Yesterday, the City of San Jose passed a groundbreaking set of policies to increase wages and workplace protections for construction workers and to promote local hiring and construction career opportunities. The policy passed 8-3 with Councilmembers Johnny Khamis, Dev Davis and Lan Diep voting no and the SVO (formerly the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce) aligning with the dissenting votes.
Tuesday’s vote came after months of negotiations between San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and a coalition of community-based and union organizations. The compromise reached between the parties 1.) requires developers receiving public subsidies to pay construction workers the prevailing wage; 2.) mandates a process for hiring of local construction workers; and 3.) requires the City to use project labor agreements on most public works projects of more than $3 million, which means the hiring of apprentices from disadvantaged communities. San Jose will be one of the first cities in California to establish workforce and hiring standards on private developments receiving public subsides.
In 2016, a study of San Jose’s public construction projects showed them to be falling short in providing career opportunities to the diverse local community. Last month a broader report prepared by Working Partnerships USA exposed the two-tiered character of San Jose’s construction industry and how it has driven tens of thousands of its employees into working poverty and contributed to occupational segregation through major race and gender disparities in pay and representation.
“The policies adopted by the City Council demonstrate that data can overcome misinformation. These policies will lift up many working families in our city and provide construction career opportunities for many more local residents. We applaud the Mayor and Councilmembers who were not mislead by the campaign against this vital reform,” said Ben Field, Executive Officer, South Bay Labor Council.
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