L.A. City Council Approves Landmark Construction Policy
On Wednesday, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joined construction workers, activists and clergy to celebrate the passage of the historic “Construction Careers and Project Stabilization Policy,” by the Los Angeles City Council.

The policy will require most construction projects funded by the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) to hire more local and low-income workers who reside in the communities in which the project is being built. The new policy also encourages partnerships, through a Project Labor Agreement, between CRA/LA-subsidized developers and contractors and the Building Trades Council.
Visit http://www.launionaflcio.org/ to learn more .

Support for Extended Unemployment Insurance Benefits Growing
Over the last six months, more than 200,000 California families reached the end of their six months of unemployment benefits. Another quarter million California families are expected to run out of benefits in the next six months.

The past two weeks have brought new support for extending unemployment benefits. Last week, Assemblymember Sandré Swanson (D-Oakland) introduced a resolution in the state legislature calling on Congress to extend benefits. On Monday, Governor Schwarzenegger sent a letter to Congressional leaders asking for action and just this morning, the Los Angeles Times published a supportive editorial.

Read the LA Times editorial at http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-employment25apr25,0,6055990.story
The governor’s letter can be found at http://gov.ca.gov/press-release/9380/