Local Hire

Creating Policy and Building Infrastructure for Local Hire Programs That Reduce Poverty

Julian Gross, Attorney, Community Benefits Law Center, the Legal Program of Partnership for Working Families
Marie McKenzie, Redevelopment Manager, City of East Palo Alto
Alex Paxton, Special Assistant to Deputy Chief of Operations, Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles
Bernida Reagan, Director of Community and Client Relations, Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services
Click here to read the panelist bios.

At the third Wednesday night panel for the Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute, we heard from local hire experts who brought to the discussion a wealth of experience and knowledge concerning how we can ensure that local hire programs benefit poor communities and communities of color with lasting, quality jobs that lead to a reduction in poverty and that sustain community growth over time. Focusing on developing policy for and maintaining strong infrastructure and working from case studies, the presenters demonstrated the importance of making sure that local hire requirements are not only clearly and strongly articulated, but also include key infrastructure features – such as well-funded training pipelines, city staff and community buy-in, monitoring mechanisms, and consequences for lack of compliance. In addition to strong policies, broad-based support from government decision makers and staff, community groups, and local unions is essential to creating a successful local hire program. Scroll down to download the presentation and materials from the event by clicking on the links or image.

Creating Policy
Marie McKenzie briefly outlined East Palo Alto’s local hire and first-source hiring policy, which is one of the most successful in the state. The East Palo Alto Redevelopment Agency worked with Julian Gross to create a strong policy with ambitious goals that requires 30% local hire for development projects, 30% local hire for end users, and has strict compliance standards. Local hire programs are usually associated with temporary construction jobs on development projects, but East Palo Alto has ensured that the policies also encompass permanent retail jobs.

As a the Director of Social Responsibility for the Port of Oakland, Bernida Reagan worked with a broad coalition of West Oakland community members, non-profit organizations, Bolt Law School students, and Port of Oakland staff to create the Marine and Aviation Project Labor Agreement (MAPLA) for all of the properties held by the Port of Oakland. Within the project labor agreement, the coalition was able to secure a trust fund that invests in job training and development, a community oversight committee, a small business component, and a strong local hire policy.

Alex Paxton works with the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, which has the largest redevelopment budget in the state, and supported the development of the Construction Careers and Project Stabilization policy. This policy incorporates targeted hiring, a master PLA, core workers, a jobs coordinator and “pipeline” component, a concrete definition of ”good faith,” and enforceable monitoring and consequences. Before the policy was drafted, there was a two-year process of community engagement and coalition building between residents, community groups, businesses, and labor. 

Julian Gross noted that there is always a legal way to secure, implement, and enforce local hire policies. He said that advocates should reframe how they talk about employment policies and focus on targeted hiring within the specific neighborhoods that are most in need of economic development. 

Implementation
Finding the resources to support the local hire and first-source hiring programs and policies can be difficult, but strong documents and community support can help to ensure that programs are effective. When it come to government buy-in for the programs, redevelopment agencies should be reminded that their role is to promote economic development and employment for residents in the communities they serve and that in all development projects there need to be fundamental policies that protect job quality and targeted apprenticeship opportunities.

Marie McKenzie noted that the success of the local hire and first-source policy in East Palo Alto has to do, in part, with providing support for potential developers, employers, community members, and individuals who are dealing with barriers to employment, as well as the community’s commitment to seeing their residents employed. Alex Paxton added that a major challenge to implementation is the amount of resources that must be committed to support the programs -- from staff working with developers and other decision makers to educate them about the policies, to the first-source hiring departments that feed residents into opportunities and employment, and to training programs that ensure individuals are prepared for employment and apprenticeships.

Enforcement and Compliance
Many cities have policies that are not enforced due to lack of commitment or resources. With the lofty local hire goals that are set in Los Angeles and East Palo Alto, ensuring 100% compliance is a challenge.

In East Palo Alto, development is not approved for companies that are not willing to adhere to the local hire and first-source requirements, and the city has the authority to close non-compliant business. Bernida Reagan spoke about the necessity of having a high level of community engagement and involvement to hold government agencies and employers accountable to the local hire policies.