Building Trades News

Feature Story

$50 Billion in Infrastructure Funds on November Ballot

Bonds, Sales Tax Would Provide Construction Money for MTA, LAUSD, LACCD

Los Angeles County voters are being asked to approve nearly $50 billion in funding for transportation and school infrastructure projects this November.
The largest measure on the ballot, Measure R, is a half-cent sales tax increase that could provide as much as $40 billion for county transit projects over the next 30 years. About 65 percent of that revenue would be used to expand the county's bus and rail systems, while 35 percent would be earmarked for highways, streets and potentially, for bikeways and sidewalks. The county's rail system comprises Metrolink, the Red and Purple lines subway system and the Blue, Green and Gold light rail lines. The MTA also operates one of the largest public-transit bus systems in the nation.

Members Speak Out

On the Job with Ironworkers 433

LAUSD Central Los Angeles Learning Center #1

Story by Roy San Filippo

Craft union members working at the LAUSD project on the site of the former Ambassador Hotel joined LAUSD officials and the project's construction team on Nov. 21 to celebrate the topping off of the project's high school. "Topping off" is the term used by Ironworkers to indicate that the final piece of steel, decorated with an evergreen tree and signed by the Ironworker crew, is being hoisted into place on a building, bridge, or other large structure to mark the project reaching its maximum height.

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From Executive Secretary

Bailouts and Blame

Every American is being affected by the economic crisis that has been caused by deregulation, failed oversight, overextended credit, foreign countries' currency manipulation, unfair trade policy, avarice and greed. The sad part is that there are Americans who want to blame union workers for some of the troubles. This is in the face of facts that unions and union workers don't bear out any responsibility for the crisis. The truth is that working families are the backbone of our economy and union workers support a larger share of the economy. Union members and their unions have pushed for economic changes and trade rules that would have helped stave off the crisis that we are facing today!

On the Job with Laborers Local 507

By Roy San Filippo, Staff Writer

2008 Long Beach Grand Prix
Photos by Slobodan Dimitrov
Story by Roy San Filippo

Long Beach had no way of knowing at the time, but March 26, 1977 was a historic moment for the City. An auto racing fan-turned-travel-agent, Chris Pook, put the city on the international sports map and sparked a racing tradition that continues today.

Pook had beaten all the odds and naysayers by staging the first Long Beach Grand Prix, a Formula 5000 race that was won by Brian Redman and attracted more than 46,000 race fans and curiosity seekers.

Now the Long Beach Grand Prix is also the longest running major “street” race held on the North American continent, having completed its 34th event. Attendance for the weekend regularly reaches or exceeds 200,000 people.

The current race circuit is a 1.968-mile temporary road course carved out of the city streets surrounding the Long Beach Convention Center. It is particularly noted for its last section, which sees a hairpin turn followed by a long, slightly curved front straightaway which runs the length of Shoreline Drive.

The circuit is situated on the Long Beach waterfront and is lined with palm trees and set against the City’s skyline. Since its inception, Laborers Local 507 has been an integral part of the Toyota Grand Prix. This year, 12 workers from Local 507 erected the barricades and fencing along the temporary track which keep spectators safe from any mishaps that might happen on the track.

Building Trades News visited the Laborers the day after Grand Prix where they were busy removing the barricades along Shoreline Drive.

German Huerta

Journeyman 7 Years

I am really proud to have the opportunity to work on this project. It’s an important event for the City of Long Beach and I know the work we do helps to keep people safe.

Joel Santoyo

Journeyman 20 Years

Being a union Laborer provides you with good pay and benefits. Having a pension is really important so that you can have the security of knowing you will be taken care of when you retire.

Rafael Solorio

Journeyman 9 years

I really enjoy my work. I get to work outside with my hands and get to work on different projects with new people. There are always new challenges which keep things interesting

Travis Bowden

Apprentice 3 Months

My grandfather was a Laborer with Local 802 and I’m proud to be able to carry on the union tradition. This is the first project I have worked on since joining three months ago and I am looking forward to working on different projects in the future.

Robert Banuelos

Journeyman 4 Years

We have a great apprenticeship and training program that takes about 2.5 years to complete. You learn a range of skills, from scaffolding to welding and CPR and safety training. Our instructors prepare you for the challenges that you face on the jobsite.

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Trades Headlines

Pension Funds are Safe, Despite Losses Experts Explain

The California Public Employee's Retirement system, for example, has lost $98 billion since peaking in 2007. Henry Jones, a CalPERS board member, said the nation's largest pension fund has a "rainy day fund" to help defray the losses. markets."

Building Trades Score Another Big Win to Protect Prevailing Wages in Orange County

For the second time this year, Building Trades unions in Orange County have successfully fought to protect prevailing wages in Orange County. The charter city proposal in the city of Buena Park, which included language protecting prevailing wages and supported by the craft unions, was passed by Buena Park residents. The charter city initiative on the ballot in the City of Rosemead, which could have been used to undermine prevailing wages on city projects, was struck down by voters after the Building Trades mobilized to defeat it

GAO: Labor Dept. Misled Congress

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released at the end of November finds the Labor Department gave Congress false numbers on cost savings it supposedly was incurring by hiring outside contractors.

Global Wages Decline; U.S. Income Gap Worst of Developed Countries

The global economic crisis will lead to deep cuts in the wages of millions of workers worldwide in the coming year, according to a report published by the International Labor Organization (ILO). Meanwhile, wage inequality in the United States between the top 10 percent and bottom 10 percent income brackets is the highest of any developed economy.

Union Activists Defeat ABC Apprentice Pay Cut Proposal

Building and construction trade union members from throughout California made their voices heard, resulting in the defeat of an ABC-backed proposal to cut the starting wage of apprentices from 40% of the journeyman prevailing wage to 35%. The California Apprenticeship Council Blue Ribbon Committee voted 3 to 2 against the proposal, after 225 union workers argued in opposition, including representatives of Ironworkers, Cement Masons, IBEW, UA, Sheet Metal Workers, Roofers, and Operating Engineers.

Study Points to Next Frontier in ‘Green Jobs’

During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama proposed an economic plan that would create 5 million jobs in environmental industries. These so-called “green collar” jobs do, in fact, present the next frontier for U.S. manufacturing, according to a new report commissioned by the Building Trades Department, the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, the United Association of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters, the Industrial Union Council of the AFL-CIO, and the Environmental Defense Fund.

Orange County Toll Road Weaves Through Complex Maze of State, Federal Agencies

With public comment period closed, federal officials have begun compiling tens of thousands of written opinions. A Bush appointee will decide by Jan. 7 whether to overturn a state agency's decision.

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