03/29/2024

Unions given preference for jobs on $500 million Bay Area wetlands tax

In a move that critics say could increase costs and delay projects, a low-profile government agency responsible for handing out $500 million to restore San Francisco Bay’s wetlands and improve flood control has ruled that most of the construction contracts must be awarded to union workers.

In June, voters in the nine Bay Area counties passed Measure AA, a $12 per year parcel tax on residential and commercial property in the region. The tax is expected to raise $25 million a year over the next 20 years to bring back fish and wildlife and reduce the risk of flooding around the bay’s shoreline.

Union leaders saw an opportunity and urged the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority, a seven-member government agency made up of local elected officials that will distribute the money, to require “project labor agreements” for contracts funded with the Measure AA proceeds.

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