Meeting_Body
REVISED
OPERATIONS, SAFETY, AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE
MARCH 17, 2022
Preamble
Motion by:
DIRECTORS HAHN, SOLIS, DUTRA, DUPONT-WALKER, KREKORIAN, AND MITCHELL
Access to Career Opportunities Motion
Since the passage of Measure M, Metro’s infrastructure construction program has generated thousands of new jobs across LA County. What’s more, the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation estimates that 778,000 jobs and $133.6 billion in economic output will be generated as a result of Metro's Measure M program over the next fifty years.
This construction program includes major transit projects like the West Santa Ana Branch, East San Fernando Valley, and Gold Line Eastside and Foothill Extensions. For the communities these projects will serve, the opportunity is not simply future high-quality transit service but also jobs, including rail construction, operations, and maintenance.
In January 2022 as part of its action on the West Santa Ana Branch, the Board directed Metro to partner with community-based organizations to develop a targeted hiring policy and project labor agreement (PLA) for construction training and employment opportunities to be created by that project (Board File 2022-0023). Given the urgent need for skilled labor to help build current and future capital projects, Metro should further develop and strengthen pipelines for local construction talent across LA County.
Metro’s Workforce Initiative Now-Los Angeles (WIN-LA) Program offers targeted skills-based trainings to disadvantaged communities to work on major projects. With the continued advancement of Metro’s major transit projects, there is an opportunity to collaborate with local, accredited technical-trade community colleges and vocational schools located along and near Metro’s future transit projects’ alignments. Students can be connected to transit-related educational and career opportunities for construction, operations, and maintenance of major transit projects.
Access to skills-based trainings will be critical to ensure residents’ access to the many new jobs created by these projects.
Subject
SUBJECT: ACCESS TO CAREER OPPORTUNITIES MOTION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
APPROVE Motion by Directors Hahn, Solis, Dutra, Dupont-Walker, Krekorian, and Mitchell that the Board direct the Chief Executive Officer to:
A. In partnership with Metro’s Office of Equity and Race, Transit Operations, Program Management, and WIN-LA, create a working group with community colleges and regional occupational centers from communities located along Metro’s major transit projects and consisting of members and stakeholders based in these communities to begin discussions for the establishment of future skills-based courses at such institution(s), including but not limited to:
1. transit project construction
2. transit operations, and
3. pre-apprenticeships/apprenticeships;
B. Ensure course curricula align with Metro’s workforce requirements, including the need for multilingual employees;
C. Provide skills-based Certificates upon completion;
D. Focus opportunities for residents in communities located along and near future transit projects in order to increase access to the jobs created by Metro’s infrastructure construction program; and
E. Identify additional career pathways and upskilling opportunities within Metro;
F. Continually seek state and federal funding, including but not limited to State of California High Road Training Partnership funding, to support the development of career pathways; and
G. Report back to the Board on progress toward this effort in June of 2022.