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SF School District makes progress on community hiring and contracting
May 3, 2013
The long journey to an equitable pathway for community workers and contractors at San Francisco Unified has seen great progress over the past year; and the same policy makers, community members, labor leaders and community contractors that brought us this far appear poised to carry a torch now held by many across the line between longstanding hope and a truly historic reality.
Mayor Lee announces support for fully funding GoSolarSF program
March 13, 2013
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has made the announcement that clean energy and green job advocates in the Bay Area and beyond have waited nearly 12 months to hear: He supports full funding for the landmark GoSolarSF incentive program, which has helped over 2,000 homeowners, tenants, businesses and nonprofits install solar panels since 2008.
Should local schools be built by local folks? SF School Board considers local hiring, contracting Monday
August 19, 2012
The San Francisco School Board is considering a strong local hiring and contracting policy that will give Blacks and all San Franciscans a chance to compete for a share of the $531 million in school construction funded by Proposition A – and give our children the economic security they need to succeed in school and in life.
Better job standards for Treasure Island
July 20, 2012
Over the last several months, a conversation has been underway about job standards for maintenance workers at Treasure Island. The fundamental question of the Treasure Island dialog is: How do we serve a targeted population of candidates while delivering the wages, benefits and retirement enjoyed by workers doing the same work in the City and County?
San Francisco slashes successful solar program
July 9, 2012
Despite quadrupling the number of solar panels in the City in just over four years, the GoSolarSF program is proposed to be gutted and City leaders have remained mum as environmental and cleantech industry opposition to the cuts grows. The Board of Supervisors will vote on a final two-year city budget as early as tomorrow.
Local Hire doing its job as San Francisco’s landmark legislation enters second year
April 22, 2012
These are clear signs that we can use the City’s local hiring policy to get more local workers onto public projects and break cycles of poverty in our most disadvantaged communities while continuing to save taxpayer money on construction. Our local hiring law is a new model for how community groups and labor can work together to rebuild cities.
America’s Cup clouded by local hiring, financing concerns
February 15, 2012
TODAY the SF Budget and Finance Committee considers vote on America’s Cup development, hearing at 1 p.m., America’s Cup discussion at about 2 p.m. Come to demand local hire and inclusion of disadvantaged contractors! At stake are 1,100 construction jobs and some $2 billion in contracts.
Local hiring pushes Prop. B Road Bond to success
November 22, 2011
Local hiring is a job creation tool. A guaranteed 20 to 30 percent of these jobs for taxpayers in our local communities over the next couple years was enough to win. This is just the beginning of the opportunities that the local hiring law has created.
Controversial anti-local hiring bill abandoned
June 3, 2011
While Assemblymember Jerry Hill and his controversial anti-local hiring bill AB 356 were busy drawing statewide opposition, the counties of San Francisco and San Mateo were calmly settling their differences for the betterment of workers in both jurisdictions. “There has been one positive thing resulting from the AB 356 debate: It has united leaders and communities all over the state to say that local hire is crucial to economic recovery,” said Greenlining Institute general counsel Samuel Kang. “Jerry Hill awoke a sleeping giant. By trying to kill local hire, he’s only made it stronger.”
Mounting opposition confronts San Mateo’s anti-local hiring assemblyman
April 28, 2011
A sea of overwhelming opposition in cities from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles has risen against San Mateo Assemblymember Jerry Hill and his anti-local hiring measure, Assembly Bill 356, which threatens state funding for any California city with a local hiring policy.
Bayview Library struggle escalating
April 7, 2011
After many months of discussions with the City regarding the rescission of an award to rebuild the Bayview Library, Liberty Builders has retained San Francisco civil rights attorney DeWitt Lacy to pursue legal remedies for discriminatory breach of contract.
San Francisco solar back on track?
March 25, 2011
The so-called Greenest City in the Country has withered on the vine ever since a much-criticized decision to ban certain trade unions from working on municipal solar projects led to what is believed to be the nation’s first community protest and work stoppage at a solar installation and a nine-month delay in breaking ground on new solar projects.
The faces of local hire
March 24, 2011
The new local hiring law is a tool to maintain and promote San Francisco’s working class by giving local workers a leg up on projects they pay for as taxpayers. It goes into effect this week amid high hopes and growing excitement.
Local hiring victory party in San Francisco
March 7, 2011
A crowd of over 200 community advocates, elected officials, labor leaders, community contractors and City department heads came together on Feb. 23 to celebrate the passage of the historic local hiring ordinance.
‘I Heard That’: Black Media Roundtable with Mayor Lee; The State of Black San Francisco …
March 1, 2011
The Black population in San Francisco drastically declined when urban renewal, Redevelopment and the gentrification of the Fillmore/Western Addition started in the ‘60s, bulldozed the hearts of African Americans, many forced to move out of the City.
San Francisco and Bay Area workers under attack
February 11, 2011
Assemblymember Hill today unveiled legislation that attacks local hiring by banning state-funded construction in any city with a local hiring law, even shutting down Bay Area projects that residents of his own district work on.
Black population drops to 3.9% in San Francisco
February 4, 2011
Preliminary numbers from the 2010 Census put the remaining African American population for the city of San Francisco at around 3.9 percent! How did we get to this point? Why are we leaving this city in such droves? Why isn’t City Hall doing more to stop the mass exodus of African Americans from this city? Join the discussion on ‘The State of Black San Francisco’ – screening of ‘Straight Outta Hunters Point’ and panel discussions – at the Bayview Opera House, 4705 Third St., SF, Sunday, Feb. 13, 2-5 p.m., child care provided.
Mandatory local hiring becomes law in San Francisco
December 30, 2010
A city ordinance authored by Supervisor John Avalos and passed by a super-majority of the Board of Supervisors on Dec. 14 requiring work for local residents on San Francisco-funded public works and new opportunities for workers in disadvantaged communities went into effect Christmas morning.
Out-of-work San Franciscans descend upon City Hall with a special holiday request
December 23, 2010
With unemployment at its highest in decades and 41 percent more San Franciscans requesting assistance feeding themselves and their families this year, out-of-work residents convened at City Hall to ask Mayor Newsom to sign the local hiring law that a super-majority of the Board of Supervisors passed last week.
Supervisors overwhelmingly approve Avalos’ mandatory local hiring legislation
December 13, 2010
Supervisor John Avalos won overwhelming support from his colleagues for his landmark local hiring legislation Tuesday, Dec. 7, calling the law a “New Deal for San Francisco.” City procedure requires a second and final reading of the measure next Tuesday, followed by a vote to send the law to Mayor Newsom for his signature.