Some Construction Health and Safety Notes, for August 1

There were to postings on the Building Trades Department's website this week that caught my eye. The first is a study by the Center for Policy Initiatives, which highlighted the high number of uninsured workers in the California construction industry. The second is the formation of a industry- labor council in New York City.

The study by the Center for Policy Initiatives highlights how many people do not have health insurance, by industry. According to the study construction workers had the highest numbers.
Below are some of the stats from the study:

Construction occupations had high rates of uninsured workers: 32 %

• 30% for electricians
• 60% for drywall installers, ceiling tile installers and tapers
• 47.1% for construction laborers

On a brighter note the Building Trades Website reported the development of a Construction Industry Safety Council in New York City. The Council is made up ofthe city's leading high-rise contractors, contractor associations, the Building and Construction Trades Council of New York, and the Real Estate Board of New York.

According to the press release:

Goals for the council are to encourage and facilitate sharing of ideas and best practices; conduct research on safety practices elsewhere and evaluate their adaptation to a dense urban environment; and develop a safety Web site open to members and the public. Other goals include raising safety awareness and the standard of care in the industry through research, education, and advocacy; urging government agencies to establish safety standards "that all contractors building in the city should adhere to"; and interacting with neighborhood representative organizations for discussion and input.

Hopefully the best practices identified can make their way across the country.

Photo by ethorson

Big School Bonds for Southern California School Districts

Two of Southern California's School Districts, San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) and Los Angeles Unified (LAUSD). Los Angeles is looking to place a $7 billion bond on the fall ballot. San Diego, which is a much smaller school district is looking at a 2.1 billion school bond in November as well.

LAUSD: Ginormous Bond = Small Schools

The LA Daily news reported that LAUSD is expected to campaign on a plan to build small schools of 500 students or less. The ongoing renovations at LAUSD is one of the largest public works projects in the nation. One tactic that the LAUSD is doing is having several small schools on larger campuses.

District officials defend their construction program, saying they may be developing large school sites, but they are trying to break them down into several mini-schools on each campus.

Example of Byrd Middle School

Byrd Middle School will open its doors to more than 1,600 sixth-, seventh- and eight-graders in the fall.

The state-of-the-art school boasts a new basketball gym built to high school standards, environmentally conscious architecture that incorporates natural light and technology-driven classrooms.

But, in a nod to the small-schools concept, each grade will be housed in a separate building, with its own assistant principal, attendance clerk and counselor. There are 19 classrooms per building, each built to accommodate up to 40 students.

San Diego Unified's 2.1 Billion Bond
100 miles to the south the San Diego Unified School District is looking at school bond as well. According the the SDUSD's website:

The bond issue is being requested to update school facilities for new technologies, which will improve student learning and instruction. The proposal also includes more than $273 million for upgrades required under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. In addition, funding is allocated for projects that will be decided by each school, with $150 per student set aside for projects selected by the school.

The district has a great interactive map. It shows where the projects are and a listing of the projects.

The district passed the $1.51 billion Proposition MM bond measure in 1998. It has completed most of the work that was scheduled. The when they were researching the initial bond, the district found $4 billion of needed repairs.

Southern California Tribes Are Expanding Highways

This was an interesting little article I found.

Casino Pauma in San Diego County is looking to expand. They are embarking on a $300 million expansion program. However in order to do so they need to pay for infrastructure improvements which includes some highway construction projects. They have committed to paying $38 million to widening the state route 76.

Currently Casino Pauma is housed in metal-framed tents with a 400-room gambling resort. The proposed casino includes a nineteen story hotel and an expanded gambling floor. However in order to be responsive to the neighbors they scaled back the project slightly.

One elephant in the room is whether CalTrans is ready to expedite this project. Charles Mathews is quoted as saying:

“Some of that cash has a fuse on it, it has to be spent before 2011,” he said. “Clearly the onus now moves to the county and to Caltrans to make sure that available money is spent, is well spent.”

But with the background of a budget battle and a potential raid on transportation funding there may be delays for the implementation of transportation projects throughout the state.

Anti Union Measure in Chula Vista Fails to Make the Ballot

Earlier in the year I posted a blog entry about the Associated Builders and Contractor's (ABC) attempt to put an anti project labor agreement measure on the November ballot in Chula Vista. Well, the failed to get the "Open Competition and Anti-Discrimination Ordinance" (This ballot title is really deceiving. I read more special rights for the entitled top one percent)

San Diego Politico reported that Donna Norris, Chula Vista's interim city clerk, informed the proponents that they failed to submit enough signatures to qualify for the election. They submitted 7,092 signatures that were obtained legally. This is less than 9,062 needed to qualify.

Below is a press release by the California State Building Trades Council that summarizes the death of the measure in the court.

"A California Court of Appeal has denied a petition by supporters of an anti-union ballot measure in Chula Vista to place it on the November ballot. The denial means the measure WILL NOT appear on the ballot, barring some further action by the Supreme Court.

The measure was aimed at helping non-union contractors snatch contracts on publicly funded projects. The state Elections Code requires notice of a petition drive to be published in a local paper, and an affidavit of publication filed with elections officials within 10 days. The proponents of this measure filed their affidavit more than two months late, in violation of the law. The city clerk then properly rejected the petitions."

The just because they are not organized does mean they will give up. They are persistent. There are two city council candidates that they are backing for the November elections. If they can not trick the voters, then they can get their friends do their bidding.