The City of Sunnyvale continues on its path to do more to help improve the lives of working families in the South Bay. City Council member Jim Davis deserves kudos for leading the way on a proposed ordinance that will ensure that large-scale private developments hire, employ and provide on-the-job training to apprentices. Why is this so important? Even during the current economic boom, there is a lack of middle-wage, career-path job opportunities. And one out of every 25 low-wage workers in the state is in Santa Clara County.
A report by the California Budget Project found that the share of California’s workers employed in low-wage jobs is growing from 22.6 percent in 1979 to 27.6 percent in 2013. Not only are low-wage jobs growing, pay for those jobs is declining. A recent study by researchers at the University of California Berkeley found that since 1979, although the state’s highest-wage workers have seen their inflation-adjusted wages grow by 47%, wages have actually fallen for both middle- and low-wage workers.
And this isn’t just about being able to afford rent and other basic necessities. Research shows low incomes for parents have a negative impact on the academic performance of their children. Region wide, employment projections for the next decade show that if the Bay Area economy stays on its current course, middle-wage jobs will comprise only 23% of job openings.
To counteract this trend, Sunnyvale Council member Jim Davis is leading his colleagues to support and encourage creation of entry-level, career-path employment opportunities for youth, the economically disadvantaged, returning veterans, and others who may face barriers to obtaining a family-supporting career.
Some other elements of Sunnyvale’s proposed ordinance include:
- For each trade or craft to be employed in construction of the Project, the Applicant shall utilize certified apprentices on the Project from each craft at the ratio approved by the state.
- These apprentices shall be enrolled either in a State of California registered apprenticeship program or in an apprenticeship program in any other state that is registered with that’s state’s Apprenticeship Agency or with the U.S. Dept. of Labor.
- Upon Applicant’s selection of a contractor(s) for construction or development of the Project, Applicant shall send a notice identifying projected apprenticeship needs by craft to a representative of applicable Registered Apprenticeship Committees, or shall cause its contractor(s) or subcontractor(s) to send such a notice.”
The council last night passed two staff recommendations to create a city position to “ensure compliance with state-mandated prevailing wage requirements, and to require documentation, prior to the start of a development project, regarding the number of construction jobs projected, and to require along with certified payroll submissions documentation regarding the actual number and percent of local workers and apprentices employed.
Score for unionization, score for local working class families, score for Davis on his leadership.
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