the san francisco local hiring policy for construction. my first point is that the economic analysis of this ordinance failed to account for the real hard and soft costs of maintaining the status quo. it is well documented that there are costs associated with pervasive and retracted unemployment. the obvious are related to increased fiscal expenditures for services to support unemployed individuals as well as the loss of tax receipts. less obvious costs are social costs. the relationship between rising unemployment and rising crime and worsening social dislocation, as well as a decline in real income and spending accompanied by a rise in property and income inequality. i see this every day as new housing stock rises on third street without workers targeted by this ordinance working and therefore unable to occupy his residence or shop in our business district. serious considerations of the conclusions of mr. egan's analysis must factor in these real costs which undoubtedly

persist and will rise if we do not deal seriously with the failure of good faith. my second point builds on my first. even if there is a marginal net cost for a contract in, that would not factor into the costs i just mentioned. these are small. i would argue that they are insignificant to the taxpayer compared to the resulting decrease in crime and neglect in these areas where people are expected to enjoy these public works. chairperson avalos: thank you. we have a lot of people. i did not want to cut you up, -- cut you off, but we have to. >> my name is emily, executive director of the department on the status of women. among the 44,500 unemployed the chair referenced, there are many women, single moms. women make up just 3% of the roughly 15,000 construction workers in san francisco.

this percentage has remained roughly the same since 1999, when we looked at liverpool statistics as part of our gender analysis of the department of public works. the women can expect to earn a 20% to 30% more in construction jobs compared to office or clerical jobs. this ordinance represents an opportunity to advance our shared goal of gender equity. san francisco was selected for the america's award on gender equity by the un organization of american states. in the years of our work, we have found that the most important means of ensuring workforce diversity in nontraditional fields are recruitment and data collection. we urge to changes to the ordinance. we have submitted language to you requiring contractors to provide a recruitment plan so that oewd can evaluate how

much their outreach is to non- traditional groups in this area, and to require them to report on the demographics of hiring versus the available labor pool to look for signs of gender, race, or other types of discrimination. thank you very much. [applause] chairperson avalos: thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors. derrick brooks representing the green party in our city. i remember way back when we had minimum wage and living wage legislation. we saw similar economic analysis that said this was not going to be good. it was going to cost the city and the economy money. that turned out to be false. it is clear that living wage is good for our economy. this will similarly be good. the green party in our city stand a strong supporters of local hiring mandates. the key here is localization.

for the past 25 years as an organizer, i have studied capitalist economics, especially the new capitalist economics. any alternative economics student will tell you that it is possible -- if you listen to any pundit on the alternative side of economics -- it is possible and even likely that there will not be another bubble and the economy is going to stay the way it is. that means localities, counties -- every county in california should be passing a local hire ordinance, not just this one. this leads into peak oil. the peak oil taskforce in their analysis clearly showed us that we have some serious problems that we are going to face in the near term because of peak oil prices. it is vital for that reason that we start localizing our work force. you heard from someone previously about the environmental analysis. it is crucial that we localize our work force for the environment. in cancun, mexico, it is looking

a lot like copenhagen. that means local cities like san francisco need to take a lead on the environment. that means every political environmental leader and later on localization of peak oil in the city needs to say rock-solid in support -- stale rock solid in support of this legislation and make sure it goes forward. chairperson avalos: maceo lyons, espinola jackson, guanyoun lin, florenge kong. >> mike two minutes start now, right? my name is ramon hernandez. a represent local 261, over 3000 workers, city and county. i want to make it clear.

we work anywhere in the city and county of san francisco. i want to make sure we have a mechanism for the city ordinance to guide everybody. it does not matter what. they are going to be working on the construction. final, everybody for city build, which is one of the big -- with us, they are working together for the city and county. also, i just want to say thank you for supervisor avalos, the work you have been doing. i know we have been talking with you. [applause] and i want to say to the mayor office of work force development -- rhonda simmonon ans and chri

have been doing a great job. we are going to support you. 20% of local hires. we are going to do it. [applause] chairperson avalos: thank you. next speaker, please. >> i live in san francisco. i live on 10th street. >> mr. fong is here. chairperson avalos: you have to use the same microphone. >> mr. fronong is a resident of district 10. >> [speaking chinese] >> i am here to support the local legislation to hire workers from our community.

>> [speaking chinese] >> this is a very important legislation. both he and his wife are looking for work, and he wants to see that the legislation is move forward quickly. >> [speaking chinese] >> he is hoping that the legislation will help a lot of people, such as people in the garment industry as well. they also have their needs. >>

i think this legislation should go through. we are tired of projects -- a promise is being made and not kept. good-faith has failed.

mandatory is the way to go. >> my name is espinola jackson. the citizens of san francisco are always being asked to support local bond measures with their hard earned tax dollars. if our tax dollars are good enough to fund a san francisco project, we also deserve to reap some benefits as a community. this local hire legislation -- [applause] chairperson avalos: clapping in the middle cuts down people's time. i will give your time back. >> i have fought for many years, at least 50 years, for training opportunities that can lead to careers, local jobs, as well as

business development that serves all of us in san francisco. a local hiring mandate makes a long term economic sense, because it will have an immediate social impact, especially for the jobless and disadvantaged in our community. it is also the right thing to do. the one thing missing in this legislation is to do not have the local cbo's. i would like to see them included. chairperson avalos: maxine, jim felinas, cesar verras, and jose abrego. >> good afternoon, supervisors. >> [speaking chinese]

>> my name is mr. lin. i am a member of the chinese progressive association. i have been a construction worker for many years. >>i am also the main breadwinner for my family, but i have been unemployed very frequently. the job i am doing is not very secure. >> [speaking chinese] >> that is because of the high unemployment rate, and also because of language barriers. >> [speaking chinese]

>> i have been mainly unemployed for the past year. and of course it is not just me who is unemployed, but many of my friends in the construction industry who have been unemployed. sometimes, i have work. sometimes, i don't. so the kind of jobs they get is if they do not have minimum wage. sometimes, they do not even get paid for the work they do. >> [speaking chinese]

>> some employer says it is hard to find workers locally who have no experience -- to have those experiences or skills. this is just an excuse. we have a lot of workers in the city with experience and skills who are very industrious. >> [speaking chinese] >> some employers may also say the wages would be really high.

>> [speaking chinese] >> if you're talking about expenses, as the previous speaker said, what about the money you spend on prisons and jails? what about the money you spend on social benefits? that is expensive. >> [speaking chinese] >> i was not paid a lot. i was barely paid above minimum wage. >> [speaking chinese] >> we in san francisco care about this issue. listen to unemployed workers. thanks. chairperson avalos: thank you.

next speaker, please. [applause] >> [speaking chinese] >> good afternoon, board of supervisors. my name is lei tsai. i am a member of the chinese progressive association. i am here to support the local hiring initiative. >> [speaking chinese] >> i am a restaurant worker and my husband is a construction worker. i have two kids, and my husband is the main breadwinner. but he is frequently unemployed.

we are dependent on the meager wages i learned from working in the restaurant. -- i learned from working in the restaurant. -- i earn from working in the restaurant. it is not just me. a lot of families are facing this problem. [inaudible] we need a plan to create jobs, to have jobs for economic progress.

we are happy to have this local hire initiative. >> [speaking chinese] >> this initiative would create many job opportunities for us. we hope that this legislation will pass. thank you. [applause] chairperson avalos: thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i am the president of a construction company as well as the san francisco chinese club. today, i am supporting local hiring. construction bonds are local money. we need to use it rightly by benefiting the local work force. another is some concern about inflating the price. i am a local subcontractor and

general contractor. i do not see prices go up because of local hiring. we see a lot of workers do not have work. a lot of local businesses are out of work. their equity is coming down substantially. i believe we need to train our local workers to work for our city jobs. i do not see any problem to meet a 50% local hiring goal. i see that a lot of people stay in the city, and it is more expensive to stay in the city. we need to help those people to stay with us and pay more property tax, sales tax. also, to cut down the unemployment rate by the local hiring policies can help to resolve a lot of social problems, and to lower the crime rate so our community will be better. local hiring also promotes

greens. i encourage contractors to provide opportunities for training for the next generation, the new generation of skilled workers. san franciscans are the ones to build san francisco. [applause] chairperson avalos: think you very much. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, chairman and members of the committee. i am jim salinas, a native san franciscan, born and raised in the mission district. i am now passed the half century mark and lived here my whole life. let me say you will hear a lot of lame excuses as to why this legislation cannot or will not work. that is all they are. it is the outsiders and carpetbaggers that are here telling the stakeholders' like myself, folks that have lived here all our lives. please make no mistake that the communities are not only suffering from high unemployment, but displacement as well. i know too many brothers and sisters who have had to leave their city of perth.

they are living in antioch, pittsburgh, and to go. anywhere but where there were born. that is not right. i am an anomaly now. i should be the norm. everybody should go to work here. i got to work every day with the tools of the trade, buy a home, raised four kids in the mission district, and let them go to prestigious universities because of the career i got over 35 years ago. you'll hear a lot of land excuses. mccarthy construction is the only one that hurt communities of color at the mission campus site, -- that an arctic communities of color -- that heard communities of color at the mission campus site. there were people peacefully protesting and there were assaulted by the head of the building trades because they wanted to say, "put our community to work." the fbi system is fully

ingrained in the construction industry. that system has to change. you have the ability to do it. friends, brothers, and in-laws. there is no work in the east bay, the south bay, the north bay. the only work is in san francisco. we have young brothers and sisters killing themselves over the fact that they have no work. give them hope. put them behind power equipment. [applause] chairperson avalos: next speaker, please. claudia rocha, jose reyexzz, ruben santano, james bryant. will stop there because the cannot read the next speaker. >> commissioner avalos, please speak spanish. mr. salinas, please.

>> [speaking spanish] >> good afternoon, supervisors, chairman avalos. i am a member of the carpenter'' local here in san francisco, but i am here speaking on a personal basis. >> [speaking spanish] >> i live here in san francisco, and i am constantly out of work as a result of the fact that the companies will not hire us as a result of the fact that they have friends that they would rather put to work. >> [speaking spanish]

>> i live within two blocks of two projects that i could -- i live within half a block of two projects, and within five blocks of a major construction project. >> [speaking spanish] >> i have approached his contractors over and over, trying to secure work, and have not been given any opportunities, even though i live here in the city. >> [speaking spanish] >> i have many friends that work

on these various construction projects, because i work with them on many other construction projects. >> [speaking spanish] >> i do not have any problems with them coming and seeking work. i work with them. i support them. but there are projects in the city and we should have the first opportunity to have job opportunities. >> [speaking spanish] >> in this moment, you find me without money or without a health plan, without resources to continue to maintain a presence here in san francisco as a result of the fact that i cannot find work. >> [speaking spanish] >> i plead with you to move this

legislation forward and help us find work. thank you. chairperson avalos: thank you very much. next speaker, please. >> walter paulson. good afternoon. ♪ construction feelings coming over me there is wonder in this city that i see and the reason it's clear is because the item is here and it is the nearest thing to hiring i can see i am on the -- i want the top of the world on construction hiring and the only explanation i can find it is the love and money you have, and time to give it to this item if you can i am on the top of the hiring construction world

looking down on the city creation and the only explanation i can find is it is time that you give to this item and we need it now your love and money and have put construction hiring on the top of the world ♪ [applause] >> to the board of supervisors, my name is madam scott and paul at brown. we are the mothers of the human services social support growth. we are for the hiring of san francisco to be part of this project. the board of supervisors should up and take a look at it and vote on this. if you do not, you will have more crime on the streets. we have already lost our sons to gun violence. we just left 850 bryant for a

young man named k.c. evans who is now, because of the stimulus plan and because of the budget cuts -- he did not know what else to do. he has a doctor. he has gone back to the streets. as a result of that, he is looking at two to five years he is going to be serving. when he had a decent job paying his bills, he was able to buy a car and be a productive citizen. if we do not pay attention to this, we are going to have more young men like casey evans. you are loading a gun. you're going to be killing our youth. there is going to be more crime and violence in our streets. i say that i am for this. we are for it at the human circle as mothers who have lost children to gun violence. please higher san franciscans. hire our children and our young men. they have nowhere else to go, nowhere else to turn. they need our