SBCCD Board's Local Hire Policy Keeps Jobs and Wages in the Inland Empire

In November, 2013, the Board of Trustees of the San Bernardino Community College District (SBCCD) unanimously approved Policy number BP 6610 in order to create opportunities for local hires and local business participation on district capital improvement and construction projects. A recent review of the projects administered by the facilities offices of the District show that the policy has been implemented with great success. “Between November 2013, when our local workforce participation statistics were last evaluated, and April 2014, the latest date for which data is available, the current local workforce analysis on our nine active Measure M Bond projects, four at San Bernardino Valley College and five at Crafton Hills College, indicates that we have used 80% local workforce, which supports our commitment to keeping our resources here in the Inland Empire,” said SBCCD CHANCELLOR BRUCE BARON. “The combined value of the contracts involved for these projects is in excess of $15.5 million, of which wages are a substantial component.” BP 6610 sets Board Goals of 50% participation of local hires and 25% participation of local businesses in District Bid projects. The goals are reflective of the demographics of the community and the Board clarified that it is their intent to not only meet the goals but to exceed them. The Policy defines “local” as individuals or businesses that reside or have their principal headquarters or a permanently staffed regional office in the Inland Empire. Bid documents include language that advises all bidders of the District’s strong preference that contractors hire local residents and that they participate in Apprenticeship programs to ensure the ongoing development of a competently trained local workforce. The policy articulates the Board’s express commitment to the use of local contractors, subcontractors and businesses. Those goals are further enforced by the Construction Training Collaborative recently undertaken by the SBCCD and other community partners. Chancellor Baron noted, “These results do not come easily and we have been very conscious of the need to maintain extensive outreach in order to have sufficient local contractors, subcontractors and businesses participate in our construction projects. Five of the nine projects were completed using 100% local workforce participation. Of the remaining four, one was at 65% (the new science building at Crafton), one at 75% (the SBVC Auditorium), one at 81% (the physical education complex at Crafton) and the OE2 Building at Crafton used 90% local workforce. Even the projects using less than 100% local labor were well in excess of the goals set by the Board’s policy. Total employment numbers were 105 local and 26 non-local, which means we keep the jobs and the wages here in our community.” Contractors must document their efforts to comply with the policy, which requires a good-faith, verified effort. As an alternative, the bidder may certify that it intends to perform 95% of the work with its own employees. The San Bernardino Community College District (SBCCD) is one of 72 community college districts within the California Community College system, the largest educational system in the world, which encompasses 112 community colleges. The SBCCD has an 87 year history of providing its community and students with quality and affordable vocational certificates, associate’s degrees, and preparation for transfer to a four year college or university through San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC) and Crafton Hills College (CHC). In addition, the Economic Development and Corporate Training Division (PDC) and KVCR TV-FM provide professional development and cultural and educational information to the community at large.