June 2010 Vol. 13 No. 6

Carpenters in Action Update

CIA action pays off- Jobs on the way!

Top: Northern California carpenters gather at San Francisco City Hall last March to support the roll-back of development fees. Bottom: Mayor Newsom signs the proposal into law while the CIA provides the backdrop.

Back in March, more than 200 carpenters from all over Northern California joined together in front of San Francisco City Hall. They were there to support Mayor Gavin Newsom’s proposal to defer city development fees as an economic stimulus plan for construction in San Francisco.

This proposal has the ability to jump-start desperately needed construction projects, at a time when financing for private projects is hard to secure. This strong show of support got the attention of those inside City Hall, and the proposal moved forward quickly.

Members of the CIA were invited to attend the signing ceremony as Mayor Newsom signed the legislation into law, and in fact, the backdrop for the ceremony was a CIA banner!

CIA members tackle Sacramento budget issues

State Senate President Pro-Tem Darrell Steinberg invited members of the CIA, as well as members of Operating Engineers Local 3, to speak to a State Senate Budget Committee hearing in May.

CIA members have attended rallies, handed out leaflets, carried signs and packed planning commission and city council meetings. But last month might have been a first; over a dozen members attended a State Senate Budget Committee hearing, and several members testified in front of the senators.

The topic of the meeting was consideration of a request to include over $4 billion in new infrastructure spending in the upcoming budget. The source of the funds would be bond sales, from a portion of the bonds approved by the voters four years ago.

Members spoke to the senators on the committee at the request of State Senate President Darrell Steinberg, who supports the request. CIA members, along with members of Operating Engineers Local 3, met with Senator Steinberg in the capitol before the hearing, and discussed the need to put California back to work.

At the hearing, Carpenters and Operating Engineers lined up to testify about the impact of the great recession, and how hard it is to find work. At the conclusion of the testimony, every member of the committee—Democrat and Republican—voted to include the request in the upcoming budget.

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