A Lesson in Politics
In 2001, voters in the Los Angeles Community College District were faced with the following question in the election held that April:
Shall the Los Angeles Community College District increase educational opportunities, raise student achievement and improve health and safety conditions for students at Los Angeles City College, East Los Angeles College, Los Angeles Harbor College, Los Angeles Mission College, Los Angeles Pierce College, Los Angeles Southwest College, Los Angeles Trade Technical College, Los Angeles Valley College and West Los Angeles College, replace/repair deteriorating buildings, construct/furnish/equip classrooms, laboratories, libraries and related facilities; repair/upgrade electrical wiring for computer technology, heating, air conditioning and plumbing; complete earthquake retrofitting; improve campus safety, fire security, parking and lighting; and improve/acquire real property to relieve overcrowding by issuing, at interest rates within legal limits, $1,245 billion in bonds with citizens' oversight for each college and annual independent performance/financial audits, but with no money for administrators' or others' salaries?
--The answer from the voters was a resounding ‘Yes.’
In May of 2003 the District’s voters were again asked,
To prepare students for jobs and four-year colleges, train nurses, police, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, improve health, safety, security conditions at Pierce College, Valley College, East Los Angeles College, Harbor College, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles Southwest College, Mission College, West Los Angeles College, Los Angeles Trade Technical College; construct computer technology centers to train students for high-tech jobs; repair deteriorating classrooms, science laboratories, libraries; expand educational centers in underserved communities; upgrade heating, plumbing, wiring, roofs, sewers, energy efficiency, water conservation; improve campus environmental standards, safety, lighting, fire alarms, sprinklers, intercoms, fire doors; and acquire/improve real property and/or build new classrooms to relieve overcrowding, shall the Los Angeles Community College District issue $980 million dollars in bonds at interest rates within legal limits, require citizens' oversight for each college, annual independent financial audits, with no money for administrators' salaries?
--Voters approved this measure as well.
Taken together, the Proposition A/AA funding amounts to over two billion dollars in available construction funding. Being publicly-funded, these building projects were of course covered by state prevailing wage standards, whose rates are very close to, if not precisely matched by the union rates in the same area; in this case, Los Angeles County. In addition, the Proposition A/AA projects are covered by a local Project Labor Agreement, which provides much greater opportunity for successful bidding among signatory contractors in all the pipe trades. The District’s PLA, combined with its labor compliance effort and pre-bid scrutiny insure that reputable and responsible bidders will be awarded work; in other words, on a level playing field ideal for sub-bidding by union firms.
Within the requirements specified for these projects is the District’s own callout for Green construction: As directed by the District’s Board of Trustees, all new buildings that are at least half funded with Proposition A/AA bond monies will be Green buildings, built to LEED certification standards.
This language is a prime example of how local awarding agencies are creating Green standards for themselves, and a sign that Green building, especially on the LEED model, is fast becoming the norm rather than the exception in public works construction.
Effort equals Opportunity
The LACCD Proposition A/AA situation should be seen as the end result of a effort which began long before the election date, through which signatory contractors’ and labor organizations’ work was repaid with substantial opportunity. For many years the organized pipe trades had been asking for the chance to have public works bid specifications written in such a way as to make it possible for honest contractors to obtain work. That request has been answered with programs like those arising from Proposition A/AA. All that is required now is that contractors comply with the Green requirements of the agency, which are fairly laid out in advance and no more complex than those found in the ordinary run of work. Taken together, the PLA/Green combination is a chance to maintain a firm hold on profitable work and to exercise skills and experience that will be required to obtain work in the future.
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