More than 18,000 good, middle-class jobs will be created by the project
Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, Executive Secretary-Treasurer Maria Elena Durazo issued the following statement Thursday regarding the signing ceremony of AB81xxx. The measure will speed the creation of a new 3-million square foot NFL stadium and entertainment, dining and shopping complex that will create more than 18,000 middle-class jobs and generate millions in revenue for the region’s hardest-hit local economies.
On behalf of the 800,000 workers who are represented by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, we want to thank the governor, Ed Roski, Majestic Realty, Assembly Speaker Bass, Rep. Isadore Hall and state Senate leader Steinberg for scoring a touchdown for middle-class jobs. I also want to thank unions, including the Electricians Local 11, the Teamsters, Unite Here Food Service workers and the rest of the construction unions, for their active support to make this project a reality. We are especially proud of the business-labor collaboration. Thank you Mr. Roski for taking the high road. This is the model we need to duplicate throughout the state.
Far too many workers now sit idle. In fact, more than 30 percent of workers in the building trades are currently unemployed. That’s more than just a recession … that’s a crisis.
This stadium project will be a shot in the arm for our local economy. It will create 18,000 jobs, including 12,000 in construction. Some 6,700 jobs will be permanent.
These will not be the low-wage jobs typically associated with stadium developments around the country. They will be 18,000 good-paying union jobs, where workers earn a living wage, health and pension benefits and respect for their hard work. This stadium will be built and operated with a strong middle class standard of living. That’s not trickle down economics that only benefits a few.
This is true economic development that benefits everyone in our community.
And these jobs and this stadium will not cost the taxpayers one dime. This stadium project is truly a win-win-win for everyone – businesses, taxpayers, workers – and, yes, football fans.
That’s why we in L.A. Labor worked so hard to pass this legislation.
Let us be clear that the labor movement remains true to the belief that we can grow our economy and protect the environment at the same time. This project will set an example for the world by building the NFL’s first green stadium. Remember: both good, middle-class jobs to build and service the stadium and friendly to the environment. We can’t let one be sacrificed for the other — we need and got both with this project.
The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO is the chartered Central Labor Council (CLC) of the AFL-CIO in Los Angeles County and is the second largest in the country, representing over 800,000 workers through over 350 unions. Its mission is to promote a voice for workers so they can remain in the middle class, move themselves out of poverty by joining a union, encourage active participation in the political process by electing pro-union and pro-worker officials and to advance public policies that support workers and their families. As the coordinating center for labor’s political activity, the Federation believes that in educating and mobilizing workers to be politically active they can create and sustain healthy communities, and FIGHT FOR GOOD JOBS that REBUILD THE LOS ANGELES MIDDLE CLASS. Visit the Federation at www.launionaflcio.org.
