Port of Oakland to create centre for local hiring

The Port of Oakland announced that it will build a Seaport Logistics Complex, which will give priority in hiring workers from nearby neighbourhoods. Community leaders welcomed the decision, saying that it can create a national model for local hiring.

The Seaport Logistics Complex will be a 440,000-square-foot distribution centre on decomissioned Oakland Army Base property, Port of Oakland announced last week.

This project aims to give nearby resident with their first job and it will provide them with a  job-training component to help develop the local labor pool. It will also prioritize hiring disadvantaged workers.

    “This agreement is part of the growing grassroots movement across the country to win locally and set in motion a wave of larger national change. This is how we take back our cities, our communities and our democracy: policy by policy on the local level,” said Nikki Fortunato Bas, Executive Director of the Partnership for Working Families.

The discussion for the project were last almost 20 months between the Port and developer CenterPoint Properties.

The Port of Oakland mentioned that community’s involvement will be crucial to the development of the project, as local representatives are expected to monitor the implementation of the job policy.

Key aspects of the job agreement include:

    Living wages and benefits for workers

    Priority consideration for unemployed individuals, armed forces veterans, single parents, ex-offenders and foster care adults

    A ban on asking applicants about prior criminal offenses.

Port and CenterPoint officials said the Seaport Logistics Complex project would create hundreds of jobs, which will be divided between construction work and ongoing warehouse-type operations jobs.