LA CITY BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS APPROVES MOTION TO ESTABLISH
WORKFORCE EQUITY DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
Aim is to create meaningful career pathways for City jobs through new models of hiring, training, mentorship and promotion of disadvantaged workers
LOS ANGELES, CA (February 26, 2021)—The Board of Public Works today unanimously approved the launch of a new pilot demonstration program with the creation of a diverse working group focused on creating career paths for workers in disadvantaged communities. This effort aligns with numerous Executive Directives (EDs) released by Mayor Eric Garcetti over the course of his administration focused on workforce development and equity, including his most recent, ED 27, focused on racial equity in City government.
The Workforce Equity Demonstration program will be co-designed by community groups, labor organizations, and City leadership from elected offices, Departments and Bureaus, in conjunction with the Board and Department of Public Works. The goal will be the development of a pilot program that builds upon the success and lessons learned in the Citywide Targeted Local Hire and Bridge to Jobs programs. It will test partnership models for recruitment, hiring, training, mentoring, and civil service with the goal of expanding opportunities in City public sector employment for workers from local disadvantaged and/or low-income communities.
“My colleagues and I are intensely excited about this project and the opportunity to create opportunity,” said Greg Good, President of the Board of Public Works. “Vulnerable communities and communities of color have historically been the last to feel the benefits of our prosperity. Our Mayor and this Board are committed to changing that, and as the 2nd largest department in the City, we are uniquely positioned to do so by testing new models and ideas.This new working group is a tremendous step in the right direction.”
"The Los Angeles labor movement commends the City of Los Angeles and the Department of Public Works on the motion today and celebrates the beginnings of a plan for recovery centered around inclusion," said Ron Herrera, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO President. "We look forward to helping shape the steps they are taking for long-overdue equity and investment in marginalized communities."
"The 1000 Strong coalition celebrates this first step in the right direction,” said Janel Bailey, Co-Executive Director of the Los Angeles Black Worker Center. “It is refreshing to see the City of Los Angeles begin to undo some of the harm this exclusion has caused Black communities by ensuring that Black Angelenos share in the collective prosperity when our economy begins to heal."
Specifically, the motion passed today by the Board of Public Works calls upon President Good to report back to the Board with the framework of the Workforce Equity Demonstration Project with input from an array of representatives. The working group will include various City departments and bureaus, the Offices of the Mayor and City Council President, and vital community stakeholders who have already been key partners in this effort, including the Los Angeles Black Worker Center, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, and the City Coalition of Unions.
“As the economy recovers - and we begin hiring again - we will need to urgently fill hundreds of critical positions in order to maintain and enhance the integrity of our infrastructure and fulfill the mission of this department,” Good added. “This program will ensure that we are ready with a workforce model that ensures a diverse, and highly trained, workforce that truly represents all Angelenos.”