By ALICIA ROBINSON
PUBLISHED: December 2, 2019
A proposed new agreement would push contractors who bid on city projects in Anaheim to hire more veterans, formerly homeless people and residents of the city or Orange County.
Called a community workforce agreement, the five-year contract – which the Anaheim City Council will consider Tuesday, Dec. 3 – is a first for the city but not unique in the region or the state. Santa Ana, Long Beach and Sacramento all have used such agreements, according to a report to the Anaheim council; the Anaheim Union High School District also adopted one as part of a 2014 school improvement bond measure.
Anaheim has not pursued “local hire” provisions so broadly before, but it has incorporated them into a few specific projects in recent years, including a new electrical substation and the latest expansion of the Anaheim Convention Center.
It’s unknown exactly how many projects the agreement would apply to, but city spokesman Mike Lyster wrote in an email that they’ll generally be large public works or utility jobs, typically costing at least $1 million, and the total for the term of the agreement is estimated at $260 million. A list attached to the city’s proposed agreement mentions new soccer fields at La Palma Park, a fire station and emergency operations center in the Platinum Triangle, roof replacement at the convention center, and large water, sewer and road projects.
The agreement, which was negotiated with the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council, sets an aspirational goal – not a mandate – that at least 35% of work hours on specified projects be done by people who are: Anaheim or Orange County residents; graduates of Anaheim high schools; veterans; or economically disadvantaged people (such as the formerly homeless).
“The goal of the agreement is to ensure that major publically funded projects are helping to meet city priorities,” including providing jobs to local residents and people in need, Lyster’s email said.