New Prevailing Wages Finally Posted

California's Division of Labor Statistics and Research has posted the current prevailing wage.

There are a lot of increases.

California Bonds Are Popular, so the State Will Have Funds

According to the LA Times California's General Obligation bonds are really popular. They have a good rate of return on the bonds so people are buying them. The positive is that the state will have cash to fund operations and projects. The negative is that when the bonds are to be paid, more money is paid out in interest. So our bonds can pay for less.

Some facts about the bonds
For California residents, interest on the bonds is exempt from federal and state income tax. For someone in the 32% combined federal and state tax bracket, a 3.85% tax-free yield is equivalent to earning 5.66% on a taxable bond. By contrast, five-year Treasuries were paying 2.52% on Monday.

Since the state passed over $30 billion in bonds in 2006 it is good to know the state bonds have buyers.

2006 Bonds for Public Works, Funding Improvements in California (Part 1 of 5)

In 2006 California voter passed several bonds that funded infrastructure improvements all through out the state.

The Initiatives were:

• 1B: Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006
• 1C: Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund Act of 2006
• 1D: Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2006
• 1E:Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention Bond Act of 2006

All of the initiatives passed and will provide the state with a lot of funds for building. The Transportation and Disaster Preparedness and Levee bonds received over 60 percent of the vote. The California state legislature is hard at work finding the projects to spend the money on.

Proposition 1B: $19.9 Billion.

• Congestion reduction, highway and local road improvements: $11.3 billion to increase capacity on state highways, local roads and public transit.
• Public transportation: $4 billion to improve local transit services and state intercity rail services; purchase buses and rail cars and improve transit safety.
• Goods movement and air quality: $3.2 billion to improve freight movement through ports, on state highway and rail systems and between California and Mexico; improve air quality by reducing emissions related to freight movement, and replace/retrofit school buses.
• Safety and security: $1.5 billion to increase protection against security threats or improve disaster response on transit systems; improve rail crossing safety, seismically retrofit local bridges, ramps and overpasses; improve security and disaster planning in publicly owned ports, harbors and ferry terminals.

One of the major issues that California's Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) reports is that if the budget crisis is not resolved without taking resources away from transportation, there may be delays in how many projects CalTrans can approve in fiscal year 2008-2009.

As the Nationals Stadium Nears On Time and Under Budget Completion,

Local 657 just sent out a press release that how the stadium project labor agreement has benefited the DC community. Below is a copy of the press release that went over today's city council meeting.

As the Nationals Stadium Nears On Time and Under Budget Completion, D.C. Residents Ask the City Council to Keep A Good Thing Going Stadium’s PLA Proved a Successful Tool for Future District Construction Projects

Washington, DC (March 3, 2008) – District residents, including construction workers, community leaders, representatives from LIUNA – the Laborers’ International Union of North America - Local 657 and construction project experts testified to the Washington, D.C. City Council today about the benefits of the Washington Nationals stadium project for working men and women in the District.

The stadium is being built in record time and within budget, all while employing hundreds of D.C. residents in family-supporting construction jobs that provide health care. Not only has the stadium project supplied quality jobs, it has provided valuable free training and career opportunities for District residents. By learning new skills and gaining experience matched to employer needs, District residents will be able find additional opportunities for advancement after their work on the stadium is complete.

The stadium workers themselves are the best advocates for the project’s success. Rhonda Sledge, a LIUNA Local 657 member, D.C. resident and mother, said “my future is better because of the stadium project. My pay is good and there are healthcare benefits, retirement and lots overtime. Most importantly, I am receiving free training so that I can continue and advance my career in the construction industry.”

The key to the success of the stadium project is its use of a community compact called a Project Labor Agreement (PLA), which was forged by the city, contractors, workers and their unions, and community groups. By using a PLA the stadium project has created more family-supporting jobs and future career opportunities than any construction project in the District’s recent history.

“Local governments and Fortune 500 companies have used Project Labor Agreements to accomplish large scale, complex construction projects with much success,” said government affairs expert Gerry Waites of O’Donoghue & O’Donoghue. “The District is to be congratulated on their success with this agreement. In addition to the economic benefit of ensuring on time and on budget projects, these agreements help with other valuable community benefits such as local hiring goals and training.”

Reverend Mathew Reese from the Lee Memorial Baptist Church, expressing his concern for the District’s historically high unemployment rates and lack of the opportunities for minorities, called the stadium’s PLA “a model for future projects because of its local hiring goals and provision for training.” Reese urged the City Council to “keep a good thing going by using PLAs to guarantee local job creation for D.C. residents on construction projects in the future.”

Anthony Frederick, Business Manager at LIUNA Local 657 said “the stadium project was successful in putting hundreds of District residents to work bringing millions of dollars in payroll money into the community. Without the PLA, there would have been no requirements guaranteeing that workers receive good union wages that can support a family nor would there have been the vast training opportunities and local hiring goals.” Frederick called the project and PLA “a true model for the future.”

Through its community compact and PLA, the stadium has helped hundreds of D.C. families get ahead:

• 72% of all apprenticeship hours have been performed by District residents.
• 87% of all new apprentices working on the stadium project have been District residents.
• One-half of all new stadium hires are District residents.
• A third of experienced and seasoned journey-level workers on the stadium are District residents.
• Due in part to the stadium project, the entire list of District journeyman available for work has been exhausted.
• More than 211,650 apprentice-level work hours on the stadium have been performed by D.C. residents.
• D.C. residents at the apprentice level have earned approximately $2,963,128 on the stadium project.
• More than 343,180 journey-level work hours on the stadium have been performed by D.C. residents.
• D.C. residents at the journey-level have earned approximately $9,094,429 on the stadium project.
• Overall, with wages ranging from $15 to $28 per hour, the stadium project has brought approximately $12,057,557 in income to D.C. families – and helped reduce reliance on publicly-funded services such as health care.

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