HISD and union support

I blogged about the AFL-CIO's endorsement of the HISD bond referendum on Monday. Here's the Chron story about that.

Making more concessions to win support for the Houston Independent School District's $805 million bond proposal, Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra announced Monday that the district plans to adopt higher wages for many construction workers and to partner with area unions to expand job training programs for students.

While many of the details haven't been finalized and still need school board approval, the deal persuaded previously reluctant union leaders to endorse the bond.

"This is monumental," said Turner Wright, a business development representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. "These workers are going to earn a decent living, finally."

Under the plan, HISD would pay the U.S. Department of Labor's prevailing wages -- the same rates, fringe benefits and apprenticeship ratios adopted by Harris County. HISD also agreed to use the county's contract compliance office to make sure contractors pay those rates.

Contractors who don't comply, as well as those that don't provide formal training to their employees, will pay fees that will be funneled into the school district's vocational education program. Those career and technology programs will be bolstered to help prepare graduates to enter apprenticeship programs.

The deal comes after weeks of lobbying on the part of union leaders, who initially said they couldn't support a bond that would allow more schools to be built by underpaid and underquallified workers. Saavedra said the union's newfound support shows that many of the concerns surrounding the bond can be resolved.

"A lot of the differences here are adult differences," he said. "These differences can be worked out. I don't believe we're very far apart with any group."

This is similar in some ways to the pay or play proposal that Mayor White outlined in his State of the City address. I think it makes sense, especially if Harris County is already doing something like it. Expanding job training is also a good thing. Having the unions involved in get-out-the-vote efforts will in turn be a boon for HISD. Getting them on board after their initial reluctance also gave Saavedra nice PR opportunity. We'll see how it goes from here.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on October 09, 2007 to Election 2007