California State Senator Scott Wiener and his sidekick, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks — both of whom Local 38 and the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council have supported in the past based on their well-documented support for our members — have decided to turn their backs on us. They’ve gone all-in with the leadership at the NorCal Carpenters Union and greedy developers to attempt to modify legislation to exclude a skilled-and-trained workforce requirement in future housing construction with their recently proposed State Bill 423.
The nearly-month-long parade of cyclones that struck vast swaths of California in December and January claimed 22 lives and cost the state an estimated $1 billion (at least) in damage resulting from flooding, high winds, downed trees, and landslides. The disaster set records in several regions of the state, including San Francisco, which saw its second-wettest day on record, with 5.46 inches falling downtown on New Year’s Eve.
Their ideas about ways forward differ in some cases, but housing rights nonprofits and tenants’ associations throughout the City agree on one thing: Building and construction trades unions will be essential to a successful execution of the Housing Element. Leaders from these groups spoke at length about the plan and how they felt the City would best be able to meet its goals.
They’re called Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts (EIFDs). With a name that sounds like a bureaucratic word salad and a backstory that’s just as deep in the bureaucratic weeds, there’s a lot to unpack with EIFDs. But they can be a powerful tool for cities and builders to better redevelop entire neighborhoods, keep projects moving and put more people to work, so they’re worth knowing about.
City College of San Francisco (CCSF) is finally getting some upgrades that have been years in the making and on the want list for decades.
To cap off 2022, Organized Labor spoke with a number of trades leaders and business agents from among the various SF Building Trades-affiliated locals about what they thought were the top projects of the year.
In December, President Joe Biden signed legislation passed by Congress, and, just like that, the years-long dispute between labor and railway carriers ended.
So, what happened?
The Golden State’s building trades enjoyed a number of victories during the recent legislative session, moving laws that will create jobs and better the lives of members across the state.
