On November 10, 2011, the TJPA Board approved a historic agreement with organized labor designed to ensure labor peace and equal opportunity for small, local, disadvantaged, union and non-union businesses throughout the construction of the Transbay Transit Center Program. The Project Labor Agreement (PLA) is a pact that all construction and trade workers, both union and non-union, must abide by while working on the Transbay site. Under the agreement, all workers agree to work by the same rules on an equal playing field. In return, all workers are provided standard working conditions, wages, benefits, and protections.
The 28 separate unions are now all bound to this single labor agreement, and the PLA ensures that construction of the project will not be delayed due to strikes or other labor-related issues.
All contractors are encouraged to bid on contracts regardless of union status. All contractors, union, and non-union, will be required to agree to abide by the terms of the PLA in order to be awarded a contract. A Letter of Assent will be included in each construction package issued for bid.
The PLA encourages opportunities for young people, women, minorities, and economically disadvantaged individuals to pursue careers in trades, and ensures that Small Business Enterprises and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises have equal opportunity to receive and participate in TJPA contracts on a level playing field. The PLA also promotes pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs. Pre-apprenticeships are union sanctioned high school and community college trade programs for students seeking apprenticeships after they graduate. Apprenticeships are union training programs for adults seeking a career in a trade such as operating engineers, plumbing and pipe fitting, waterproofing, etc. Each trade union has its own apprenticeship program.
Read the full Project Labor Agreement
Access the union collective bargaining agreements (“Schedule A’s”)
Veterans
The PLA promotes assistance to veterans and disabled veterans transitioning to the construction industry and facilitates meaningful careers for our returning servicemen and women.
Helmets to Hardhats is a program of the Center for Military Recruitment, Assessment, and Veterans Employment that serves as a resource for preliminary orientation, assessment of construction aptitude, referral to apprenticeship programs/hiring halls, counseling/mentoring, and employment opportunities for veterans interested in careers in the building and construction industry. Contractors are advised to work with the unions to project upcoming workforce needs so that the Helmets to Hardhats program may forward notice of opportunities to veterans. Contractors will also strive to identify opportunities suitable for disabled veterans in the Wounded Warrior program. More information about Helmets to Hardhats and Wounded Warrior can be found online at http://helmetstohardhats.org or contact Helmets to Hardhats Western Regional Representative Nicholas Weathers: nweathers@helmetstohardhats
Anvil Builders, a disabled veteran-owned business, was awarded two trade packages; one for Personnel and Materials Hoists and the other for Temporary Facilities. TJPA is proud that Anvil Builders has been able to capitalize on its opportunities on the Transit Center project to become one of Engineering News Record’s 2015 Top 25 Newsmakers.
Read the Apprenticeship Opportunities for Veterans Fact Sheet Fact Sheet
Apprentices
The TJPA and the unions wish to use the economic activity generated by the design and construction of the Transit Program to support meaningful job training. The TJPA has successfully established the following opportunities for apprentices, pre-apprentices, and young people:
As of June 2013, apprentice hours for all crafts except laborers and operators well exceeded the participation goal.
The TJPA Summer Internship Program is in its fifth year, placing high school and college students with the TJPA and its consultants and contractors.
Read the Guide to Northern California Apprenticeship Programs and find out more at www.calapprenticeship.org
Construction and Union Websites
Carpenters Union Local #22: http://www.local22.org
Laborers Local 261: http://www.liuna.org
Operating Engineers Local No.3: http://www.oe3.org
San Francisco Building Construction Trades Council: http://www.sfbuildingtradescouncil.org