Alameda
Corridor Jobs Coalition
|
|
Benetta Johnson
|
“Unions
and communities share common concerns over economic development
and jobs” |
The success of the Los Angeles based Alameda Corridor Jobs Coalition
(ACJC) is an encouraging example of how community organizations
can act together to assure that promised “community benefits”
of public economic development do result in good jobs for local
residents.
Background
The Alameda Corridor Project is a $2.4 billion public investment
to build a twenty-mile long rail cargo express line that will
link the port to the major rail shipping lines. Under the jurisdiction
of a transportation authority formed in 1989, the Corridor Project
is a major transportation upgrade that will speed international
port and trade activity. It also foreshadows every other corridor
project targeted to major port facilities across the country.
The ACJC began its life in the mid 1990’s as a local church
initiative dedicated to encouraging community economic development.
The Opportunity
The Corridor Project is the largest public works project in
the US, generating thousands of direct and indirect good jobs
with its construction. The ten-mile midcorridor portion of the
project is a 33 foot deep trench that cuts through some of the
most economically depressed communities in Los Angeles: Watts,
Compton, Huntington Park, San Pedro, South Central, etc. The
challenge that ACJC identified was making sure that residents
of these communities would have access to the jobs and economic
benefits derived from the project.
Research Challenge
Research was targeted says ACJC organizer and Executive Director
Benetta Johnson , “to understanding the key issues behind
jobs and local hiring... and power analysis on control and decisions.”
This included identifying and documenting:
