Op-ed by Jon Preciado, Southern California District Council of Laborers, and SCF CEO Tim Jemal
Los Angeles Business Journal – Op-Ed from Southern California District Council of Laborers Business Manager Jon Preciado and SCF CEO Tim Jemal:
“When Phan drives his family around Southern California, he proudly points out the freeway overpasses and bridges he helped build – the ones that carry medicine, food and other essential goods to Californians and the nation.
“We build America, and we keep America moving,” he tells them.
That pride is hard-earned. Phan grew up in Section 8 housing and on food stamps, with few connections and fewer prospects. His opportunities shrank even further after a stint behind bars.
Then Phan joined Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 1309. Now, 22 years later, he is a foreman clearing the way for the new Shoemaker Bridge – a $900 million project rebuilding a critical freight connection to the Port of Long Beach. When his sons’ friends ask him where to find work, he shares his path to a good-paying union job that supports his family and his community.
Whether those young adults will have the same opportunities is now a question of land-use policy: without the industrial facilities that made Phan’s career possible, these jobs may not be around for the next generation.”
Resources:
Read the Pepperdine School of Public Policy and Beacon Economics white paper on Southern California’s industrial ecosystem.
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