Organized Labor

Craft Workers to Help Make Schools Handicap Accessible

By Paul Burton
Contributing Writer

The first two projects covered by the newly-signed Project Labor Agreement between the Building Trades and San Francisco Unified School District are already underway.

Craft workers are on site at two elementary schools – Sutro and Cleveland – working to bring them into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that mandates that schools be accessible to disabled and handicapped, students. Funded through $450 million in bonds approved by San Francisco voters in 2006, the scope of work includes meeting disability-access requirements and health and safety codes, and rehabilitating the buildings and grounds.

The PLA, which covers building improvements at 64 schools, was approved by the SF School Board last June 24. The school board adopted the PLA on the recommendation of SFUSD legal counsel Phillip Henderson and Chief Facilities Officer David Goldin, who read a supporting resolution which states in part, “It is critical that those projects be completed on time for purposes of effectively operating schools and to avoid the increased costs caused by construction delay,” and “the projects require skilled, qualified craft and trade persons to meet the demands of the construction and renovation work…”
Bids for various projects around the district went out over the summer.

“The main thrust of the projects is to bring the schools into compliance with the rulings in Lopez vs. SFUSD that requires the district to make certain schools accessible under the ADA,” said SFUSD Director of Construction for the Bond program, Maureen Shelton. The 2006 bond measure was proposed and passed as a way to fund the upgrades to the schools after the Lopez lawsuit against the district. Shelton said that once the work on ADA issues is completed and if there are funds left over, other work such as painting will also be done.

Work at Sutro Elementary on 12th Ave in the Richmond district will include renovating the bathrooms to make them accessible, with some new fixtures, as well as installing new ramps and railings, and building a new playground. But for now, work involves abatement—isolating and removing hazardous or toxic materials like lead paint or asbestos. Shelton explained that often when renovating older schools, built before some of the stricter environmental regulations of the 1970s, hazardous materials are present. She said when asbestos is encountered in older floor tiles, the mastic adhesive and pipe insulation, an industrial hygenicist does an assessment. Then qualified abatement specialists are called in to remove the materials.

Felix Guzman, the Superintendent for general contractor Cal-Pacific at Sutro ES, said there were currently six members of Laborers Local 67 who specialize in abatement on the job, working for Restec Contractors Inc., based in Hayward. Restec has been working in the environmental field since 1979, performing asbestos, lead, mold, and hazardous materials abatement services, sandblasting, and specialty demolition, according to the contractor’s website.

Guzman said the Laborers are certified to do the abatement work, currently taking place in the school’s multi-purpose room and administration offices. The office has been moved to a temporary modular unit during the abatement phase of the project. Because school is still in session, work is done in the late afternoons and evenings, after school. There are about 850 students in grades kindergarten through 5 at Sutro ES.

Guzman said that work in the multi-purpose room and offices would be completed by January, then demolition of bathrooms that will be upgraded will begin. He said that work would be done in phases, starting on the first floor, with work on the second floor of the two-story building set for April. In the summer, work on the outside ramps, railings, and playground would take place. Guzman said there would be about 20 construction workers on the job at its peak. The job is scheduled to be completed by next August, in time for the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year.

SFUSD’s Shelton said so far the work at Sutro and at Cleveland is being done on schedule and is expected to come in under budget. Sutro is a $3.2 million project; Cleveland $4.7 million. Shelton said that both Cal-Pacific and Alten Construction, the general contractor at Cleveland ES, have worked on other projects for the SFUSD and have experience dealing with scheduling work around the school day and other issues with school construction. “We have existing relationships with them,” Shelton said. “They are familiar with the drill—how to control noise and dirt, how to set up the hard barriers to maintain separation between school activities and construction. We have outlined a set of specifications for what can be done during the day and what has to be done after hours.”

Alten’s superintendent for the Cleveland ES project, John Constant, said that work at the school includes installing ramps and making the restrooms accessible as well. The fire alarm system will also be upgraded and an elevator installed. A drill rig was used last month to dig down 36 feet for the elevator piston.

Alten, based in Richmond, is a signatory to master agreements with the Carpenters; Constant is a 32 year member of the Carpenters union in Martinez. There were only a few workers on site last month, with two electricians from T & T Electric from San Francisco installing wiring, conduit, and electrical fittings on the temporary modular classrooms on the school grounds. Cleveland ES, on Athens Street in the Excelsior district, has about 480 students in kindergarten through 5th grade. Constant said the work was being done in phases, like at Sutro ES. Students in the second floor classrooms will be relocated to the temporary modules while work was being done there. He said over the summer there would be between 10 and 25 workers on the project, which will be completed by September 2009.

Constant said that the prevailing wage requirements were a good way to level the playing field so that non-union companies couldn’t undercut the union contractors. He said the only potential issue for contractors with the PLA was that many of the small subs prefer to use their existing crews and not bring in new apprentices and local hires. All contractors are required to pay the prevailing wage and employ registered apprentices, and are encouraged to hire local residents.

Alten has experience working on school projects throughut the Bay Area, including three others for SFUSD. Constant said knowing how to coordinate the phases of the project and what kind of work was needed, as well as familiarity with the District, enabled the contractor to make a good estimate of the costs and time.

There are 43 projects in the works for the SFUSD that are subject to the terms of the PLA, out of a total of 58 projects. According to SFUSD Bond Program Director of Finance & Administration Leonard Tom, the Bond Program will be designing and constructing those projects between now and 2012. Work will involve improving health and safety standards, including installing fire sprinkler systems, repairing elevators and replacing drinking fountains; making building repairs such as fixing bathrooms and repairing or replacing electrical and plumbing systems; improving accessibility for students with disabilities by installing ramps, signs, assistive listening devices and making other needed repairs and replacements; and performing needed environmental improvements, including removing materials containing asbestos.

In addition to the two projects at Sutro Elementary School and Cleveland Elementary School currently underway, there are six other projects (New Traditions ES, Lawton ES, Lakeshore ES, San Miguel CDC, Herbert Hoover MS, Dr. George Washington Carver ES) advertising for bids. Most of the remaining projects are in various stages of planning design or approval.