Employment

Black Contractors Call the City of Oakland’s Proposed Project Labor Agreement a Form of Modern-Day Slavery!

Published

6 years ago

August 17, 2019

The City of Oakland held a workshop Aug. 10 at the West Oakland Youth Center. to seek input on the potential impacts of a proposed citywide Project Labor Agreement (PLA), which is attached to a proposed, Surplus Land Ordinance.

The discussion also included a Community Workforce Agreement.

Darlene Flynn

Darlene Flynn, director of the City’s Race and Equity Department, provided a statistical analysis of the current landscape in the city and Junious Williams was the moderator.

Unlike the previous workshop held in East Oakland, union representatives were noticeably absent. But Brigitte J. Cook, chief of staff for Council Member Lynette Gibson McElhaney was present to witness an audience of predominantly Black contractors who were opposed the concept of a blanket PLA.

Willie McGary, a 30-year Black contractor and owner of Hercules Builders, said, “(A) Project Labor Agreement is a form of modern-day slavery. Just like crop sharing unions, they force you to pay union dues and give you nothing in return. If you don’t pay, they boycott your business and make it difficult for you to get work.”

The workshop created 25 recommendations to the City Council for action prior to adoption of a Project Labor Agreement.

City staff assured participants that their concerns would be relayed to the full Council and not altered.

The Black contractors requested an education meeting with City Council members.

Monsa Nitoto

“A policy decision of this magnitude deserves the Council’s full participation, not lip service. This issue is just as important as the homeless crisis,” said Monsa Nitoto, executive director of the Workforce Collaborative.

When the late Ray Dones set up the National Association of Minority Contractors in the 1960s, there were 350 Black construction firms in Oakland. Now there are less than 100. Black contractors are on a path to extinction.

Community Activist Gene Hazzard said, “It is a falsehood that Oakland Blacks are not skilled enough to get work in the construction industry. These white general contractors import workers from outside Oakland and put them up in local hotels and claim them as Oakland residents.

Gene Hazard

“With the office of Contract Compliance having one person to monitor 80+ projects, no one verifies compliance of local hire. You look at the 15 plus large projects in Downtown Oakland with large cranes, and you will see none of them have Black contractor participation. A majority have no Black workers on the job site.”

Jonathan Dumas, employment services supervisor of the city’s Contracts and Compliance department, stated, “The (City) cannot require local hire or local business participation on privately financed projects”.

Louis Summerhill, a 25-year electrical contractor, said, “(Union) policies are designed to discriminate against Black contractors and Black workers.

“The unions have by design moved all their certified, state-approved apprenticeship training programs out of Oakland. They have set up training programs in Pleasanton, Fairfield, Benicia, Sacramento, Concord and San Jose; locations that are difficult for Oakland residents to access.

“I believe that unless and until unions agree and demonstrate an adjustment to their policies and practices, we should not give them the privilege of having a dedicated Project Labor Agreement on City-sponsored projects.”

Jabari Herbert, Focon Construction, a 20-year Black general contractor, said, “The only way

Jabari Herbert

to address this issue of developers and general contractors not being inclusive of local and minority participation on privately financed projects is by amending the Building Permit code to require any project which requires a conditional or unconditional use permit by the Oakland Planning Commission, to comply with the City of Oakland’s 50 percent resident, and local hire requirement.

“There are three ways this can be done; 1) voluntarily by the applicant for the permit, 2) by direction of the City Council, and 3) by Oakland ballot approval”.

He further stated, “In addition, developers and prime contractors should be fined a substantial amount for non-compliance with local hire goals. If they choose to pay a minimal fee for noncompliance, they should be barred from future city contracts.”.

Bernida Reagan

Bernida Reagan, an executive with Merriwether and Williams Insurance Services, stated, “Black contractors need help because they cannot get the performance bonds required to work on Public Works projects. There needs to be a technical assistance provision in the proposed Project Labor Agreement to address this barrier for small, minority and woman owned businesses.”

Currently, the City issues less than 5 percent of its contracts to African American businesses. The City is conducting a voter-mandated Disparity Study to identify areas of discrimination and potential recommendations to remedy the disparities. The Surplus Lands policy should not be adopted prior to the release of this very important Disparity Study.

The third and final community engagement workshop will be held on Monday, Aug. 19 at the San Antonio Senior Center, 3301 E. 12th St. in Oakland from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Eddie Dillard

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Alameda County

After Years of Working Remotely, Oakland Requires All City Employees to Return to Office by April 7

City Administrator Jestin Johnson recently told city unions that he is ending Oakland’s telecommuting program. The new policy will require employees to come to work at least four days a week. These new regulations go into effect on Feb. 18 for non-union department heads, assistant and deputy directors, managers, and supervisors. All other employees must be back at work by April 7.

Published

3 weeks ago

February 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Oakland City Hall. File photo.

By Post Staff

The City Oakland is requiring all employees to return to the office, thereby ending the telecommuting policy established during the pandemic that has left some City Hall departments understaffed.

City Administrator Jestin Johnson recently told city unions that he is ending Oakland’s telecommuting program. The new policy will require employees to come to work at least four days a week.

These new regulations go into effect on Feb. 18 for non-union department heads, assistant and deputy directors, managers, and supervisors. All other employees must be back at work by April 7.

The administration may still grant the right to work remotely on a case-by-case basis.

In his memo to city unions, Johnson said former President Joe Biden had declared an end to the pandemic in September 2022, and that since then, “We have collectively moved into newer, safer health conditions.”

Johnson said “multiple departments” already have all their staff back in the office or workplace.

The City’s COVID-era policy, enacted in September 2021, was designed to reduce the spread of the debilitating and potentially fatal virus.

Many cities and companies across the country are now ending their pandemic-related remote work policies. Locally, mayoral candidate Loren Taylor in a press conference made the policy a central issue in his campaign for mayor.

City Hall reopened for in-person meetings two years ago, and the city’s decision to end remote work occurred before Taylor’s press conference.

At an endorsement meeting last Saturday of the John George Democratic Club, mayoral candidate Barbara Lee said she agreed that city workers should return to the job.

At the same time, she said, the city should allow employees time to readjust their lives, which were disrupted by the pandemic, and should recognize individual needs, taking care to maintain staff morale.

The John George club endorsed Lee for Mayor and Charlene Wang for City Council representative for District 2. The club also voted to take no position on the sales tax measure that will be on the April 15 ballot.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative

These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.

Published

3 weeks ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Blair Underwood (left) and Barbara Lee (right). Courtesy photo.

By Paul Cobb
New Oakland Series
Opinion Part 3

The Post mentioned three weeks ago that a number of our local luminaries were coming together to support the “New Oakland” movement. As this current national administration continues to eliminate our “legacy” institutional policies and programs left and right, most communities find themselves beyond “frozen” in fear.

Well, esteemed actor, long-time Bay Area supporter, and philanthropist Blair Underwood returned to Oakland this week to speak with city leaders, community trust agents, students, the Oakland Post, and local celebrities alike to continue his “New Oakland” initiative.

This week, he kicked off his “Guess Who’s Coming to Read” literacy program in some of Oakland’s middle schools. Clifford Ray, who played the center position of the 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors, donated close to 1,000 books. Ray’s fellow teammate Charles “The Hopper” Dudley also gave Converse sneakers to students.

Underwood also spent quality time with the Oakland Ballers ownership group and visited the amazing Raimondi Park West Oakland community revitalization site. In the 1996 TV film Soul of the Game, Underwood played the role of the legendary first Black Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson and commended the Ballers owners.

“This group of sports enthusiasts/ philanthropists needs to be applauded for their human capital investment and their financial capital investment,” Underwood said. “Truly putting their money and passion to work,” Underwood said.

Underwood was also inspired by mayoral candidate Barbara Lee’s open-minded invitation to bring public-private partnership opportunities to Oakland.

Underwood said he wants to “reinforce the importance of ‘collaborative activism’ among those most marginalized by non-empathic leadership. We must ‘act out’ our discomfort with passionate intentions to create healthy change.”

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

County Supervisors Unanimously Agree to Move Ahead with Coliseum Development

In a statement to the media, Interim Oakland Mayor Kevin Jenkins said, “I want to thank the Alameda County Board of Supervisors for prioritizing the health and future of East Oakland by approving a term sheet to realize the sale of the County’s 50% interest in the Coliseum Complex to the African American Sports & Entertainment Group.”

Published

2 months ago

January 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Oakland Coliseum project supporters celebrate Alameda County Board of Supervisors decision to endorse the project on Jan. 14. Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas (in green dress) is at the center of the crowd. Photo courtesy of Bas’s office.

Project will mean affordable housing, jobs, and revitalization for East Oakland

By Post Staff

Ending months of inaction, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted at its meeting this week to support a resolution and term sheet to facilitate the sale of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum to the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC (OAC).

This decision bolsters the City of Oakland’s efforts to pursue economic development at the Coliseum property. The resolution was sponsored by Board President David Haubert, and the approved term sheet was sponsored by Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas in one of her first actions as a new member of the Board of Supervisors.

“This vote is a critical step in showing the public that the Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the Coliseum deal,” said Bas. “We have provided direction for the final agreements that will assign a single entity to own the site, paving the way for a future development project that will generate positive economic and community benefits.”

Bas continued, “As the former Oakland City Council president, I added language to the June 2024 ordinance that ensures the sale includes deed restrictions requiring at least 25% affordable housing for low-income households and a community benefits agreement to address labor standards, small, local business contracting, workforce and living wages, sustainable green development, and more.”

“Combined with the sale of the City’s interest in the Coliseum Complex… the County’s sale will finally unify ownership of the site,” he said. “This will enable OAC, the City, and the community to pursue critical economic development in East Oakland, resulting in thousands of new jobs, housing opportunities, and access to green spaces.”

The County of Alameda has owned a 50% interest in the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum located at 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland, California. The Coliseum is approximately 112 acres in size and consists of an arena, a stadium, and an exhibit hall.

The supervisors’ vote on Jan. 14, which passed unanimously, provides direction for assigning the County’s interest in the property from Coliseum Way Partners, LLC (CWP), which is connected to the Oakland Athletics, to OAC.

On Aug. 31, 2024, the City of Oakland sold its 50% interest in the Coliseum property to OAC, which means that the County vote this week paves the way for OAC to gain 100% control of the property, according to a statement from Bas’s office.

The goal of the supervisors’ decision was to provide a policy statement that allows all parties necessary to achieve the common goals of OAC, CWP and the County to complete a set of governing and “Definitive Documents” that can be executed by the appropriate parties ideally within 30 days following the approval of the term sheet.

The vote will divest the County from any role in operating a sports and entertainment facility and allow the County to refocus resources on its core mission, and vest ownership in a single entity.

The approved term sheet addresses several issues and concerns of the County:

OAC agrees to release the County of any costs related to hazardous waste and environmental remediation.

The Coliseum property will be assigned to a single entity which allows for a future economic development plan that will ultimately benefit the City, County, and community with increased jobs; neighborhood revitalization; and sales, property, and Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT).

Final documents related to the assignment of the County’s portion of the Coliseum property will be negotiated between OAC, CWP and the County and will then return to the Board for final approval.