Democratic officials are plowing billions of dollars into yet-to-be-built California high-speed rail projects and funding thousands of jobs, especially for union workers.
Despite funding originally approved in a referendum in 2008, the California high-speed rail project is currently under construction with less than a quarter of the expected length, and was initially expected to reach Los Angeles by 2020. It was scheduled to connect San Francisco. according to In the Los Angeles Times. The Los Angeles/Orange County Building and Construction Trades Council, which represents California’s 48 local unions and more than 150,000 members, boasted Continued funding for California’s high-speed rail projects has created 13,000 union construction jobs. (Related: California is staring at a deep budget deficit. Can it be fixed?)
California High Speed Rail Authority Community Benefits agreement For rail construction, manual labor is negotiated exclusively with trade union representatives, and workers are not required to join a trade union, but workers who work on site for more than eight days in total are entitled to wages. states that you need to pay. Union fees. The agreement outlines that union members will be the main source of labor, and that local unions will be given the opportunity to introduce employees.
“This project has been a windfall for union officials who have been working hard,” Kelly Jackson, William Clement Fellow for California Reform at the Pacific Institute, told DCNF. “According to some statistics, as many as 13,000 people are employed.” The California High Speed Rail Authority itself boasts of “stable union jobs with union wages and benefits.” Needless to say, an increase in the number of dues-paying union members who support their salaries and benefits is a benefit that every union leader can enjoy. ”
In December, the Biden administration announced $3 billion in federal funding to move forward with the first phase of the project connecting Merced, Fresno, and Bakersfield, adding to the $9 billion already earmarked by the state. This was in addition to approximately $3.5 billion in grants from the federal government. Obama administration. The project is estimated to cost between $88 billion and $128 billion to be fully completed, and railroad officials have told DCNF they aim to have service from Bakersfield to Merced between 2030 and 2033. he said.
“Of course, the cost of the project will be affected by off-market wage increases,” Jackson told DCNF. “When so many workers earn these wages for so many years, the numbers are huge. Unions are the force behind the rails, and they have helped keep this project far behind schedule and covered initial costs. This is one of the reasons, if not the main reason, that this project was not canceled, despite significantly exceeding expectations and appearing to be a failed enterprise. Benefits agreements require unions to be the primary source of all craft labor.”
The California High-Speed Rail Authority told DCNF that 35.5 miles of the Central Valley have thus far been substantially completed, but efforts are still underway to design stations and track systems, complete environmental reviews, and procure trains. He said it is in progress.
“The project is very advanced and we continue to move forward with unwavering commitment as we actively pursue federal funding while actively and proactively moving the project forward,” the agency said.DCNF told.
BIG NEWS: Today, President Biden announced funding to build our nation’s first-ever high-speed rail project.
These investments will get people and goods where they need to go faster, reduce emissions, improve passenger safety, and create good-paying union jobs. pic.twitter.com/zxR6SQawIw
— White House (@WhiteHouse) December 9, 2023
“Even without a project collective bargaining agreement, prevailing wages and benefits would exist for this project due to both state requirements and federal funding requirements,” LA/OC Building Communications and Editorial Director Anne-Marie Otay said. the Construction Trades Council told DCNF. “So they’re going to be there no matter what, so we better make the most of it. It’s better for the workers if we also get a union agreement on this project. I think that’s a good thing.”
Otay pointed to the federal Davis-Bacon Act. law The law requires governments to pay workers at least local rates when building public works projects. The reason is that labor costs do not go up when union members are used for business.Congressional Budget Office Estimation If the Davis-Bacon Act were repealed in 2020, government spending would be reduced by $10.7 billion by 2030.
“It’s benefiting the workers,” Otay told DCNF. “And these workers are represented by unions, but no, we didn’t look at it as, ‘What can we do for unions?’ What can we do for the workers?’ They live in the center of the state, especially in areas like the Central Valley, where they can’t drive to San Francisco, Sacramento or Los Angeles for work. So we wanted to find a way to keep them employed and at least to some degree close to where they live. So we think that’s a positive thing. ”
In December, he and Democratic Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen announced about $3 billion in federal funding to build high-speed rail between Las Vegas, Nevada, and Rancho Cucamonga, California. claim It says 35,000 union jobs will be created as a result. Funding for this project will come from $1.2 trillion in new spending authorized by the bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021.
California is one of the most unionized states in the United States, ranking 6th in the percentage of unionized workers, compared to other blue states such as Connecticut and Hawaii. They lost to New Jersey, New York and Washington State. according to to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The percentage of workers who are union members fell from 16.1% in 2022 to 15.4% in 2023.
The Biden administration’s push to fund high-speed rail in California is part of a larger national push to expand passenger rail access for Americans. President Joe Biden announced in November that he would give $16.4 billion to Amtrak, the U.S. national passenger rail company, to fund 25 passenger rail projects along the East Coast.
“In California, public works projects have always been run by unions, but I think the biggest reason they like high-speed rail is that it’s a very long-term project,” says California Policy. said Edward Ring, Director of Water and Energy Policy. the center told DCNF. “The reason unions support these projects is because they’re big. But another reason they support these projects is because these are projects that the environmentalist community doesn’t vehemently oppose. They They should build something more practical. They should improve the highways. But environmentalists want us to diet on the road.”
Biden also boasted that the California Rail Project’s new set of cars will be all-electric, have zero emissions and be powered by renewable energy. according to On the White House fact sheet. The president claims that all proposed rail projects would create “tens of thousands” of union jobs.
As of September, California had spent more than $600 million on environmental reviews of rail projects, not including the 78 miles of 500 miles that had not yet been assessed.
“Environmental activists are so powerful that unions think, ‘If we want to get people to work, we’re going to have to team up with environmentalists,'” Ring told DCNF. “So environmentalists will end up buying projects that actually have no practical value. High-speed rail has no practical value in California. They also argue that there is no environmental value. You can, and I think that’s a very persuasive argument.”
The White House and California Governor’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment from DCNF.
All content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan news distribution service, is available free of charge to legitimate news publishers with large audiences. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and DCNF affiliation. If you have any questions about our guidelines or our partnership, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
