Last Thursday, Mayor Ed Lee signed a $7 billion project labor agreement, with the goal of bringing thousands of new contracting and construction jobs to San Francisco—primarily targeting underrepresented residents in the Bayview, where the city's sewer system is headquartered.
As its name implies, the Sewer System Improvement Program (SSIP) aims to improve the city’s aging sewer system, portions of which date as far back as the 1800s. The aim is to make the system more seismically resilient, flood-resistant and efficient at treating sewage. The project will take place over three phases in the next 10 to 15 years, with the first phase costing $2.7 billion.
One of organizations onboard as a partner for the project is Bayview-based agency Young Community Developers. Led by executive director Shamann Walton, it will serve as an access point for job training and certification in the construction field.
"We knew that 70 percent of the cost of SSIP would be in construction," said Harlan Kelly, Jr., general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC). "We needed to make sure that we had quality contractors, and we worked with the union to ensure that they provided opportunities to communities across San Francisco ... We’re going to double down on opportunities, so that communities in San Francisco can participate in building this great infrastructure we are creating to improve our city’s sewer system."
The water system improvement program, which seismically reinforced the 160-mile water system beginning in 2002, was "able to employ thousands of people throughout the region, so now we are building off the success of that with this program," Kelly said. “I’m really excited about the agreement."
According to a press release issued by the SFPUC, SSIP has already been an economic boon for locals, even though the bulk of the project is yet to come. 50 percent of all subcontracting dollars for the project have been awarded to local businesses, and of that amount, 52 percent went to minority-owned businesses and 25 percent went to women-owned businesses. In all, $100 million so far has been awarded to SF-based businesses.
Masood Ordikhani, workforce and economic services director for the SFPUC, administered the project labor agreement and made negotiations with the trade.
“The two key parts [of the agreement] are a job training and opportunities program, where we work with the community to put them on the project, and the business training program, where we have a center located near the executive park in Bayview where we put our local contractors," he said. "We want them to be able to have access to technical assistance, and a wide majority of them are from the community."
"It’s all about community investment. These jobs only come if these programs get supported and funded by community.”
“The important thing for me and Harlan is to deliver this project safely, on time and within our budget," Ordikhani emphasized. “We want to train community members so that they can have careers in construction, make prevailing wages and have benefits."
"Already, 70 percent of our entry-level workers are from San Francisco, and the highest percentage of workers are from Bayview," Ordikhani noted. "I'm really proud of that.
The first phase of the sewer system infrastructure program will encompass 70 projects; according to the SFPUC, six have been completed, with 10 additional projects underway and a lot more to come. For more information, visit their website.
