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Linking Public Development Dollars To Local Job Creation

Friday, March 5, 2010

By Lori Ella Miller

Detroit is at a critical time in its history as the metropolitan area deals with a weakened economy and unprecedented job loss.  The horizon looks bright as planned investments in the city’s infrastructure present an opportunity to stimulate the economy and create new and sustainable careers – specifically in the construction industry.

Careers in the construction industry and building trades can open doors for Detroiters seeking employment and a better quality of life.  As the state and city move forward with new infrastructure improvements, a solid policy is needed to ensure that local workers benefit from significant public investments and key development projects.

Recently, Detroit Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and the Wayne State University Labor Studies Center teamed up to host a Green Jobs and Construction Careers Workshop.  The title of the workshop was “Doing Development Differently: Labor and Community Working Together for Sustainable Careers and Green Jobs”.

Held at Wayne State University’s McGregor Memorial Conference Center, the event was sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Detroit LISC.  Some 80 people from a variety of organizations, such as the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, Southwest Housing Solutions, the Sierra Club, Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, The University of Michigan, Henry Ford Community College, Goodwill Industries, Glassworkers 357, Metro Detroit AFL-CIO, the Operating Engineers Local 324 and Detroit LISC were on hand.

These individuals were there to unite for one common cause.  Donald C. O’Connell, Executive Director of the Operating Engineers Local 324, said it best, “We are all here because we care about human capital.”

The workshop examined and outlined specific tactics to directly link Detroit’s human capital to good jobs, fair wages and benefits as the city moves forward with major developments.   

Thanks to the generous funding provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Reverend William Smart of the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE) served as one of the workshop speakers.  Based in Los Angeles, LAANE is a leading advocacy organization dedicated to building a new economy for all.  Reverend Smart spoke passionately about how the organization negotiated one of the nation’s largest and most successful Community Benefits Agreements (CBA).  This CBA focused on the master plan for the expansion of the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).   According to Reverend Smart, LAANE was able to create a “win-win” situation for the City, LAX and the community. 

LAANE is now using the LAX CBA model as a template for other metropolitan areas, such as Detroit.  

Exactly what is a CBA?  A Community Benefits Agreement is a legally enforceable and binding contract between a developer and a community or local government that sets forth a range of benefits for community residents and stakeholders that the developer agrees to provide as part of the project. 

Reverend Smart explained that an effective CBA could help a community coalition negotiate local jobs, wage requirements, environmental impact and construction of parks, recreational facilities and other green spaces. It can also establish a “first source” hiring system to target and secure jobs for local residents.

“People create the community’s will and power,” said Reverend Smart.  “That is what I discovered about a CBA, it is the people (of the community) who are speaking.”

He stressed that when laying the foundation for a CBA in Detroit, it is key to create a coalition with labor unions, community groups, school systems, environmental agencies and other non-traditional partners. 

The workshop featured other speakers, including Kathy Wendler of the Southwest Detroit Business Association, who stated, “We must figure out how to do development differently so that we maximize the value to communities and to the people in greater Detroit who are desperate for jobs.”

Keynote speaker Pat Devlin of the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council, which serves as a voice for the trade unions, spoke on connecting communities with construction jobs and apprenticeships.

Devlin admitted that jobs are scarce in the industry and that there is a 50-percent unemployment rate for Michigan’s construction trades industry. 

“Someday our economy will turn around and the construction industry will be a viable employer once again,” Devlin said. “When you talk about sustainable construction, you must talk about an industry that provides good living wages and produces highly trained and skilled workers who desire a career – not just a job.”

According to Devlin, the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council offers approximately 14 different apprenticeship schools in the region that can train workers in a variety of construction careers, including sustainable green construction that is increasingly being requested by both the federal government and by private owners.

There are a number of major development projects that have been proposed for Detroit over the next five years, including the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC); the Detroit Intermodal Freight Terminal (DIFT); the M-1Rail and the Detroit Public Schools Bond Project.  These development projects will translate into millions of investment dollars, local jobs and a strong economic stimulus for the city.   

At the conclusion of the workshop, attendees participated in roundtable discussions to brainstorm ideas for creating an economic policy and plan that will ensure that local workers benefit from these investments, and that will help to transform the lives of the people who live and work in Detroit.

At the end of the day, it was a true example of real community partnership in action!