SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Chinese Hospital, with over 100 years of service to Chinatown and San Francisco, exceeded the 25% goal of hiring local construction workers to reach 29% in the building of the new hospital. The project gave construction workers living in San Francisco over 100,000 work hours.
Chinese Hospital’s local hire success demonstrates the impact a privately-owned enterprise can have when it partners with a third-party community monitor, Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), to commit to hiring San Francisco resident construction workers. Prior to the Chinese Hospital project, CAA supported the construction of Chinatown City College to achieve 32% local hire.
CAA commends the local hire success of the Hospital and the strong efforts of general contractor DPR Construction. CAA Community Advocate Laylaa Abdul-Khabir says, “With an active collaboration between the Hospital, DPR Construction, CityBuild and our union partners, we ensured a diverse labor force were given the first opportunities to earn a livable wage.”
The San Francisco Local Hiring Policy for Construction, now in its 6th year, has been heralded as the most ambitious and successful local hiring policy in the nation. In 2010, with the advocacy of Chinese for Affirmative Action and other community groups, the policy transitioned the “good faith” efforts for local hiring on City-funded construction projects to mandatory levels of San Francisco resident participation. Local hiring is an investment in San Francisco and helps ensure local dollars benefit local communities.
Ka Kit Yun, a Chinatown resident and Chinese immigrant, works as a carpenter on the New Hospital. Yun says, “I have been on this project almost three years. I live very close by, and I don’t have to travel that much. It helped my family a lot to work this job. I think local hiring on construction projects helps local workers afford to stay in San Francisco.”
For 47 years, CAA has been dedicated to creating opportunities and promoting equity for all and especially for low income, limited-English proficient immigrants.
