so thoese wages are really important to the community. i couldn't afford to live in this town even at the wages i make now if i didn't have rent controlled apartment. so i don't know how these people at this concessionaire can even live in town, in the neighborhood. they're super commuters now, so they're driving from fairfield and sacramento just to go to work here in town. and so thank you for letting me speak, and i hope you listen to our pleas. thank you. >> thank you. >> the next card, i cannot read. it starts with a k, and other than that, i have no idea.

okay. if i don't call your name later, you can speak. gerald norton, and then, rusty westgate. >> rusty left. >> yhe left? okay. [ inaudible ] >> i'm sure it's in there. yes, it's coming. >> good evening. i'm jerry norton. a little nervous. i worked at -- in the ibu for about nine years. i'm kind of new at this, and everything i've heard about hornblower seems like they have lied and cheated and not lived up to their contract, so i just want to say i think that they should not be able to continue with the alcatraz cruises. thank you. >> thank you.

james dexter lee. jennifer mccarthy. >> hi. thank you for staying late. my name's jennifer mccarthy. i'm a deck hand with the inland boat man's union, and i've been a deck hand for about 20 years. and with that job, i've been able to save enough money to afford to buy a house in oakland. that was about 15 years ago, but i'm terrified that the concessionaire that comes in, you know, will provide another bay cruise service and siphon off passengers from red and white, blue and gold, companies who've been doing business in san francisco for years, and

what will happen to our union members? i mean, is everybody going to have to leave town? and another point, too, is the wage determination. i would hope you don't make any decision until we get a wage determination to see if the workers will be adequately paid. also, too, in my other union, local 510, we've had trouble with the park service for setting up shows at park mason, shows that used to be ours. the park services let contractors come in from denver and use nonunion labor. i'm not sure what their terms are, but i'm sure it's substandard. it's terrible to lose some of these jobs, and none of us bay area residents will be able to stay anymore. thank you. >> thank you. than stands. >> anthony stands. this is now my 15th year in the union. i started off pretty young, and

i just want to see if i can get my members to standup so you can see the count of us that are representing here today. in addition, the owners of red and white standup. local 10, as well. you guys heard a lot of people talk about wages today. they're speaking of wages because when the [ inaudible ] came in and took over the alcatraz bid, if you guys think of a bid of $19 an hour, and a deck hand receiving $12 an hour when our deck hand is receiving $30 an hour. like, the wages are a big difference, and also, the park crews bay cruise. [ inaudible ] -- and keeping san francisco like a union shop

rather than doing business with hornblower, or keep them a union shop. most of the hornblower people are coming to these meetings, as some point. their wages with different -- [ inaudible ] you know, so you kind of think about that. like, you're paying peanuts. i just -- you know, that -- that will do it for me. thank you. >> thank you. keith ocean? you le he left -- oh, keith, you still here? okay. >> thank you. my name's keith ocean. i'm a deck hand with the inland boat man's union, and also a fourth generation san franciscan. both grandparents in the fire. also have worked before working as a deck hand 12 years as a

tour guide, all up and down the wharf, and i know that the travel concession is one of the driving engines of tourism in san francisco. and just as a structural thing, having the concessionaire running out of the alcatraz docks, doing bay cruises, taking away from, as my brothers and sisters have said, legacy businesses, like red and white that have would be injurious not just to the deck hands, but the businesses up and down the woods area, because people who come out of alcatraz or cannot get alcatraz tickets, which is always a concern, will they go down the wharf and go to bus tours, to bay cruises, to blue and gold, to red and white, or you can take one of the commuter

ferries to vallejo or oakland. and on their way, they go to pier 39 and the other concessionaires and the other businesses around pier 39 and the north beach area, and continue to fund businesses -- small businesses, large businesses, jobs. and it's a -- so having that one point where the park service concessionaire will be essentially doing jobs of other local legacy businesses would actually lead to a, frankly, less income for the other businesses in the tourist industry in the fisherman's wharf area. now, it would -- in her initial presentation, director forbes mentioned restaring maritime

jobs in the area as one of the goals of the commission in this project, and the increases in water transport. having these jobs, particularly as a deck hand at prevailing wages would provide a labor base for that -- for that increased ferry service, which is also important for possible emergencies and would provide a broad array of public use for the entire wharf area. thank you. >> thank you. tom escher. >> good evening. my name is tom escher, and i'm the president of the red and white fleet. we're one of san francisco's few registered legacy

businesses, and our roots go back to 1892, and i think we are hea tenant in good standin at the port, although sometimes i question that. we support both the national park and the port of san francisco's efforts for creating a long-term lease for the alcatraz and embarkation locate. this is good tfor the national park. it's good for the port, it's good for the visitors of the city, and it's good for the entire country. our review of the available documents, we have not been able to find any written requirement that the port and the national park service have agreed all alcatraz concessionaires, all alcatraz

concessionaires, all alcatraz concessionaires are required to pay local prevailing wage. we are told that typically, national park concessions complete -- national park typically completes this sort of documentation and follows the service contract act before these sorts of contracts are signed. at red and white fleet, we deal exclusively with the inland boat man's union. we pay local prevailing wage, and are proud to hire, we think, the best mariners on the bay. in summary, we request that the commission approves item 13-a after or as long as there's a written agreement specifying

local wage determination has been completed by both the national park and the port, as this is the way to protect all the women and men working at the alcatraz concession. now, the same thing, the national park was very nice to share additional data that surprised me. we are one on the bidder's list, and we're going to attempt to be awarded the concession. these items that they brought up are new to us. we have not been informed of that, so it's very nice for us to hear that. i don't know if the other concessioners have been informed of this. if you've informed us first, before them, that's not fair to them. all that the red and white fleet wants is to have a level playing field. if we can't win on the level playing field, that's fine.

i'll take the losses, but we need a level playing field. we don't like lies, we don't like people that do one thing and do something else. that's not the way we operate, so in light of the updates given today, i would ask the national park to give the -- any concessionaire -- all concessionaires more time to analyze what you want. >> thank you, tom. >> okay. >> thank you. eric platt. >> good evening. thank you for your time, guys. appreciate all the work you do, and i just wanted to defer to all of the people that i just heard speaking. i'm a deck hand, and a san francisco resident. i'm an ibu members, and i can qualify for the below market rent, you know, housing in san

francisco, mayor's office stuff, even with a union job, and so i think what everybody else here has said is particularly relevant, and it was heartening for me to see today in that other presentation that the port was committed to livablity in san francisco, because i love it here, and i'd hate to see that undercut in any way. thank you. >> thank you. christopher christiansen. >> good evening, board and staff. i'm christopher christiansen, i'm with the ibu local ten. we are part of the ilw family, and before i started here, i was part of the master mads and pilots' union, and i'm just going to echo what robert, and ezra has said, that we don't think this is fair that you

approve this now. this needs to be held over because nps has not informed you of the settlemental wage determination correctly. we also believe that their park cruise is a way for them to undercut some of the legacy businesses here in san francisco like the red and white fleet and the blue and gold, who right now are undertaking sizeable improvements to their facilities and their docks, and we want nps to pay a fair prevailing wage for union workers here in san francisco. and with what they have provided, it doesn't look like they are. and i sit on the san francisco labor council as a delegate, and i can tell you right now that when we have our next meeting next week, that this is going to be a huge topic of discussion about what the nps

is doing. and with sitting on the labor council comes union solidarity. it's not union solidarity here in the city with the maritimes only and the union trades, and the construction workers or the plumbers, it's union solidarity together, and we feel if that gets rubber stamped and approved tonight, that this will go to the labor council and be a huge contention. so we hope that you'll hold this over until we have further information with, again, the supplemental wage determination, and with what they want to do with the park cruise. thank you. >> thank you. vincent hoymickman. >> hi. my name is vincent hickman, and

i'm a member of spur, the san francisco panning and urban research association. and i cannot -- i cannot comment on a lot of the information that -- that you've heard about wages and that whole issue. so i am actually -- i'm commenting specifically on things that we support. while spur and npc have not taken a position on this project, we believe this project supports a lot of the goals that we have for the port and for the waterfront and for the city and for our national parks. one, it preserves historic structures. it provides increased revenue for the port or continued revenue. it creates great public space on a heavily travelled

promenade that will have 1.6, 1.8 million visitors, and at least 1.5 million general visitors. it's creating the traffic along the embarcadero and waterfront that we want to see along this waterfront. it's more people experiencing the national parks, which is a big goal of npca's, and provides a much better park experience. the current facility is kind of a substandard facility from a parks perspective, and this new one will not only create a better experience but hopefully also generate more revenue for the park service that they can use to maintain and update their if a ill ises. this project, we also feel, will help activate the waterfront with a maritime use and make the port properties around it even more valuable so that you can enhance those and get other people to come in,

and make investments there. and then, in terms of its impact on the city that it will also enhance the economy of san francisco by -- by further enhancing this great tourist resource that we have. so those are the reasons that we support this project. our understanding and my understanding on the other issues is -- is not as in depth as i think what you're going to hear from a lot of other people. so thank you. we urge you to approve this project to keep it from being delayed perhaps up to a year, it sounds like, if it's not approved shortly, so thank you. >> thank you. kathrin tritt. >>. >> good evening, commissioners. thank you. my name is kathrin torre.

i'm a fourth generation san franciscan, and i've served as the executiontive director for the national parks conserveancy. it turns out that i have a special relationships to the islands here in san francisco bay. i also serve on the board of the angel island immigration foundation and served as its first executive director, a project that i've been involved with for more than 20 years. although i speak here, my role as a san franciscan and my role with the conserveancy. you also know that pier 31 1/2 serves as a spot that allows visitors to experience angel island and alcatraz on the same day. as a community member, i've seen very powerfully the

firsthand power of alcatraz and the stories, and the impact it has on the community from the conserveancy programs. our art in the parks program used national and local artists to illuminate the deeper and darker stories of alcatraz, including native american rights and modern america rights of justice and incarceration, but our art in the parks program is just one way that we are committed to making alcatraz relevant and of service to our local community. the conserveancy has a vast network of community partners in san francisco including over 94 schools and 120 community based organizations. we also sponsor community access programs which makes visits affordable to thousands of community members every year, so alcatraz is more than a tourist destination. it's also an outdoor classroom

for our youth, a place to explore contemporary issues on immigration. so ien current encourage you t the embarkation agreements that will lead to the revitalization of this area. it's a gateway for us to continue to explore these stories and continue to be of service to the citizens and community of san francisco. thank you. >> thank you. mark buell. >> thank you, commissioners. it's nice to be here again. my name is mark buell, and for 14 years, i've served on the board of the golden gate national park conserveancy, 12 of those years as the chair of the board. i watched over those years as the conserveancy raised in those particular years over

$300 million for the national park. i think they're up well past 400 now, and some of the projects you'd be familiar with are crissy field and some of the improvements you're familiar with, the warming spot at crissy field, the golden gate bridge visitor center is a collaboration with the bridge district, and there's seven book stores around the bay area, and all this material is presented by the conserveancy. i mention it because they take great pride in how they edit what they sell and make sure it's of the highest quality. they make sure what they build is the highest quality. the lands-end visitors center got an architectural award for the building that stands there. so coming down to the harbor to make an improvement for this embarkation, i believe, will be

yet another great jewel for the port. i really believe that, and from that reason, i would urge you to approve this. now, i recognize that this is a long-standing issue with labor in san francisco that the material government has standards that preclude the park service from issuing a contract with a labor agreement by virtue of the federal rules, and so the challenge, it seems to me, for you, is to say, as openly and honestly is how do you get to the highest prevailing wage that can be incorporated in the contract so that you achieve to the agree you can, given federal rules, the best deal because you're getting such a wonderful deal in this collaboration between the conserveancy and the national park. so with that, i thank you for your attention and your yeoman's work staying so late

to do the people's job. thank you. >> thank you. is there any other public comment? [ inaudible ] >> you're welcome. okay. commissioner adams? >> first -- first of all, i appreciate everyone that has spoken on this issue, and i -- i think eventually, it will happen. for now, i would like to hold this issue over for 30 days, and i'll tell you why. i would like -- assistant from the park service said they got the proper wage determination from the department of labor. we need to see that. that's legitimate. it needs to be seen by the port, lane, and mike. you know, the ibu -- excuse me, please, please, please, please. don't be rude, please. and then, that needs to be disseminated to the commission

here. tom made a legitimate point about bay cruises. he made a legitimate point. he goes that red and white, blue and gold, everybody deserves a fair opportunity. mark is right about the park service when he said that you can't tell them who to hire, but they go out to bid. but i think everybody wants a fair bid, so i say we hold this over, colleagues, for 30 days. we get the information. elaine forbes, our director, has said she's going to look at all this, make a recommend ax, work wiax, -- recommendation, and come back, and we can get there. i appreciate everybody's work, but this is legitimate. when she said she just got it today, we need to look at the information, make sure it's right, and i'd appreciate, colleagues, if you'd support me and we just hold it over for 30 days, if we can get all the

information. i don't know how long it takes to get something back from the department of labor, but director forbes said she is going to check on that, and i would hope the ibu and others that you get the correct information so the department of labor, we can have all that information so we can have a discussion, but things need to be done right. tom, i appreciate it. i wish blue and gold had have been here. i wish patrick would have spoke, because the commission, we need to hear everybody, and we want to be fair. that's one thing about this commission. we want to be fair, we want it to be done right, so that's what i have to say, colleagues. >> thank you. commissioner woo ho? >> i would concur withholding it ovwithholding -- with holding it over. we've worked long and hard. from my standpoint, it's very disappointing to find us today

we have this issue. i understand from terms of all the public that has come up to speak, so i think we need to fie find out the information and figure out what is the way to solve the puzzle in trying to get to something that is more mouse welly acceptable to everybody involved. i think the other piece, which was a surprise for me today, having followed this topic for -- i don't know, it's been a long time -- was the bay cruises. that was not something i remember from previous presentations, so either i have a bad memory. that was a little bit of a surprise, but i think that's not the key topic here, because at some point, we do have an open market, and people can do various things here. i think the bigger issue is to get the information. i don't think that i -- i know we worked so hard in trying to work with the conserveancy and the design of the visitor's center, and it sounded great. i know we've worked hard with the park service.

we've done lots of hard work and collaboration, i'm just disappointed that we're not able to find ourselves able to cross the finish line, because i do they we all in our heart of hearts wants the project to go. we do want it to be a fair process, so whoever wants to bid on the ferry concession, there's equal opportunity for everybody. at this point, i don't think my conscience would allow me to sort of go ahead and trust that this is going to work out because we've had a couple of other hiccups looping the way on this project. this is not the first one, and it just seems like we can't get it to the finish line, and i agree with commissioner adams that we've got to get the answers to these questions before we finalize it, but we do want to get this done. >> commissioner adams? >> i'll share this with the public, and so you know. the reason i didn't second it was because today, we all got a

letter about maybe a potential lawsuit that was sent to the superintendent at the park service, and so i don't know what's going to happen with that, but a letter was sent. it goes all the way back from 12 years ago, talking about all the allegations about what the park service has done. president boston marathrandon to 12 years ago. we had the same issue happen then, and maybe she can talk about that, and they had to sue then to get everything. there was a letter, and i'm sure she can get up and say she got that letter today. i don't know if you know about that, but that's why i'm kind of gun shy, the port, i've got to think about where the port ease at and everything, so i would like to take five, let the executive director, staff, and the commissions deal with it, come back in 30 days, but you weren't aware of this possible lawsuit that could be

hanging over the national park service that was sent out, and we all received a letter today from an attorney. so i just wanted to tell you that. you need to know everything. it's not to put anything down, but i believe in pans parency. thank you. >> commission >> -- transparency. >> commissioner katz has recused herself, but i think this is a great project. we've come a long way, and it's taken a little bit, but we're here. if we can get this prevailing wage issue out -- i'm glad that we were here to discuss it today, and that everyone was able to be here and express their feelings, and it's something we have to think about and know if it's included or not. we have to be fair. so i'm not sure we need to hold it over 30 days, but we need to hold it over until the staff

can come back with the document either authorizing the locate of prevailing wage the prevail understand what we're doing here. >> i would actually recommend march 27th. i don't know how staff feels, but i feel like we need some more time to digest what we've seen before and to do due diligence, than to try to strife for a staff report on friday. i think march 27th which happens to be 30-days from today is the prefer calendar. >> i do not object. >> okay. >> okay. thank you. >> thank you. >> item 14, new business. is there any new business? >> i have two items that i jotted down. just let me go through my two, and then, please, we're going to update on clinco park on new

progress, and we're going to bring each subcommittee back on a new report. is there any new business. >> i just wanted to request that we adjourn our meeting in memory of sharon hewlitt who was a force of nature, a grandmother to so many activists, changed a generation of lives, both by her mentorship of those who are out there doing good works, and by those whose lives she changed, and then also for joanie levy, another community activist, who's left a memory of san francisco. >> and let's adjourn in memory of the 17 young kids who were killed down in florida. >> is that a motion? >> so move zbld is thed. >> is there a second? >> second. >> all in favor, say aye? >> all right. the meeting is adjourned.

>> thank you, all, for being here today. this is an incredible crowd. it's an incredible day. and we're so happy to be here to celebrate the glen eagles academy training program. [applause]

my name is cath daniel, i'm the director for economic workforce development. thank you. [applause] and this academy signals the city's latest effort for creating public-private partnerships that unlock real opportunities for san franciscans. construction is the single fastest growing industry in catastropsan francisco today. glen eagles epitomizes the city's commitment to ensuring that our most vulnerable residents are able to tap into the economic growth that san francisco is experiencing right now. more importantly, that san francisco has access to good paying jobs with livable wages and benefits. the glen eagles academy partners local 261 proven training and i

see that vince cortney and tom shaye are here today, as well as others from 261. it partners this proven training with a city build academy, that is the san francisco program that prepares san franciscans for direct entry into union jobs. [applause] this program is an immensely coordinated effort and it was led by the late mayor lee. and seen through to fruition by mayor farrell. it has only been realized through the partnership of several city departments, our partners and friends at labor, and community-based organizations that are doing the work on the ground. i want to acknowledge everybody here. everybody here should be called

out by name, but i want to acknowledge a couple of very close partners that made this happen. mohammad from public works. phil from rec and park. todd from economic and workforce development. steve from rehabilitation. [applause] hope sf is here. it's been a massively coordinated effort and city build coming in and bringing the next level to city build's direct entry to private contractors and union, is only building off of the work that these partners, the groundwork they have laid. glen eagle is a success because of the commitment of these partners and through this partnership we've created a program that solves a long

recognized need, which is paid training opportunities that link directly to competitive skills and competitive jobs. so with that, i'd like to now welcome san francisco mayor mark farrell to the podium. mayor farrell immediately recognized the value this program had to offer, the difference it could make in people's lives and took up the mantle to ensure it was seen through. we thank him for allowing us to be here today and continuing support for critical workforce programs. [applause] >> well, thank you, cat, and everyone for being here today. it is an honor being here today, to witness the program in action, the growth of it over the last few years since may lee started it, with local 261, along with the rec and park

department and so many other departments here in san francisco. san francisco should always be a city of opportunity and city of hope for everyone. and when mayor lee started this program a number of years ago, this was exactly the intention. our unemployment rate in san francisco right now stands at 2.4%. [applause] which is amazing, but we have a choice as a city. do we rest on our laurells or press forward ahead to make sure that every resident has an opportunity to be part of our workforce and city? that's what this academy is all about. we take underprivileged individuals, people that need help getting into the workforce -- which by the way has to be one of the core functions of our city government -- we have to lift everybody up, make sure

everybody feels the success of our city. that's what this academy is about. it is our city departments, thank you to all, i want to thank you to tom schafer hosting us here at glen eagles and being an integral part of this, to the labor unions led by 261, vince cortney, thank you very much. [applause] to all of the individuals that were here on a daily basis, please give them a round of applause. these are the individuals that make this academy work. [applause] and to all of the community partners that bring people into the academy. this is truly an example of what our city when we come together can do. it should be an example of what san francisco is all about, making sure we lift everybody up. making sure the success of our city is the success of every single san francisco resident and making sure we continue to press ahead forward.

we never rest on our laurels and we will make sure that san francisco continues to be the city of opportunity and city of hope for every single one of our residents. i am proud to be here today. i would love to honor the expansion of the academy, the expansion of the program, the city departments and the labor unions that will be participating in this academy and drawing from these workers moving forward, it is my honor to present a certificate and proclamation on behalf of the mayor's office to the namesake here, the mario training academy, congratulations, mario. [applause] >> thank you.

[applause] now i would like to introduce vince cortney junior to speak for a local 261, the laborers union. vince has been an advocate to make sure there are opportunities for san franciscans at every turn. he's been an advocate for the participants in the program and without his partnership we could not be participating in this event today. [applause] >> good afternoon. i just want, there are things i wanted to say, but there is too many people i need to shout out. what a great day here, can you see the snow on the mountains.

we couldn't have gotten a better day. the first folks is the men and women of the laborers union and the building trades, thank you very much. [cheers and applause] and as cat and mayor farrell said, there were so many people involved in the effort, but some of the people involved early, commissioner torres. commissioner harrison. commissioner wilton. and president of the environment commission, josh. my home agency, with all due respect to the others, my favorite general manager, harlan kelly. tim paulson with the san francisco labor council, thank you for joining us today.

vince doesn't run the laborers union, oscar who couldn't with be us today, he lets me get away with all my stuff. thank you, oscar. and everybody knows ramona, local business manager. thank you. this effort just like the mayor said, growing up in san francisco, it comes from the heart. workforce development is not work, it's what we do as san franciscans. it's part of our civic pride. so i don't think i need to discuss it more other than to say, when mayor lee was in office, the last six months, there were two things he did that were really important to us. he appointed larry mazzola to the park commission. and he also made sure that our next speaker was going to be positioned well to make sure our mission and the objectives we

have in the 44th mayor's administration are met. that somebody lives and breathes and works community. somebody who is true union blue. somebody who will not sleep until every able bodied person who wants a career in our industry gets a career in our industry. this is a fight we will win, because josh is our city build director. thank you, josh. >> thank you. can you believe it? it was almost three years ago and to the class -- where is the class? are you ready? can you believe it? you're three days away from graduation, the class. you had a chance to meet the class, mayor farrell, thank you for spending time. and we were so excited at city build to get fully involved and learning a lot of the ideas that our late mayor ed lee had about taking the program to the next level as communicated in our

conversations. using the labor shortage that is tacked about. the fact there is a record low in unemployment as mayor farrell said today, going back to 10%. just eight years ago. but using that challenge as an opportunity to make sure no one is left behind when it comes to these opportunities. it's something all of us as city build -- raise your hand -- we have team city build here. the glue of glen eagles homes right here. glue of glen eagles. we were excited because we got 18-week academy, it works, thousand graduates over the past 12 years. we wanted to do something special to team up with the job training opportunities program with ycd, adult pro-brace. and -- probation and do

something to stop bullets in our communities. using these jobs to advance public housing residents. who is coleen? who has a chance to work at sunnydale when the work is happening. that's what it's about. digging deep and moving that agenda. the thing is, graduates, when you graduate and get out there, you're going to have something so powerful. it does come easy. you're going to have a union card. you're going to have a good-paying union job and that's why it's important, because there is a conversation about the role of unions and they're having conversations in washington d.c. in san francisco, we know what unions do. the wages, the benefit, the reason you came here, when everybody was working, you weren't working? well, the unions are here to help us. i saw the carpenters, peter garza back there. the training from the program is called the multicraft core curriculum, which means you can

go anywhere, lots of different unions and that's powerful, really exciting. you got web corp, they were here. guess what? they need concrete workers and guess what is happen right now? our trainees are pouring that concrete behind you. down into the wash pad down there. so working together with our partners. you heard about it. it's essential. we are so passionate about it. you can work with phil ginsburg and rec and park has an apprenticeship program. the last thing i wanted to say, i come out of community work, based organizations and cbo leaders know i'm fond of saying we at the city can do what we do when we have leaders like mario who stand with us, to move this community labor partnership that

tim talks about so often. but we have to have our community based organization partners. in an effort to shout out, i saw all these leaders who do what we can't do. you're out there recruiting for this program. rounds of applause. young commuter developers. apri, asian neighborhood design, abu, if i didn't mention you, we'll talk about it after. got everybody. all right. we're excited and guess what? graduation friday. the next class begins monday. right? who is ready for the next class? i saw more recruits. moving on, thank you, mayor, thank you to the department, todd and cat, it's my honor to introduce the next speaker who makes sure everything comes together and flows. you see a lot of people here, a

lot of individuals, a lot of leaders, including the human services agency. and there is a steering committee that makes it all happen and here to talk about that work is an amazing community leader in her own right, labor organizer who spent her lifetime doing what this program is about and the co-chair of the glen eagle steering committee and that is eloise patton. >> good morning, everyone. first i want to thank all of the agencies, all of the nonprofit organizations and all of the participants that have come out to lctf and stood up and shown what they were made of. one of the issues that we have been able to work with and to be able to dispel is that people from some of these disadvantaged

communities, oh, they don't want to work. they don't have the initiative to get up every day. i want to talk about something that happened in this community. we had 14 people from sunnydale come through, how many people thought, oh, no, they're not going to make it, make five will graduate. 14 started and 14 completed. and, yes -- [applause] -- they deserve a round of applause. one of the things -- one of the points i wanted to make, on behalf of the committee in addition to thanking all of you is that unions and labor at the end of the day, they are the lifeline for disadvantaged communities, for economically disadvantaged communities, people of color. and everyone else that did not have the ability to go to college and maybe get a 4-year degree and maybe some who did

that found out it was not what they wanted to do. middle income drives america and if it were not labor unions, black people, brown people, disadvantaged people, would not today be able to live in san francisco and other areas of the state. at the end of the day, the efforts that we are doing here actually are doing the work that should have been done many, many, many years ago. and the work that local 261 has done in conjunction with lctf is come back to the community, recognize a community based organizations are just as important and we can't complete the important work without them. so what you've got here is a very unique working relationship between city departments, nonprofit organizations and nonprofit link to local 261. this is what labor does. this is what we do well.

and by moving and going through these cohorts are are we're learning more and more. by the end of the year, we will have trained 120 people. multiply that by 5. these are real numbers. these are real people. this is a real opportunity. and as you are about to here, it's impacting positively everyone's life. i want to thank you for coming out. we ask that you continue to support us in our efforts. not just us, because when you support us, you're supporting the community. you're supporting you're community organizations and the economic vitality of black and brown and economically disadvantaged people in san francisco. so for that, i thank you.

>> i want to call out the city build director. to introduce the next speaker, josh has shepherded this program through, making sure it is running smooth and has been taking a personal interest with every single student in the class, it's only right he introduces the student speaker. >> thank you, cat. if you saw me dart over there, it's because our crew has work to do. don't let the concrete get on you, unless you have your concrete boots. our speaker here -- did i see charity services back there? the operating engineers as well? and i saw our office of labor standards director, pat

mulligan. give it up, our partners. pat was here to meet this young man. he came here for opportunity to earn the wages and benefit to raise his family. he has a daughter he's raising. he was a star. he doesn't know it. you don't know that, edgar. he was a star at balboa high school, football star. he came here because he wanted to take everything to the next level. he wanted to become an apprentice, get that union job and he's out there right now. he's with the department of public works. he's working the swing shift. he's a success story. he's here to tell what this program has done for him and what it did for all you about to graduate.

it is my honor to introduce because he came to glen eagles and was the star of our class, too, edgar wilson. [applause] >> no pressure. i know. good morning, guys. good morning first and foremost, i would like to thank you all this opportunity to present myself. i would like to thank my mentors, vince, teresa, juan, chris, alston and dustin. without you guys there for me, i would not know where i would be in life. telling me all the time my hard work got me where i'm at, but the truth is, without you guys believing in me, staying dedicated to me, gave me the motivation to push forward. i started working as hsa sweeper

through the jobs narrow program. throughout my year, i was faced with a lot of challenge. lost close friends to gun violence, dealt with being homeless and also not to mention people in high places telling me that being a sweeper can't get you anywhere, you won't be able to make this job a career, don't depend on it. all of those things gave me the fire to make this job a career. after 7 months of sweeping i was referred to this program, where i received certifications and multiple training. cpr, flagging. i also learned the value of life through this program. i also learned how staying dedicated and determined could open doors that couldn't be opened before. after completing my year of

sweeping, i was offered a full-time position as a sweeper for dpw. [applause] at this moment, i felt like i had made it for my daughter. she has someone she can be proud, she has someone she can believe in. but making it didn't decrease my outlook on this position. i wanted more for myself, for my child, more for my mentors and family. i wanted them to look at me and be filled with joy because they know my struggle. and watch me come from nothing. i doubled my hustling showing up to work 30 minutes early every day. [applause] willing to learn more, being coachable, and being teachable. not missing days and trusting the process and believing in it.

i was offered a permanent position -- i was offered a promotion in 2017 to 7501 apprenticeship. [applause] me and my friend jermaine talked about how this would be the perfect opportunity to change our lives and do for our kids. so they wouldn't have to see what we saw or do the things we had to do to survive. i have been working -- i have been working as a 7501 for a month and 27 days as of today. i can say i love my job. i love my opportunity. i am making the best of it every day. [applause] every day i learn something new.

every day is a day i make my life better, mentally, physically and financially. without this program, i wouldn't know where i would be in life. growing up where i grew up, bayview hunters point, not too many of us make it out. we're either judged by our neighborhood, outer appearance or the way we talk. but glen eagles, local 261, hsa gave me the opportunity other employers wouldn't give me because of my appearance or background. you gave me the opportunity to feed my child, take care of my family, for that i am grateful and thankful for you guys and these programs. be proud of what you did for me. i won't be another statistic. my child will have a future. my family won't struggle anymore. we did it. [applause]

we saved another black man. we helped another family. thank you, i'm forever humble and appreciative for this opportunity. i won't let anyone down. skies aren't the limit. there is life beyond the stars. [applause] >> thank you, and thank you all so much for being here today, supporting the program, for the enthusiasm and the gusto of our partners for making this a success. and your support as you go on to realize the full potential. i want to give a shoutout t