LA Metro’s Board of Directors voted to adopt the Manufacturing Careers Policy (MCP), co-written by Jobs to Move America. This policy is the most comprehensive jobs creation policy to date, and ensures accountability measures in the procurement process for green transit manufacturers who submit winning bids to supply LA Metro’s new fleet of EV buses and railcars.
The MCP builds on an earlier iteration of the US Employment Plan (USEP) from 2018, and incorporates new resources for tracking and accountability that set clear expectations for how companies are held accountable to their job commitments set in the original bid, namely with minimum wage and benefits, workforce training and apprenticeship programs, and diversity requirements.
In addition to providing transparency and accountability, the MCP also creates a pathway to employment for people facing barriers to employment, who fall under one or more of these categories at their date of hire: 1) homeless; 2) single parents; 3) receives public assistance; 4) lacks a GED or high school diploma; 5) has a criminal record; 6) long-term unemployed; 7) termed-out of foster care; or 8) veterans.
Highlights in the new MCP include::
- Threshold requirement for procurement size lowered to $50 million from $100 million: This ensures that the MCP can be applied to almost all manufacturing contracts and bids for LA Metro
- Remedies for non-compliance: Carves out monetary penalties to encourage and incentivize companies to follow through on their jobs commitments
- Proposals for LA Metro contracts will undergo an evaluation mechanism that scores companies higher – up to 5% – for their commitment to the good jobs policy
- Utilizes new federal initiatives to leverage local and targeted hire programs
With the adoption of the MCP, LA Metro is the first major transit agency in the nation to incorporate a good jobs policy for manufacturing in their procurement process. This also establishes a framework and model for other public agencies to develop a jobs creation policy for their respective communities, while moving towards a cleaner and healthier economy.