New LA program focuses on jobs for public housing residents

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(The Center Square) – A new partnership has been announced between the Housing Authority for the City of Los Angeles and the LA/OC Building & Construction Trades Council.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the partnership establishes a five-year framework so that at least 25% of labor hours on HACLA construction projects are performed by low-income Angelenos or public housing residents. 

Bass, a Democrat, said this offers an opportunity to start careers in the construction industry.

“We want to maximize the return on everything we do,” the Mayor’s Office told The Center Square. “This initiative means when the City of Los Angeles builds housing, we are also creating good jobs for LA residents who are struggling to get by and who will reinvest their paychecks in our communities.” 

The partnership will connect approximately 20,000 participants with what the Mayor’s Office described as “good-paying jobs.”

Other highlights include no strike and no lockout provisions to remove the risk of work stoppages and ensure projects remain on schedule and on budget.

Councilmember Tim McOsker, D-Los Angeles, called this an important step forward for residents, workers, families, and housing communities across Los Angeles.

“For the past several years, we worked closely with HACLA and our labor partners as they negotiated a program to ensure that the public housing developments being built and redeveloped across our city also create work opportunities for local residents,” McOsker told The Center Square. “This groundbreaking agreement guarantees good wages, strong labor standards, and pathways into union apprenticeships while prioritizing local hiring so residents, including those living in public housing, have the chance to help build up their own neighborhoods and develop excellent career opportunities."

A redevelopment of Rancho San Pedro is involved in this partnership and will be transformed into a mixed-use project of more than 1,500 apartments and 130,000 square feet of commercial space. 

Ernesto Medrano, executive secretary of the LA/OC Building & Construction Trades Council, is excited.

“Learning a trade is much more than just getting a job,” said Medrano in a joint press release. “It’s an investment in yourself and into your community.”

HACLA president and CEO Lourdes Castro Ramirez agreed. 

Ramirez said this builds futures, not just housing.

"By formalizing our partnership with the skilled trades, we are securing a guaranteed labor pipeline to accelerate HACLA’s affordable housing production goals for Los Angeles,” said Ramirez in the press release. “Most importantly, we're ensuring that our residents are first in line for the life changing, career-sustaining jobs that foster generational wealth for Angelenos."