Trade, Travel, and Tourism Committee - 9/19/23

MC Oscar here soda Martinez here three members and a quorum thank you Mr clerk so before we um begin public comment I have a friendly Amendment for item nine which we will consider after public comment I would like to remove the existing moving clause and replace it with the following instruct the CLA with the assistance of the City attorney to prepare a report that summarizes cashless prohibitions in other jurisdictions share his best practices and identifies policy recommendations for the implementation of a similar policy in Los Angeles that brings us to public comment members of the public wishing to give public comment can sign up at the kiosk in the back you'll be given one minute for general public comment and up to two minutes for multiple items so it looks like we have a handful of folks in the queue someone signed up under the names Anthony Edward Dewey Thomas Mayo Chavez tulos I wonder who that could be whoever signed up under that name please come up to the podium going once going twice all right did someone sign up under the name GN gpn developer that's you Mr Spindler what which which items would you like to speak on Mr Spindler you're not allowed to use names you're only allowed to use the sign up name Mr spinner I know who you are which items no I don't know who I am that's the problems okay which items would you like to speak also I really am that's the good thing well we'll sign up on all the goddamn items in general public comment I have three minutes go ahead two minutes and we're glad that the the Jews lobbied the chair because you had to with number nine instead of giving us what we wanted which was no cashless businesses yes we've had experiences with this and that's why Hugo promised when he got elected that you'd be able to go to any store with money in your pocket and Shop without being discriminated against based on the fact you can't get a goddamn credit card and that's the reason why we're upset today we just want it to be passed as a flat Standalone Bill we don't need your report we don't need your lies we just need the truth and what is the truth the truth is she used to use another name but we're going to get to that much later in the year so now we have the board of airport Commissioners a terrorist organization everybody yes the late Mike bonan May rest in peace he tried to fix it he couldn't fix it and he had emotional issues I think as a result of law not to be confused with lhasa not to be confused with alads and not to be confused with the U.S attorney's office so I think you should support and just rip it out and turn it into the largest homeless shelter and homeless services provider in history hey I like that idea thank you yes and you can land the airplanes for all you can land airplanes almost anywhere remember at 9 11 they almost landed those airplanes on the top of those buildings that that's what they were trying to do you know that they ran into it by accident just that it was just an accident so now we'll get into General comment yes Tracy Park is part of a conspiracy everybody downstairs they're holding a meeting at the same exact time the same exact building on a different floor holding meetings with all in person only that is an old bird Act conspiring to hold multiple meetings at the same time to defraud the public out of public participation another overt Act of course we have to use more than one City attorney and that violates their Union contract and forces them to have overtime without being compensated another overt acting so yes you are the perfect criminal to have replaced Mike bonnen and as I told everybody Tracy is evil and that's why I like her because I have horns and I'm evil too scared known as Tim yes no tie Hugo no tie you know both of them look like the Property Brothers next speaker is Steve Cisneros thank you afternoon my name is Steve Cisneros I'm vice president of airport Affairs for Southwest Airlines and I'm proud to say I'm a 28-year employee with a company and it's great to be here to share our deep appreciation for working collaboratively to support the growing Air Service needs for the city of Los Angeles council members thank you for your support during this process but most importantly I want to express my sincere thanks to Justin narvacci Terry macis Dave Jones and the entire law staff sitting over here for their partnership to help us design and construct a facility that will end up being the Cornerstone to LAX the project of concourse zero at Terminal 1 is critical for allowing Southwest to expand at LAX that expansion means more seats more opportunities for Los Angeles to get to and from where they need to go across our vast Network the project itself will add 9 000 union jobs and add more than 500 additional employees to our ranks of 2300 employees that currently work at LAX we'll have the same project team in place that deliver terminal one modernization and terminal 1.5 that were both delivered on time and on budget in partnership with lawa on a personal statement um I grew up here in Los Angeles I was born at Good Samaritan Hospital just down the road from here I'm wearing my dodger blue in honor of being back home here for today so this has a personal touch for me to see this these projects continue at LAX and everything we do at LAX it's a personal amount of pride for me so I'll wrap up by saying on behalf of the 2300 employees that we have based at LAX we thank you for your support and stewardship and we look forward to bringing a world-class project to lawa and the people of Los Angeles thank you thank you Mr cinceros we really appreciate it I don't see anyone else on the queue in front of me do we have anyone else who wants to speak during public comment going once twice okay that concludes public comments unless there is any objection from my colleagues I would like to move items one two three four five six seven and eight on consent any objections okay with that Mr clerk if you would please call the roll Park yes mcasker yes Soto Martinez council member Soto Martinez three eyes and those items have been approved great thank you so that brings us to item number nine Mr clerk if you would please read the item for us item number nine motion Hernandez Soto Martinez euroslovsky relative to requesting the City attorney to prepare and present an ordinance to ban cashless retail businesses in Los Angeles a move that we approve item number nine as amended okay uh then let's please call the role Mr clerk Park yes McAllister yes yes soda Martinez yes three eyes and the item has been approved as amended excellent item 10 Board of airport Commissioners report relative to approving a three-year contract with two one-year renewal options with Otis Elevator company covering maintenance repair modernization procurement of materials and parts and related services for all escalators elevators and moving walkways owned and operated by Los Angeles World airports all right this must be Mr Connolly and Mr Christensen good afternoon council members Mike Christensen assistant general manager reports and chief operations and maintenance officer and Rick Conley will introduce himself and he'll address I think your question Victor law Facilities Management provision thank you so much we look forward to your report today uh before you is a request as the report mentioned to award a contract to orders elevator company a three-year contract with two one-year renewals for the complete maintenance and repair of conveyances at the Los Angeles International Airport be happy to take any questions you might have report shares that lawa is having difficulty filling vacancies due to the unique and at times inconvenient nature of the work in particular the report shares that salaries are not competitive um can you tell me what's being done to ensure that we fill these roles and that we don't pay a premium on work that could be completed by airport staff certainly um the airport has most other City departments are tied to the city's salary scales including shift inferentials and bonuses unfortunately the city payroll scale is not competitive with the Private Industry uh in some cases the premium is 12 to 15 percent greater than what the city is able to pay elevator mechanics um in July of 22 the airport sent over a thousand applications and requests to apply to licensed cellulated mechanics within the city of Los Angeles we did not receive any responses and so that really is the nut of the problem uh the nature of the work much of our work is performed on swing shift and graveyard shift when the airport is less busy however our competitors in Private Industry are able to pay a higher premium for shift differential work than the city is able to pay and that that is the the nut of the problem we call the hiring home to see if we can recruit hiring all union workers to come work for the airport we've had very little success in that regard so unfortunately we are in a position we're in where we must maintain the conveyances by state law in order to keep the passenger safe and facilitate passenger movement and aircraft operations and so we're in this position where we have to pay the premium in order to provide a safe environment for the public and the employees that work there and chairperson park we have asked for some adjustments to these wage scales through channels as part of the ongoing negotiations that's resting in the CEO's office now good to know I'm I'm glad that there is an effort underway to try to make some of those adjustments um I don't have any other questions Mr mccosker so thank you very much appreciate you a good question and appreciate the problem so if this is Contracting out is this something that is then negotiated with our uh our friends in labor our you know your do you have a do you have a bargaining do you have a meet and confer a meet and consult process that you go through before you issue such a contract in a sense yes all the Otis mechanics uh Schindler cone mechanics Are all uh Union uh mechanics and the the union is very well aware of what our approach is towards maintaining the facilities as our our in-house lava mechanics uh having a private contractor augment the elevator shop is something that lava has been doing for probably 15 years now yeah and uh so yes we're very transparent the union is aware of what's going on in the in the shop quite frankly is is happy to have some help so the classification that you have as employees the classification that you don't have filled the employees that could otherwise do this work is just the classification that exists across the across the city and is filled elsewhere I'm not sure I understand the question I think the answer to other departments that could do this work oh reached out to General services and others and they have the same challenge we do many other City departments are in the same position where they have to hire a amtec or cone or others to to perform the work on there and you can't get someone out of the hiring hall because the the day work is better than I mean they're not going to come out of the hiring Hall income work for you at a rate that where they could do better on the outside if they want to go on the outside that appears to be the case yeah all right thank you yeah so just curious how how much more is this going to cost the city to to do this as opposed to doing it anyhow rough numbers 40 42 premium two percent council member we we continue to actively recruit because every contractor employee we can replace with a city employee saves us that 40 so we have and we'll continue to do all we can to recruit city employees can you talk to us a little bit more about the what's the all more you can do because that is a pretty steep premium I'm sorry the question what is the all more you can do to recruit I think a lot of it rests with the negotiations pending if we can if we can adjust the compensation packages that will give us a lot more ability to not only recruit but retain because we do continue to lose to Private Industry any and and even to other departments that don't run on the premium shifts I think as was mentioned in the in the report the bulk of the work we do is at night the bulk of the work the other City departments do is in a day with weekends off and that's one of the reasons we have difficulty recruiting stuff yeah no I mean I would have reacted the same way when I heard 42 percent uh how's bargaining going with uh trying to make competitive wages trying to attract more a few folks here councilmember I'm not sure we have that information and uh I think I'd have to refer to other uh groups within our department okay all right well I think all three of us at this table would like to see that get done and that we have a commitment to pay competitive wages so that we can lean in on our own employees but with that and no further questions or comments from my um colleagues uh I would move that we approve item 10. Park yes mcasker yes Soto Martinez yes three eyes and the item has been approved clerk if you would please read the item for us item 11 Board of airport commission is a report relative to approving a ground lease with Southwest Airlines Co for a term of up to 30 years covering approximately 702 750 square feet of land at the northeast corner of the Central Terminal area at Los Angeles International Airport to allow for development and operation of concourse zero a new passenger Concourse facility excited to hear an update on Concourse zero if you guys would just go ahead and introduce yourselves for folks who may not know who you are and we're looking forward to hearing your update good afternoon council members thank you for hearing this item today I'm Terry mestas I'm the assistant general manager and chief development officer at lawa uh good afternoon council members Dave Jones the deputy executive director for commercial development at Los Angeles World airports happy to be here today thank you so much Laura's yours we did bring some slides in case you wanted to look at those I believe those that are in front of you um so uh Concourse zero is an extension of terminal one um the lease here will give us the ability to implement and construct the project I did want to mention that this project has been entitled as part of a larger effort our atmp program and um and as far as the location goes it is going to be located right where La exit is today as well as a staff parking lot so those items will be relocated to accommodate this project so if I could direct everyone to slide four we'll talk a little bit about uh this proposed ground lease and really to just highlight this it's a um potential development we are looking at this ground lease in really three phases to start off and it has the potential to develop the site but it's obviously not approved yet so I'll walk through how we get to that point in a second here um but the first part which Terry mentioned Concourse zero it is just a concourse which means it's an extension of gates and so the key point on the slide number four you can see how the building actually connects into terminal one so this is a real critical component because of the risk that building into a leased facility creates as well as constructing next to an active terminal So based upon that lawa and Southwest both agreed that Southwest would be in the best position to undertake this project to mitigate not only the construction risk of tapping into their existing leasehold but also due to the active taxiway and active Gates that will be potentially impacted by the construction which is just adjacent to that and so what we came up with was a ground lease that would provide these uh the ability for Southwest to undertake this project um and um to help mitigate that risk Etc it really comes down to three terms and so I'll um take you to the next slide um Slide Five which shows how these three con three terms of the lease work together there's a pre-term which really acts like a pre-development agreement and this allows Southwest and lawa to agree on the scope the schedule and the cost of the project and if it if that can't be finalized in this first phase then the lease would terminate so no harm no foul everyone would walk away if we do agree on the scope and schedule we will be back to amend the lease with what we're calling the final terms lease Amendment which will incorporate what we have agreed to the scope and cost and schedule into this lease at which point Southwest will present allow its plan of Finance if that plan of Finance is not acceptable or they can can't give financing the lease could also terminate at that time then part two of the pre-development would kick in once we have the project approved lawa has to deliver the site and I'll talk a little bit more about the complications of that in a second but let's say we get through that we deliver the site on time then Southwest can begin the construction and that's when they would begin paying ground rent and the construction term would begin at that point after the construction is completed that's when the operation term of the lease would begin and as noted that's a 30-year term which would allow Southwest to amortize its investment unless lawa agreed to terminate the uh to terminate the lease by acquiring the facility during the sub during the ground lease period the operation period sorry lava will be subleasing the public areas as well as the concession space so we would be paying them so it's an opportunity for us to instead of subleasing it acquire that and terminate the lease so on slide six a little bit more about the site delivery and talked about part one the final scope to schedule the cost Etc but really looking at the the diagram here for the site delivery there's three components here that are really critical and these are our currently in use today so a number of enabling projects have to happen in order for us to be delivered the site that's vacating the parking lot vacating our La exit lot which is where our taxis and tnc's the turos Ubers currently operate as well as being able to take down that roadway Bridge so a lot of work that Terry's team is going to be doing to ensure that we can actually deliver that site and then as I mentioned just repeat repeating here 30 years for them unless law what terminates the lease so I'll turn over to Terry to talk a little bit more about the fun stuff yeah all right so if I can take you to slide seven um just some facts about the project um you can see the size there uh just about 665 000 square feet with three levels um it will be able to uh accommodate on not only domestic travel but we'll also have infrastructure in place to accommodate international travel and a few other items all of our projects are procured and implemented with a lot of sustainability objectives this project will um is targeted to achieve lead gold certification in addition to that it is subject to our our pla so the 30 level higher the project does have to comply with law was designed a construction handbook and as Mr Cisneros mentioned the team that is delivering the project has done work at law very successfully in the past there also is a public art opportunity as part of this project and I'll showcase that as we go through the other slides if I could take you to slide eight this is the first view of the proposed exterior of the project it has a mid-sensory modern feel all of the exterior and interior architectural elements that vocabulary is consistent with the rest of the airport what's exciting here is that as you are approaching the airport you can see a lot of the glass or fenestration that gives you a glimpse into a wonderful interior space that could showcase that public art all also at that juncture you'll be able to not only see onto the land side but also to see onto the Airfield slide nine just is just another view showing a different facade and glazing along the way as you're walking and giving people glimpses of of um of what else is happening at LAX and the other projects to come and then slide 10 shows you the interior so this is looking back towards terminal one the architectural vocabulary is very consistent with terminal one but slightly elevated the colors are slightly different just to show a slight change in in place it's also a great volume you can see the height of the people in that rendering and so you can get a real sense of the volume and the grandness of the space as well as the use of lighting and other accents along the way and also the pattern on the floor really guiding people through the space in a very intuitive way slide 11 is a glimpse of that of what we're calling the Centrum which you saw in that first exterior rendering so that will have a lot of concession opportunity but really be open for people to enjoy the space and be able to have those views on to both the air side and the land side this is also a location that we're anticipating we would Place public art slide 12 takes you to the very end of The Concourse where the ceiling actually goes up a little bit gives people a really wonderful endpoint with a lot of glass being able to enjoy all the activity that's taking place on the Airfield and then again some really exciting lighting elements to even highlight that area even more and with that we'll just conclude on the request to please approve this lease with Southwest and continue with this project thank you very much all right thank you so much both of you for the incredible presentation any Capital Improvement project can be subject to delays and costs so I'm just curious how lava is planning to coordinate with Southwest and other agencies to ensure that we avoid delays and stick to the the costs and schedule that we anticipate here sure in regards to working with other agencies we're actually getting ready to propose an amended mou um to to the board for approval and that outlines better processes more regular communication and really a platform to work together to get through the permitting process which has been challenging for us in the past in regards to working with Southwest we meet regularly we meet several times a month and we have a team in place that'll also be dedicated to overseeing this we'll have inspectors that oversee this project we get regular reporting from Southwest so it truly is a collaborative effort and a very transparent effort and that they're sharing with us their costs and schedules and allowing us to opine and provide some guidance as well okay good and I would just suggest that we keep close eye on that I know that we've had some overages on some other aspects of this work and I want to try to do everything that we can to minimize that um this is obviously a large undertaking and it's going to involve the demolition of some roadways and the movement of La exit once the APM comes online all of that of course is going to create on the ground impacts and so what are lawa and Southwest planning to do to message to the community about impacts on the roadways impacts to people who are traveling to and through LAX and the surrounding Community sure there is a messaging campaign underway we're crafting that now on how we're going to communicate to the public not only to encourage them to ride our new automated people mover but how to get around in light of these elements that are going on we also have a new app that's under development for guests we'll will be able to see every single activity that's happening on site there's also on our website there's a map that shows guests as they arrive any areas that they should watch out for and show some different paths in order to get to where they need to go at the airport all right good I think that's going to be really important to keep folks updated about that um I don't have any other questions Mr mccosker thank you very much um I think this is great by the way but I am just intrigued um just so I know uh how this is set up so we would enter into the lease should it be you would enter into the leash should we all be approved and then you spend the next 12 to 18 months working on this scope schedule cost and that comes in a few and you've got a lot of outs here you've got a lot of Elf ramps let's go and agree you're out that that's correct and then so so some of these then when I look at this schedule which is really helpful or look at this some of these time periods will be dictated by that negotiation I mean yeah that's correct uh council members so the lease has um a time period built in yeah I think we put in 540 days to finish this first phase that can be extended if we're close so we do we we've built in the the time frames because obviously we don't want this to linger on and on and on we want to have a you know a point where we say you know fish or not right yeah so you know at that point when we you know have reached that agreement you know if if the costs come in just too high and the airport can't afford it you know we just decide it's just not going to work then there is the ability to um for Southwest to terminate and get away at that point at that point um we have the option to buy the design so we could continue the project at a later date it's just that this mechanism to deliver the project could terminate if any of these things go wrong I see so these are like milestones these are essentially milestones and the it it gets filled in the concrete begins to harden if you will as you get to the agreement on the final terms lease Amendment and then you move to financing site delivery and that's right it's really creative I like it a lot yeah it's basically a pre-development agreement but in the structure of a ground lease right yeah it's cool so who do you mind all right no who worked the the pretty pictures like who worked on the pretty pictures nobody who paid for it is it ours or did we work with Southwest yes Southwest provided all the all of those images so their design team um provided all of that so that goes a long way in making sure we get to that first Milestone of figuring out oh absolutely correct Southwest been a tremendous partner going at risk up to this point you know investing a lot of money to to make this happen so I feel very comfortable and confident with their team I like it thank you thank you pictures have a bunch of Porsches [Laughter] I was belong to the architecture thank you okay well with that I would move that we approve item 11. Clark few wood called roll Park yes mccosker yes Soto Martinez yes three eyes and the item has been approved 12 Mr item 12 joint report from the economic Workforce Development Department and a Workforce Development board and City administrative officer report relative to approving the recommended procurement of a qualified consultant to develop a five-year strategic plan for a Workforce Development all right I think we have some folks from our economic and Workforce Development Department with us today if you would mind just introducing yourselves in case folks don't know you happy to do so and it's a privilege to be here it's the first time I believe that the economic and Workforce Development Department has presented to this committee it is it is moving on up we're in good company so I'm I'm Carolyn Hull and I'm the general manager of the economic and Workforce Development Department and in from the Department I'm joined by my colleagues and I'm going to let them introduce themselves and let me just say uh Gerardo rubicaba our assistant general manager is uh hopefully parking as we speak so we are we're we're hopefully he'll be up uh as well to join the presentation and I'm Susie riospelinoff Susie thanks for joining us as well today well with those introductions we can get started if you want to wait a moment for your colleague we can do that no we're going to I think we're gonna have the CIO start and then I'll we can we the department can go into a presentation okay great thank you hi so it's just um our CIO report uh recommends the approval of the results of the 2023 request for quotes for the five-year strategic plan for the Workforce Development system um and provides recommendations to authorize the general manager to enter into a contract relative to those results as for program specific and procurement specific questions I will defer to the department but if there are any questions as it relates to general fund Impact Physical impact things like that I'm here okay go ahead and turn it over to the department for presentation then okay thank you Donnie I don't know if you and Elizabeth want to come up um for those of you that are not familiar with the Department I just wanted to take a moment and tell you that the goal of the economic and Workforce Development Department for the city of Los Angeles is to develop and Implement programs and initiatives that yield thriving businesses create job training opportunities and supports the growth of living wage jobs for the residents of the city of Los Angeles the department administers various Workforce Development programs for adults dislocated workers youth that are funded by federal state and local dollars and our attempt really is to align all of our economic and Workforce Development programs to increase Equity across all sections of the economy and we do that in various ways and so every few years it's really important as the economy has gone through such a rapid change that it's important to take a look at are we aligned with our goals as a city as a region as a state nationally and how we are training and going after our training dollars and aligning our entire ecosystem it's not just the Workforce Development system we have a business source centers Work Source centers incubators and youth Source centers and aligning all of that with the goals that we all can attribute our our activities to so this is really what uh the goal of this this the contract is and it's really in partnership with the Workforce Development system and the mayor's office and with the Department as and I have really enjoyed getting to work with you in your department in the former iteration of this committee but we're really excited to have this economic and jobs development work right here in trade travel and tourism this is work that is important to all three of these committee members and certainly work that is absolutely essential to our city and to the residents especially as we recover and emerge from the pandemic because you're right it threw us all a little bit topsy-turvy um so I appreciate you being here today um and if you're more for your presentation before we ask some questions yeah I was just going to ask Donnie Brooks again nice to be in front of you council members so the department in terms of this Five-Year Plan and rebounding from covid and just the the economy has changed so there's a need for us to develop a comprehensive plan that helps to promote economic recovery ensure Financial stability and connect Angelino is with jobs that are are now and are ahead of us in the future and so we are here today to get your approval to contract with a consultant we solicited proposals for from Consultants that could develop this Five-Year Plan that will help and be aligned with our local annual plan and give us a blueprint for the future in terms of job growth and economic development so we will talk a little bit about the deliverables from the consultant and a little bit about the process and I will invite Elizabeth Macias to to walk you through that and then you can we can take questions perfect afternoon Elizabeth Macias economic and Workforce Development Department the expectation for the Strategic plan is ultimately to synthesize what Business Leaders need now again as my colleague mentioned post pandemic we're seeing a new uh economy new challenges new needs both in terms of Labor and also in terms of just General job needs so one of the goals is to create a plan that address those needs additionally the deliverables will be a robust Community input process with various stakeholder groups from employment to labor to labor research and obviously those that are most impacted are vulnerable populations in the city of Los Angeles the consultant that has been selected will be doing quantitative analysis as well they'll be analyzing city and state policies that may be hindering job wage labor growth and identifying the gaps in the policies that can further enable that growth additionally they'll provide a context in terms of the city's Workforce environment and analyze the current and potential uh Workforce needs and identify gaps in terms of how we can uh and strategies to how to meet those needs and lastly provide actions to address the shortages in terms of Labor the surpluses and skills mismatch that have occurred especially post pandemic the ultimately the goal like we said is to connect various relationships that we have in terms of regional in terms of the county the city figure out how to enhance our Workforce Development system and as we mentioned primarily with the goal of figuring figuring out how we connect all angelinos to high quality jobs let me just give you a quick overview on the RFP process and then I'll move on to turn it over to Gerardo to see if it has anything to add the RFQ the request for quote was released on June 26th of this year we received a total of 15 quotes submitted by the deadline of July 21st the proposals or the quotes were evaluated internally by City staff including the mayor's office of Economic Opportunity and economic and Workforce Development teams uh the quotes or the proposals were evaluated based on ability and demonstratability and program design and ultimately they proposed budgets the Civic makers which is the consultant that was ultimately selected received the highest score and was selected as the proposed contractor we can answer briefly I'll let her give you an overview on the Civic makers in terms of their design in terms of their experience but ultimately this was uh the approved by the recommendation was approved by our Workforce Development board and we're bringing it to you now for approval so I'll stop there and see if Geraldo you want to add anything before they okay so we'll just open it up to questions from the committee okay well this way and he was stuck in the bridge [Laughter] all right um well you know this kind of it segues into exactly um who are Civic makers um and why are we going to rely on them but my question is really you know is what is the value of Outsourcing someone else to write your strategic plan as opposed to relying on your internal skills and institutional knowledge to come up with your own strategic plan well that's a really great question and we are actually relying not only on ourselves but with many of the experts in the region and in the city we have an ad hoc committee as part of our Work Source development board and in fact I took place in the first meeting last Thursday and it's a robust conversation that includes the community colleges training um training facilities EDD the state level it's really important that we get all the voices in the room to talk about these issues most importantly making sure that the employers are in the room as well because understanding this the skills mismatch is a really critical part of the work that we need to do great I think that input from stakeholders on all sides of issues with different perspectives who may you know feel different collateral impacts of things we do or policy decisions we make is really important so thank you for that the scope of work shares that the five-year strategy is going to support the mayor's Workforce goals um but you know how and to what extent will the council be involved in the development of the plan if at all right um I could take that um so again my apologies for being late um so the 10 is that really this is going to be a city-wide Workforce Development strategy that that will take count down into not only the mayor's priorities but you know again city council and um you know the the city family I I was just in a meeting last week with ahead of another department that talked about you know just their the city struggled to build sidewalks with you know and because they could not find enough workers right to actually go into the construction we know we have in the city of La since the start of the pandemic our disconnected youth rate the 16 to 24 year olds are not engaged in education employment has gone up by more than 40 percent since the start of the pandemic and so here's a population that is ready that could you know be trained and put into City employment to help need City needs but we need to be able to connect the dots and so this is what this plan I think is really trying to help us do you know to answer your your question earlier um you know we could write a plan write that you know that reflects what we know um but I think we want to plan that really reflects the you know the priorities of our entire city family and stakeholders um you know including employers job Seekers and and really the population that we're trying to uplift through our programming um I don't have any other questions right now Mr mccosk or anything from you yeah just a couple thank you thank you very much when was the last time we had such a Five-Year Plan predates me something to you I think I actually I've been doing Workforce Development for 15 years and it does predate my involvement with our Workforce system so we're doing annual we've been doing annual plans and just going on 12 month Cycles exactly will uh do you anticipate that in this scope of work in the Outreach Outreach to employers and to other areas of expertise Well we'd be talking to the other sort of important nodes of this LAUSD occupational centers labor union training programs DWP airport and harbor all of the programs I mean there's a lot of there's a lot of interest and a lot of activity out there but are we intending that we will be able to stitch together all of these diverse well-intentioned programs I believe we started that process I think our subcommittee includes almost every element that you've just described uh certainly the the training in fact I think everyone every element that you just described is part of our subcommittee yes it definitely includes the lausc adult schools the community college system the CSU 5 system um a number of again City departments County departments which are part of our our overall you know Workforce ecosystem so our goal is really to have a comprehensive stakeholder engagement process that that includes not just the workforce and education side of it but you know also those that are providing you know the wraparound Services we know mental health is is a big issue within not just our youth but just overall adult population um so having the Department of Mental Health you know provide uh be a part of this conversation to me is critical so do you do you anticipate then that this will inform the structure and the manner in which we do youth Source job source business source our own incubators I mean are you looking to sort of potentially transform the way we do business and apply the federal dollars or all the dollars to these programs we are looking for this this strategic plan to inform our entire ecosystem particularly looking at uh elements quite frankly that we need to do a better job at which is promoting apprenticeship programs and looking at how we can work with all elements including the employers to develop those niches where we increase middle skill jobs and and living Wages that's really critical looking at the skills gap between what the employers need and how we're training individuals something in the harbor area because there's a bunch of non-profits and do-gooders who are you know creating internship programs because because they can and it's great and they're connecting folks to jobs one of the things that I've heard folks tell me is that they can talk all day to employers and they could talk about what the jobs of the future are and they can plan for things and one of the things that one of the opaque things in the system is who are these kids frankly the folks coming up will we be looking at what's going to be the supply of bodies of human beings and what's their current experience in the in the whether it's in a school system or or in other educational programs where are they coming from what are their what are the needs of language appropriate training I mean I think we all look at this side of it like how are we going to how are we going to train people for these jobs but who are we going to train and and is there is there a transparency on you know where where our kids are coming from a couple of the critical partners that are part of our ecosystem so one of them is LAUSD so we currently through our U System have um La USC pupil Services counselors that are co-located at the 14 news source Center a big part of their role is really to help do Outreach and to identify those youth that are not engaged in education so when someone comes into our Center whether they're looking for Summer Youth Employment Program or Career Services the first thing they do is meet with an LAUSD career advisor that has access to educational records that we as a Workforce system legally do not have access to right so that is just one example but there you know we we partner with a number of organizations so the opportunity youth collaborative is a partner for our youth system in terms of our all of our youth programming and they work in particular with like probation and other system involved youth and really help us to engage with the disconnected youth population um so yes you know to our so that is a big part of the challenges again not just identifying the youth but getting them to come and take that next step you know as I mentioned earlier you know there's a huge increase in the number of disconnected youth you know since the pandemic um that population actually looks different than it did you know 15 years ago when I first started doing this work that disconnected youth today is most likely high school graduate that never took you know never went on to either get a job or moved into education or you know post-secondary education so you know these are things that we as a system need to figure out how to better address and and to you know and to connect those 62 000 youth into something that's going to be productive and really lead to Economic Opportunity great well said thank you and I'll just follow up on that you know there are a lot of um youth aging out of foster care and there are some extra foster care could be a pipeline or feeder into these programs too because for that demographic the need for educational and career development opportunities is very real I was with an organization just over the weekend Foster Nation it doesn't have existing relationships with some of our youth programs and our Workforce Development opportunities and so I know that there is more that we can do to help generate candidates into some of the program so maybe we can look at that as we move forward with this absolutely that we and that's the whole purpose of this this sort of strategic plan is to tease out some of the items that you just mentioned there is more that we can do yeah thank you so much Madam chair um so I've uh I've dug in a little bit on this uh from our other committee so I'm gonna try to make my points pretty clear so so first of all I I'm really excited uh that we're gonna start a five-year strategic plan uh you know when we first met uh we're going year by year and uh I asked like a question right how many of these folks being hired I think it was 13 000 people got hired through the Worksource centers but I asked how many of them were good union jobs and we didn't have any data on that we we don't know any of that so essentially the system we have now uh doesn't track our people going into life-changing jobs right because when when you there's a different the folks walking through the Worksource centers are not folks I don't think they're graduating from college with you know from UCLA USC or whatever these are these are these are working class folks they're they see this city as a this city office as a service where they can go get jobs and oftentimes they get sent to we don't know where right and we were just talking about the lack of elevator operators right uh and the lack of how many vacancies we have in the city and so I see a a once in a probably term limit term right because we were for 44 years to truly change the direction of this and so what's going to require is going to be I think two things you're gonna have to develop Partnerships with the business community uh and you're gonna have to develop Partnerships with labor right and specifically in sectors that we know are emerging which is uh or there are you know we know there's a need there's construction Hospitality Logistics and Health Care those are those are the sections that the county has identified as the the biggest need which there's also High rate of unionization so in other words the city has an opportunity to get you know 13 000 people into life-changing jobs that we now have massive effects on their families or Health Care do they become homeless uh you know so many of the ills that we have in in uh in society and so I I would like to know what and so that's the task and now you're saying Civic makers is going to be tasked to shape that right so what is their track record on on this particular area of business and labor like that's that's what I'm curious to know about them to what I'll address it this way so so one of the things I was actually interesting about their um their application and I think set them aside from some of the other applicants was the Partnerships that they're bringing to the table um so one of the key Partners under this project is a national organization called jobs for the future which partners with a former um individual from the U.S Department of

Labor of Virginia Hamilton has done a lot of work around said you know human-centered design and it's really about you know again how do we and with the work that they do is really around that work of you know one how do we place the our participants at the center of Designing this program how do we include individuals and again providing the input and types of jobs that we're creating but also focusing in on on good jobs right it's a high quality jobs that is part of the task that we we have to answer and really address through this um you know this organization again especially in partnership with EDD with the Employment Development Department and other National organizations have been doing a lot of work around again you know creating helping work transform Workforce systems and and help create good jobs um so I think that is part of the goal of this project no I know that's the goal but we now have to execute it right and so but do they have do they have relationships with with apprenticeship programs or or business entities in the city of Los Angeles like do are they talking to the longshoremen are they talking to uh the Carpenters like are they talking to to those do they have relationships with those organizations including the business the obviously the business side of this again I can't speak to their specific relationships um I I can say that they've done work you know locally um you know through some of the workforce systems um locally again they're also partnering with the State Employment Development Department and other organizations so I do think that they have the the expertise and and have a plan for engaging local Partners including labor in this process and let me just add to having been a consultant at one time it's so important the subcommittee that we've put together because sitting around the table at that subcommittee are many of the elements that are so critical to having the input having a consultant come in even if they have tremendous relationships as the the council member uh I think accurately pointed out we have a great deal of expertise ourselves and we have a great deal of uh connections throughout the city and the state with all those organizations this has to be a collaborative effort we are not setting them off without our input on a regular basis so it will be a team effort they'll be writing it up but we will be there with them as part of our committees and our subcommittees working with them including like we said the community colleges Labor uh our employers working with our our ecosystem but have they done similar work like this in Los Angeles I mean obviously that's good it's good that we have uh the you know the subcommittees but having an understanding of the city of Los Angeles and the players is also sort of a thing what kind of what work have they done here like locally um again I I can't speak to again work in Los Angeles they've done work in the region um I'm sorry do you have their purpose in front of me I believe they've done work throughout the state you know whether they've actually had a proposal or done a project within the city of Los Angeles we'd have to get back to it looks like we have it immediately here thank you they've done um basically they have a lot of experience working with the Bay Area and California they are working with the state of California EDD to develop uh Improvement in etpl practices they have worked with a city of Hayward for example like I said they've done different research with jobs for the future they've established the San Francisco Workforce accelerator program so they have a lens toward equity and building Partnerships and connections so that's really what we want them to replicate here in the city of Los Angeles thank you Elizabeth and again going back to Carolyn's point and that is where the role of of the ad hoc committee that was created by the board is going to support right so that does have members of you know again local employers City departments you know there's labor Representatives um the intent is to use that board to help you know both make the connections but also help guide the process I mean it it feels a little bit like we're we're and I get that part there's I mean we don't have control of the ewtd right of the board but it sounds like we're and sorry I'm very passionate about this because it you know I think my colleagues here too it's like I know the difference between having a property job and a good job right and it's like and when I think about how much how much money we get from taxpayer dollars to just send people off to a minimum wage job it's just it's just like if people understood that it would be controversial why why is the city doing that it's just like similar like we're spending over 40 on Contracting out wasting taxpayers up and so what I'm hearing is we don't know what work they've done in the city we don't know how many partners they have uh we don't know how many folks they have really direct relationships with right now whether it's labor or business and so it feels like we're tasking them with a very important five-year strategy and we don't we don't even have that information completely and you're asking at least me to to vote in favor of this today just it's it seems very difficult to do that connection just wanted to also um speak to the interconnectedness of some of the work that is happening in the city we do have CSUN who is our evaluator that's working to redesign the Workforce Development system and uh the Civic makers and CSUN will work together to leverage uh the underground if you will research and expertise in terms of bringing all the two subcommittees that are working on the redesign and on the overall larger strategic plan together so one of the things that I think spoke to the expertise if you are Civic makers is the participatory process that they are interested in ensuring that all sectors are represented that they will rely on the ad hoc as well as their own framework if you will is to try to create a steering committee advisory committee that will help them ensure that they are connecting with all the key Partners within the region not just the city but also the county since we are a regional economy so that is really the lens toward Equity that a human-centered approaches and participatory approach that why they scored the highest in terms of their representation and also their willingness to help implement the plan that they helped develop and not just leave a plan in and and move on but they will provide that ongoing technical assistance and expertise to the city of Los Angeles no I I appreciate you saying that I my uh my concerns unfortunately are not assuaged right uh what what would persuas them is knowing that that this is starting off on the wrong on the right foot and that knowing that as this eventually is implemented that that the Workforce Development has like direct ties to to business and to into labor right like just even if they have just like a a labor Navigator in the work WorkSource centers where they can say hey you know what I got a connection to uh to the healthcare industry let's get you a job at the airport let's connect with the with the different contractors building out terminal zero like that that's that would make me feel a lot more comfortable because then I know we're starting on on the right foot but but that's not what we have for today and it's we don't have that information well again going back to our subcommittee then our ad hoc committees which we'll be meeting on a regular basis and maybe we could participate and have your team be part of that ad hoc committee and and have those discussions and we're happy to come back and kind of report out on how we're making those connections because again I think that that is absolutely the intent and I think I was not on the selection committee by the way but I I do think that the reason why this particular consultant was by and far the the the the the the the selection is because they have proven in other areas that they have the ability to deliver on these types of human-centric designs yeah is there sorry I guess it's for my colleagues is there a way to to get like report backs and progress on this okay instructions okay well I think that would probably because because you know we have until the end of the year I believe right a lot of that's going to happen I would appreciate a Mac oscar style report back here absolutely because and if I can't just to dovetail on what I think I hear council member Soto Martinez saying is that we have very deep resources here L.A County Federation of business the La Chamber those organizations reach deep into the local and Regional business Community he specifically mentioned longshoremen and Carpenters The Building Trades all have excellent apprenticeship programs and I think what we're saying is we would like you to tap into those resources maybe there are elements already on your advice but I guess what I think what we would like to see here is great we're going to work with a company that has National relationships but it's important that we're working from the relationships that we already have here and the expertise here absolutely absolutely okay happy to report back on that great great uh any other questions no okay so then um what um I would like to do here then is since this is going to be a city-wide program and I don't see any oversight baked into how we're doing this um I before we move to approve this item then I would like to add an instruction that economic and Workforce Development Department Department report back to this committee on a bi-monthly basis relative to the work being done I appreciate that okay all right uh unless there are any objections to that I will move that we approve the CAO Report with our additional instruction so Mr clerk please call the roll Park yes McAllister yes Soto Martinez yes three eyes and this item has been approved as amended thank you thank you very much appreciate it and we'll look forward the desk is cool it's clear it's adjourned yeah of course

2023-09-23 18:51

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