LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Airport Commission today approved a 10-year extension to the Los Angeles International Airport project labor agreement, making it a 30-year agreement.
The agreement maintains labor relations policies and procedures for construction contractors and craft employees engaged in all of LAX's capital projects.
“With the historic extension of the LAX Project Labor Agreement, Los Angeles World Airports is once again setting the standard for excellence in our commitment to workforce development and inclusion,'' said Sean Burton, the Airport Commission president.
“From our groundbreaking HireLAX Apprenticeship Readiness Program to 20 years without a work stoppage, this agreement has been and will continue to be a cornerstone of LAX's transformation into one of the best airports in the world.''
The agreement led directly to the creation of the HireLAX, a free eight-week course that prepares residents within the Airport Impact Area for opportunities in the construction trade.
LAWA officials said the program has a career placement rate of 83%, although it has been put on pause due to COVID-19, a new cohort will begin in January.
“This valuable partnership is one of the longest-running and most successful (labor agreements) in the country,'' said Sean McGarvey, the president of North America's Building Trades Unions. “With this new extension, we begin writing the next chapter in the success story of our outstanding and enduring partnership together.''
LAX officials said the $5.5 billion Landside Access Modernization Program currently under construction was made possible by the labor agreement's commitment to establish strong workforce contract requirements connected to the airport's public-private partnership projects, the Automated People Mover and Consolidated Rent-A-Car facility.
These contracts require the developers to achieve a 30% rate of hiring local workers, and the two large LAMP projects have consistently outperformed the minimum requirement, LAWA officials said.
Many other small projects also benefited from the labor agreement, LAWA official said.
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