>> in the store manager, and i

would like to introduce the mayor of san francisco and the newly elected lieutenant governor of california, gavin newsom. [applause] mayor newsom: is that me? supervisor, i'm not ready for this. welcome, everybody, and thank you all very much for coming out today on this special ribbon cutting. supervisor maxwell and i were colleagues on the board of supervisors when this project was first brought up. i remember the controversy like it was yesterday. originally, as you know, this was supposed to be home depot. exactly. i knew it would be like saying the dodgers of san francisco or

something. people immediately started to align themselves up in tents, those that just could not imagine a home depot, could not imagine a big box retailer in the city and county of san francisco. i remember all the community meetings of on the hill. all over. we were all over the city having community meetings about the basic future of san francisco and what kind of city we wanted. were we a city of neighborhoods, or were we just going to find a suburbanized san francisco as our future? that was the debate, and home depot had to come to the table, spend a great deal of time with supervisor maxwell. the other supervisors wanted nothing to do with it at the time. but supervisor maxwell was open and wanted to make sure if there was ever going to be a retailer like that or a big box like

this, that there had to be some strong commitments to the community, and they needed to take shape in a private meeting. they needed to be on paper. they needed to be in writing, and we needed to make sure the attorneys were there so that all those commitments were enforceable. then, home depot, out of nowhere, decided to take off, just like sirens on that engine, and all that work, the macroeconomics of the world started to change, and they decided they had gone through the entire process, those arrows, those slings, and they went through all of that, and we had this incredible untitled project. every single thing approved. all those commitments. and the supervisor -- i remember the day after that announcement. we were on the phone talking

with michael cohen, saying what do we do? and we got this call from lowe's saying they might be interested. i remember that conversation. we said, "can you believe this?" we were pinching ourselves saying, "this is too good to be true if." there were a lot of disappointments because of the commitments that were made and the negotiated agreements, and we had gone through all the politics of this, and we finally -- the community was very supportive out here. not unanimously, but overwhelmingly supportive. we thought it was time to follow through on our commitment to the people of bayview hunters point, particularly 94124 area code. days became weeks and weeks became months, and folks in the mayor's office, my office, and supervisor maxwell's office, and lowe's said they were willing to

accept all the commitments that previous books made. we thought they would say they would commit to everything, but then we thought they would start to unravel, and they would pull back. but the reality is they said they would commit and they committed. and here we are, and they did exactly that. the local hires i think are without precedent of any big project in this city. this is real on the destruction inside and the permanent jobs that are being created. that is a pretty extraordinary thing. 211 or so jobs. 88% are just from in and around the area. it is an extraordinary story. i'm really proud of lowe's.

we are not jumping up and down four big boxes. we will be candid. we love the sales tax. this is a big deal. but we are sensitive to what big stores do. because you guys are so good that some of the little guys can be threatened by it, but this location was the right location. this boulevard needed the economic stimulus, the anchor. look at all the fresh paint across the street. it did not always look like that. you are going to see in the next few years this boulevard take shape. if lowe's continues to be the employer they have proven to date, a lot of families will benefit because of the jobs created because of this, so thank you for following through on all your promises. so far, you are one of the good ones, and we want to keep saying that for years to come. i thank supervise the maxwell

for getting in the mix and holding strong because it was not easy. i was watching those votes, and, man. [applause] all the commitments on the work force training money, the day laborer program, all those new trees we were going to get -- thank you for holding steadfast. michael cohen and all the folks in my office that helped make this possible. we are on our way out. we have had the best dam year. this is like 1998 and again or something. there's so much to be proud of or thankful for. with that, your supervisor, supervisor sophie maxwell.

[applause] >> thank you. i remember like yesterday those five to six votes, but what made a difference was the community. what made a difference was young community developers and hard hats and yellow vests lining up the walls. 60, 70 of them, and each of them speaking about the opportunities that they wanted to become working people. they wanted jobs and they wanted a leg up, and that is what this was about, so that is what i remember. i remember 2:00 and 3:00 in the morning, but it was all worth it. i can hardly find a parking place this year. i'm really excited, and this boulevard -- you are right. we are working on becoming a home improvement district with lowe's being the anchor, so i think you are going to find a lot of fascinating things

happening in this area, this district, so i want to thank the mayor and all of my colleagues. the so-called progressive -- they do not relate like economic development that much. they like programs. so aaron said that it was going to be rough, and i told him to represent the people standing here, and he did. i want to thank all the people who are going to come here and the 50% from 94124 and 93134. thank you for that. >> and thank you to look of 22, local 261, to rsr construction. thank you very much. now, we are going to hand it back to lowe's and have the

ribbon cutting. thank you. >> with all of that, we just want to thank everyone. first from the city of san francisco for welcoming us. we opened the doors, and it has been wonderful hearing all the comments from the customers about how excited they were to come into lowe's and how they look forward to come into lows. i want to thank the community and neighborhood for welcoming guests -- welcoming us. i want to thank the honorable mayor of san francisco and sophie maxwell for welcoming us. i would like to thank rhonda simmons and her wonderful and entire staff for her guidance

and support, and i would like to thank everyone for the partnership. i would like to thank derek smith for his guidance with this whole project. without your advice, i think we would be wandering through, wondering where to go. i would also like to thank my district manager for his support and guidance, but most of all, i would like to thank short construction and the storm voice and their families for the hard work and dedication and the hours away from home that they spent building this store. it was a wonderful experience to bond with our group that were from this community. [applause]

i would like to cite -- to thank malcolm x academy for allowing us to do a super heroes project at their school where we repainted and unified their school and planted for them and help them with their nutrition project, but i would like to present the thurgood marshall high school a check for $1,000. from cost to you, -- from us to you, thank you so much. [applause] we would also like to present to san francisco city coalition at

$5,000 tool donation. [applause] now, lowe's would like to have the mayor and district supervisor do our board cutting ceremony.

[applause] mayor newsom: congrats, everybody. worked out. worked out for the neighborhood as well.

after school at 3. . 30 i hop on the bus and go to work with kids. i didn't realize i was going to get up that early for the rest of my life. >> it's hard to get good jobs. you can get well paid working at restaurants i was making good money that's not my 50 year goal working as a waitress. it would be better to have something to fall back on i wanted something where i would

in 10 years accumulate properties. >> 3 months is a long time to be busy all day. i'm putting myself further in debt with the understanding it's worth the sacrifice. eating raman for 3 months. it's not fun but i think it will be worth it. >> we all want to graduate we are all tired of this class. been 11 weeks. one more week to go. >> i need to get these mraps out. >> my purpose is to get the recruits prepared for the construction training. >> what you do is get a 2 by 6 sitting on the saw horses. we will cut 10 feet. everybody going to get one and

you measure up 6 inches. you sure you got 8 feet. >> as a carpenter you have to let them know what's expected and they need to know the stuff to get going on the trades. >> the main thing they need to know is how to carry the stuff on the job and the hussle. >> you can't work with the gloves. >> my part is a small part. my part is the best part. the part that really teaches them how to go out and fish rather than go to the fish market. my job is how to teach them to fish when the fish market is closed. >> this requires i thinking. when you go on the job site they will pay you 20-15, dollars an hour you have to think and figure stuff out and get the

jobs done in a record time. >> one of the things we try to teach with the construction trades is your attitude going to work. how employers look on new workers and it's about profitability and productivity. it's not how much swings it takes to drive, you know, ita about do you have the right attitude? can you show up on time? can you make the company money? >> 12.5 times 15. >> i don't want you to use the calculator. >> the students go through approximately 420 some hours of training. we operate at the campus of the community college a 12 week, full time program, 7-3:30.

>> if you were going to figure out how much [inaudible] you need you rounding up. >> average age of individuals in the trades is in the 40's from what we are told. in the 50's quite frankly those folks are getting ready to retire. we see a void. >> the average is making 60-80 thousand dollar a year more with benefits much it's hard work i will not lie. >> if you like working with your hands and creative and you look at a building and say, i did that finish and that building is there for a hundred years. come to my program you will work for anyone in the country. >> we send people to the dry waller the carpenters and the plummers. >> we are conscious who we give a job referral to.

>> we look at the skills part as far as hayou do with a hammer and nail there are other components to be able to be a team player. be able to take directs and be precise and punctual things like this you need to help you keep your jobs. >> we will looking at the interviews today and doing the critiquing from the papers. >> i was thinking last week we were talking ask that was so much thinking going on about the interview and how i was going to do it. >> i feel like, me, as an

african-american woman and older woman with children i feel i have to set an example. a lot of people don't know how to deal with anger and conflicts. the kids here look up to me. if i do something and don't set an example then they are going to follow. since i've been a positive roll model, coming to school everyday. some of those kids pick up on that and i see the improvement in them. >> one thing that i knew but the class helped reinstate is that you have to check yourself. we are all grown adults. >> i try to be motivated in everything i do in my life. if you don't encourage yourself to do something or do things for yourself you can't expect somebody else will do it for you. some people didn't make it to

class because they have a bad attitude and decided it wasn't worth it. >> when you do something you have to understand why you are doing it and you can't say and come in and say, i will make good money. construction's not like that you have to want to do it because it's not aedz work. you have to want to get up and go to work and do physical labor for 8 hourses. >> i lived next to biotechnology companies and was a recruiter. i was getting tired and felt sluggish. >> i knew from the first day we were outside being outside having fun, climboth ladder and hammer and the physical labor i knew it was something i would enjoy. to say i put 15 years into this and not retire a multimillionaire but retire

healthy and feel good about the work i have done. >> the greatest accomplishment is you drive by a building or bridge and say, i helped build that bridge or helped build the building on market street. the most greatest reward for me is i taught that student to work on the bay bridge. taught the student operating the crane that student was in my class. >> our goal is to have a core group of people, we are hoping it's over 50 percent of your grads complete and become journey people andup standing

good roll models and citizens. the largest public works our city has season in many years going on now the private project that 1 rincon hill. huge project. we had 5 or 6 people work on that project thus far. the rebuilding of the academy of science in golden gate park. the rebuilding of our public hospital laguna honda this is on going work with the same contract ors that move successful apprentices from one project to another and keep them working for several years. the construction workers of the future to be the superintendents the construction owners. that's the perfect thing there. that's success. >> many people af

this building was built in 1936. as a board to preserve the history and make the students aware of that history. the partnering between sfmoma and the arts commission means they will be more aware of the artwork that we have here, the artists that painted a, and the history behind this itself. >> students came from george washington, and it was wonderful to have them on a panel. people from the school board, those who have been painting for

years, some conservative errors from the getty. to have them tell us about the works of their school was important. it represents african-american artists to during the 20's and 30's used an incredible body of work. it is one of the most incredible works of art in the city, bar none. it is a huge mural of incredible works. >> the san francisco civic arts collection has been in existence since the turn of the century. it consists of everything from monument to golden gate park to market street, other works in the collection, from the wpa era, the quite tower, the works from the george washington high school. we have the contemporary education, where they depict some of the vocational arts that were taught at george washington

high school. what is interesting is the artist's and corp. of some of the -- incorporation of some of the architectural elements. they used the speaker from the p a system as part of the design. on the opposite side of the library, we have a large fresco which depicts the academic subjects that were taught at the time. it serves as a foil to the other fresco in the library, we have academic subjects on one side, vocational subjects on the other, and result is the concept of a well-rounded education. additionally, what we plan to do is the academy of hospitality and tourism will be part of, so the students can share with other students, faculty, the neighborhood, and others to come by and what to look to the

artwork we have. >> by working with the students, we hope to raise awareness of the collection and foster stewardship. we brought diego rivera to the city. i think the wpa art work is characterized by stylized robustness and a pervasive occupation with a historical. in this panel, we have a depiction of george washington moving west. what is interesting about it is the image of lewis and clark here is in black and white, something that is occurring in the future, painted as though it was in the past. what is interesting about it is

the very obvious conclusion of slavery. the number of students were expressing unease around some of the themes. the additional mural would be placed in the school, one with more positive representation of the student body. in 1974, they completed three panels that were placed in the library -- in the lobby. they depict native, latino, asian american, and african- american heritage and culture. >> that artist was talking about the history coming alive. that is what we want for the students here. i also think they might share that with past alumni and the community, so they could