MINUTES OF MEETING
September 20, 2004
The meeting was called to order by Co-Chair Kenn Phillips at 5:40 PM.
Committee members present were Igor Kagan, Jennifer Brogin, Jerry Fagin, Asta Criss, Jim Leahy, William Mosley (represented by Judy Schwartz), Marshall Long, and Co-Chair Kenn Phillips. Co-Chair Diann Corral was absent (no substitute attended in her stead), as was Mr. Manning, whose presence is not required as he attends the District Citizens Oversight Committee meetings on behalf of Los Angeles Valley College.
Others present were Dr. Tyree Wieder, College President, Jeanne Rubin, Executive Assistant to President Wieder, acting as recording secretary, taking the minutes of the meeting, and Joanne Waddell of the LAVC AFT. Present to report to the members on outreach efforts to small businesses were Terry Marcellus of DMJM/JGM, Fred Gans of DMJM, and Anne Murphy of PV Jobs.
Co-Chair Phillips called for public comments, and there were none.
Co-Chair Phillips called for Agenda Item II, Appointment of New Members, and Dr. Wieder appointed Ms. Hallie Kemper, President of the Valley Glen Community Council and Ms. Helen Bialek, Member, LAVC Retirees Association.
Co-Chair Fagin then called for Agenda Item III. Mr. Fagin made a motion, duly seconded by Ms. Criss, to approve the draft minutes of the Committee's meeting on July 19, 2004, as submitted, which motion was unanimously approved.
Co-Chair Phillips then called for Agenda Item IV. Mr. Gans told the committee that the bond measures are for $1.2 billion, and the time frame is 10 to 12 years. "We are in the 3rd year, and $187 million has been spent to date, primarily in soft costs (master planning, programming each project, Environmental Impact Reports, prioritizing projects, architect and engineer selection, design phase for each project, DSA submittal, and the public bidding process). Dr. Wieder interjected a brief explanation of what programming entails. Mr. Gans proceeded to cover the Program Expenditure Major Cost categories, and explained that activity will peak in 2007. "We have a very ambitions program goal of 28% local, small and emerging business participation in the LACCD Proposition A/AA bond projects," he said.
Mr. Gans then yielded the floor to Mr. Marcellus, whose job with DMJM is outreach. Mr. Marcellus explained that there are two components, outreach to businesses and to people (workforce, interns and apprentices). Mr. Leahy wanted to know if there was any outreach being made to Seniors, and Mr. Marcellus said, "We outreach to students, and therefore reach any Seniors who are students." Anne Murray of PV Jobs, was then introduced. PV Jobs is a non-profit organization reaching out to multi-barrier unemployed. She distributed a handout to the members, a true and exact copy of which is attached hereto. She stated that the apprentice goal for the program is 30% of construction jobs. Ms. Kemper asked her to define "multi-barrier". Ms. Murphy said this description included high school dropouts, those receiving welfare, and those with criminal records. Mr. Leahy wanted to know if they accept people who are mentally and/or physically challenged. Mr. Marcellus said that such candidates would not be excluded, but would have to be capable of doing construction work. Mr. Leahy also asked if all companies which bid have to be union companies. Mr. Marcellus explained that they do not, but for the purpose of the specific job, they have to enter into a single-job-only agreement that they will abide by union rules and pay union scale. No preference, he said, is given to union companies. Ms. Kemper asked if a non-union person could work, and was told that they could. "They are registered with the union for the purposes of the job." Mr. Leahy asked if it was the case that a union person would get a job before a local non-union person, and Mr. Marcellus said, "Yes." Mr. Leahy observed that this seems less than open and less than competitive. Ms. Kemper asked of Ms. Murphy whether she would fill the union jobs with her 30% local hire people. Ms. Murphy responded, "My goal is to create a pool of local workers in local ZIP codes so we have a group of workers who can be called out by the unions. We are creating clusters of Worksource Centers. We want Worksource Centers to refer people who are eligible to go into a union and want to work in construction - - when a contractor wants to satisfy that 30% goal, we have a pool of people to refer to them." Mr. Gans added that the LACCD Board of Trustees wanted to allow local citizens to benefit.
Mr. Leahy asked what constituted "eligibility" for unions, and Ms. Murphy said that this varies from union to union, with the Electricians, for example, requiring a high school diploma, high school algebra, passage of an exam, and a drivers license.
Dr. Wieder asked if any internships have been created on the LAVC campus, and Ms. Murphy stated that 150 have been created District-wide, and 13 LAVC students have been placed. She described efforts to recruit Valley students, such as posting notices of the internships on the LAVC Web site.
Ms. Criss inquired about the size of the area considered "local" for Valley, and Mr. Gans explained that each college in the LACCD has 8 to 15 ZIP codes. Mr. Fagin wanted to know if the internships are paid, and he was told that they are, at living wage scales. Dr. Long asked if the union halls are the gatekeepers of the labor supply, and Ms. Murphy said that they are, for the construction jobs. In response to a question posed by Dr. Long regarding the quality of workers, Ms. Murphy assured the members that the unions send qualified workers. However, Dr. Long described his experiences with the system, and described issues he has experienced, such as ordering a welder and getting a carpenter, or being required to hire an individual who "sits around all day and flips a switch two times." Dr. Wieder interjected that the college is very sensitive to costs, and asked if the situation described by Dr. Long is going to happen to the college. Mr. Marcellus responded to her question by saying, "There is a wonderful up-side because unions agree not to call job actions stemming from disputes between bargaining units over who should be doing the work." Responding to Mr. Leahy's inquiry, Mr. Marcellus said that the Project Labor agreements can be viewed on the District's Web site.
Mr. Kagan, directing his remarks to Ms. Murphy, said, "I heard about this by word of mouth. I never saw any flyers. Do you work through the student government? That is the voice of the students on campus." Ms. Murphy said that she thought this was a good idea. "We have," she said, "been working with the Academic Senate because interns must be referred by an instructor." Ms. Kemper asked if there has been any outreach to high schools, and Mr. Marcellus explained that it is more the thought that community colleges will use the internships as recruiting tools at the high schools. Ms. Bialek wanted to know if there will be advertising done in the student newspapers. Mr. Kagan offered to ask the "Valley Star" to cover this story. Mr. Leahy inquired about the length of time that the internships would cover, and Ms. Murphy told him that they vary - - they may be 15 weeks, full-time, summer jobs, or part-time on-going.
Dr. Wieder made the observation that she felt the communications to the campus could be more effective, getting as much information out to the college community as possible. Ms. Brogin stated that she felt there was a question of principle involved, that being whether students should be encouraged or allowed to drop classes to take or keep internships. Ms. Murphy explained that students are required to be enrolled in at least 6 units. Ms. Brogin, referring to the materials Ms. Murphy had distributed, observed that it is described in them that interns are taking full-time jobs, and reiterated that employers should not be allowed to encourage students to drop out of school.
Mr. Marcellus then described the local (within the bounds of Los Angeles County), small (as defined by the U.S. Small Business Administration) and emerging (in business less than five years) recruitment efforts. He told the members that 70% of the work is going to local business. "We plan to go back to the Board of Trustees to try to clean up the definition of the target so we make the 28% goal for small and emerging businesses." He went on to describe how LSE businesses should register on the District's Web site to become part of the database, and they will receive an e-mail announcing opportunities. "We will mentor them, so they will know how to apply for public works opportunities. We are close to announcing a bond guarantee program to assist LSE businesses with bonding requirements." Dr. Wieder observed that Valley's attempts at working with LSE businesses has demonstrated that they are frequently overwhelmed by the paperwork required of public works programs. Mr. Marcellus agreed that this is why mentoring is so important. Ms. Schwartz concurred, reflecting on her experience with the MTA. "Everything you are doing," she said, "is very helpful." To Mr. Phillips' suggestion that outreach be made via Chambers of Commerce, Mr. Marcellus observed that his experience has been that professionals are chamber members, and they do not have a problem with the process. Mr. Phillips then described the VEDC/LAUSD efforts, and the experience they had with people who completed classes, and were certified by LAUSD. He wanted know if those people could simply be accepted by the LACCD. Mr. Marcellus stated that the certifications are mutual.
Co-Chair Phillips then called for Agenda Item V, and Dr. Wieder proceeded to give her report. She distributed to the members the current budget reports, and stated that they will be discussed and reviewed at the next meeting, to be held November 15th. She also distributed the August 31st URS Construction Schedule, as well as the agenda from the last District Citizens Oversight Committee. True and exact copies of these handouts are attached hereto.
Co-Chair Phillips then called for Agenda Item VI, and there being no items from the floor, proceeded to Agenda Item V.
There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m.
By: _______________________________________
Jeanne C. Rubin
Acting as Recording Secretary
