Alameda Corridor Cities Demand Jobs for Residents

State Sen. Tom Hayden and a coalition of community leaders demanded Saturday that developers of the $2-billion Alameda Corridor hire low-income residents from the economically depressed cities along the route of the transportation link.

“We want to be part of the project that runs through our backyards,” said Benetta Johnson, chairwoman of the Alameda Corridor Jobs Coalition. “We want some of the prosperity from that project to benefit our communities. We want decent-paying jobs that provide an income, training, benefits and a future.”

Johnson was joined by 80 people outside Jordan High School in Los Angeles for a news conference about the 20-mile rail link that is expected to speed the movement of goods from the region’s ports to rail yards near downtown Los Angeles. Located on Alameda Street, Jordan is in the heart of the corridor’s right of way.

The route of the massive project will traverse cities and areas of the county with unemployment rates as high as 34%, such as Vernon, Lynwood, Compton and South Gate. The county’s overall jobless rate is about 6%.

Leaders from the so-called gateway cities say they deserve a share of the 10,500 jobs the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority estimates will be created during the three-year construction phase.

“Those trains better learn how to fly if jobs aren’t shared with our communities,” said Compton City Councilwoman Marcine B. Shaw. “Some of these areas have double-digit unemployment. Our young people have a jobless rate of at least 25%. We need these jobs.”

Hayden said he has introduced legislation that would require developers of the Alameda Corridor to hire a certain percentage of low-income residents for the project.

Of the jobs created by state funds, Hayden’s bill states that 30% of the total payroll must be used to hire low-wage earners. To make sure the quota is met, the legislation would create a tracking system for all people hired by contractors.

Hayden derided the corridor authority’s prediction that the rail link with its 30-foot deep trench would create 700,000 jobs either directly or indirectly in the years ahead.

“We are told the job creation will be global and national, but what jobs will be generated a mile on either side of the corridor? There has been no answer,” the senator said.

The corridor authority is scheduled to consider the jobs issue during its regular board meeting Thursday. General Manager Gill Hicks has been meeting with Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-Carson) to discuss a proposal guaranteeing that 30% of all work hours of new hires for the corridor project be performed by low-income residents from the cities the rail link crosses.