Building Trades News

Fierce Lobbying Effort by Crafts Revives Dormant Project

By Roy San Filippo
Staff Writer

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously on March 6 to remove the obstacles blocking the expansion project at Providence Holy Cross Hospital. The move came after intense pressure from the community and from building trades craft unions who argued that the much needed hospital beds and the well-paying construction jobs created by the project should not be held hostage by the organizing efforts of the SEIU nurse's union under the guise of further environmental study.

With the hospital half completed, work on the $180 million four-story expansion was halted in October when the courts ruled the City Council had the right to demand more environmental studies.

"This is an example of good intentions can go horribly wrong," said Richard Slawson, of the Los Angeles and Orange Counties Building Trades Council. "The object of SEIU's organizing effort – to create well paying union jobs – seems to have been lost when their efforts shut down this project and 300 craft workers were laid off. We are happy that this project will be back on track because of the massive political efforts by the building trades unions," said Slawson.

Johnny O'Kane, Business Representative for Ironworkers Local 433 speaking at the Council meeting was pointed in his words, "I would like everyone here to think long and hard about having my members and the community-at-large held hostage over someone's agenda," O'Kane said.

Speaking to a Council chamber in Van Nuys, packed with project supporters, Councilman Richard Alarcón whose district the hospital is in said, "We are in the most phenomenal economic crisis that any of us have seen. We simply cannot allow projects that are available to create good jobs in our community to stand idle." Alarcón had previously supported efforts to delay the project until further traffic and environmental studies could be completed. He said that he believes the City can reach an agreement with the hospital on parking and traffic mitigation issues.

Perhaps in recognition of the many nuns in the audience from Holy Cross, Slawson got Biblical in his comments before the Council, "It was Moses who said 'Let my people go,' well I'm here today to tell you 'Let my people go back to work,'" said Slawson.

Under the City Council's decision, the City will advise the Court that it has approved a negative declaration for the project and drop its demand for a full EIR.

The hospital expansion involves adding 136 beds in a 120,000-square-foot, four-story addition to the site at 15031 Rinaldi St.

Hospital officials said they were pleased with the decision and look forward to resuming work on the project. The framework of the building was completed when the project was stopped.

Before the Council vote, the proposal was approved by the City Council's Jobs, Business Growth and Tax Reform Committee. At that meeting, Richard Slawson said the economic collapse has hurt the building industry and projects such as the hospital need to proceed.

"We now have a skeleton sitting there," Slawson said. "When you have a project ready to go, with the financing available, we think you should allow it to go ahead."

Slawson said there are a number of projects around the city that are ready to go, but developers are unable to find the financing.

"We see project after project ready to go, but they can't get the credit," Slawson said. "When you have a project like this, you have to let it go forward."

Holy Cross administrator Kerry Carmody said the council action was an important step that "will allow us to put people back to work. More importantly, it will allow us to provide more care to the people of Los Angeles."

The completion of the project will help address a shortage of hospital beds in the San Fernando Valley. Currently the Valley has 1.9 hospital beds per 1,000 residents, compared with a national average of 3.4 per 1,000.

Councilman Herb Wesson, who had supported the call for a full environmental review on the project, said he was convinced by the need to create jobs.

"There is no way I cannot support putting people back to work," Wesson said. "Workers are really, really hurting. This affords us an opportunity to help."