, benefits and working conditions that they deserve when working on publicly funded projects,” said Larry Mazzola, Jr., President of the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council and Business Manager of Plumbers and Pipefitters Union Local 38. “It also levels the playing field for contractors bidding on this work, ensuring that the bidding process will be fair and equitable. I want to thank Mayor London Breed who believed in this PLA and agreed that workers deserved these protections when working on City construction jobs. The Agreement wouldn’t have happened without her.”
“This is a historic accomplishment for all of San Francisco and San Francisco workers,” said Tim Paulson, Secretary Treasurer of the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council. “This agreement, where all the City family participated, ensures good jobs and apprenticeships to all the workers who will build San Francisco's public infrastructure for the next generation.”
“Part of what has been critical to the Project Labor Agreement discussion is the fundamental notion of fairness in hiring,” said Supervisor Peskin. “Whether it’s criteria for how our public bond dollars are spent or ensuring a fair bidding process, this is going to reduce the opportunities for corruption in contracting and restore faith in our local government for both workers and the general public.”
“This historic Project Labor Agreement is the culmination of multi-year negotiations and could not have been accomplished without the collaborative spirit of all stakeholders whose focus was working families, and I am proud to have played a role in this. The Agreement not only uplifts existing workers but future generations who will join the workforce by providing a pathway for direct entry with unions,” said Supervisor Ahsha Safaí. “This news is much-needed and welcomed news for San Francisco’s working families, the backbone of San Francisco, as many are currently being pummeled by a spiraling economy in the midst of an ongoing pandemic. This is a win for all.”
“The local small business construction community is pleased that their concerns were heard during the process of writing this groundbreaking Project Labor Agreement,” said Miguel Galarza, President, Yerba Buena Engineering & Construction, Inc. “The strong small business protections, coupled with the robust workforce and CityBuild components ensure that accountability is in place to guarantee, no one from the City’s impoverished communities are left behind that desire a career in the building trades.”
The agreement between the City, San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council, its member unions, and construction contractors that perform work on certain public projects seeks to avoid delays and control costs by establishing clear and consistent obligations for those performing work. Additionally, this agreement helps establish and stabilize wages, hours and working conditions for the workers employed on these projects.
This agreement and these standards will be applied to a number of public construction projects which meet certain monetary thresholds. For work funded by bonds, the threshold triggering applicability of the project labor agreement begins at $5 million and lowers to $1 million over a three-year time period. For all other work the threshold is set at $10 million.
Additionally, this agreement also memorializes policies to ensure that local small businesses have the opportunity to participate in the economic opportunity these public construction projects create. Specifically, Local Business Enterprises are allowed to accumulate $5 million worth of work before being subject to the terms of the Project Labor Agreement, allowing time for smaller Local Business Enterprises to grow.
Public construction projects are also critical to job creation for San Francisco residents. The Project Labor Agreement incorporates support for pre-apprenticeship programs including San Francisco’s CityBuild Program, which provides pre-apprenticeship and construction training. The Project Labor Agreement requires unions to ensure graduates of CityBuild have a pathway for direct entry into union apprenticeship programs.
Previously, there was not a requirement for the City to use a Project Labor Agreement on its public work and improvement projects. As a result of the legislation passed by the Board of Supervisors on January 15, 2019, and signed by Mayor Breed, the City Administrator negotiated and executed the Project Labor Agreement on behalf of the City.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Deal
https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/new-deal-quotes
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-weekly-jobless-claims-rise-124152649.html
https://www.courthousenews.com/san-francisco-mandates-hotel-cleanings-in-bid-to-revive-economy/
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
https://www.fcielitecompetitor.com/
