EL SEGUNDO HERALD June 22, 2017 Page 9 Builders Can’t Find Enough Workers as Construction Surges By Rob McCarthy The Southern California construction business is booming with major improvements at Los Angeles International Airport expected to take years to complete and the Los Angeles Rams football stadium project in Inglewood is breaking ground after a rain delay. Now, comes word the Los Angeles Clippers and their owner Steve Ballmer plan to build his team its own arena nearby in Inglewood, adding to the South Bay’s pro-sports presence. The basketball arena, which Ballmer says would be built near Century Boulevard and Prairie Avenue, could seat 20,000 fans and be finished in time for the 2023 season, according to published reports. The Clippers currently play at Staples Center, but they are the third pro sports tenant there behind the Lakers and the Kings of the National Hockey League. Having an NBA team in Inglewood again could save South Bay basketball fans the drive into downtown Los Angeles to see a game. It could also get the ball rolling on more vocational training, which contractors say is needed because they can’t find enough workers to meet current projects in the area. May employment in the construction trades was the highest in nine years, according to the Associated General Contractors of America. The trade group reported a spike in hiring nationally with 11,000 more construction jobs added ahead of the summer. Southern California is the epicenter for the construction boom that is raising workers’ take home pay as union and non-union tradespeople find themselves and their skills in demand again. The building boom has created a labor shortage, which the construction industry says could be alleviated by more emphasis by local school officials on career and technical training programs. Jobs at construction sites in California and elsewhere are going unfilled, and many offer good salaries and require only a high school diploma or the equivalent to land them. Lawmakers and labor and education officials can do something to address the shortage of qualified construction workers by funding and reinvigorating career and technical education programs, the leader of the nation’s building trade group says. “It is time for elected officials to get the world out to students that construction offers high-paying jobs with upward mobility,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, chief executive officer for the Associated General Contractors of America. With more major building projects in the pipeline in the Los Angeles area, his group is worried that high school and middle school students aren’t aware of the career opportunities in carpentry, drywall installation, concrete and other skilled labor for home and commercial construction jobs. Construction officials said construction labor shortages were becoming more severe in many parts of the country after years of under-investment in career and technical education programs, formerly known as vocational education. They are urging the Congress and the White House to take steps to increase funding and flexibility for the Perkins Act, which provides federal funds for career and technical education. They also urge state and local leaders to make it easier for construction companies and local trade associations to create regional recruiting and training programs. The heaviest demand for builders is in California, pushed by the LAX modernization work and the start of the NFL stadium and entertainment complex in Inglewood. California contractors added 38,000 jobs in a year, according to the latest figures from April. Here in Los Angeles County, 5,800 tradesmen and women were working again in the spring as building projects got underway- -a sign that the region has shaken off the economic drag of the 2007 housing crisis. Contractors are creating jobs faster than the overall U.S. jobs economy, according to recent government data. Foremen are working their crews longer hours, but paying overtime is only a temporary solution for now. Contractors kept employees on the job longer because firms couldn’t find enough skilled and qualified people for their projects, according to the building trade association’s economist. But, more projects such as the newly announced Inglewood arena for the Clippers would make the labor shortage even worse and likely cause delays and scheduling headaches for project managers and their clients. “If the labor market remains tight, firms may have to adjust their business practices as they shift limited personnel from one project to the next,” said Ken Simonson, the trade association’s chief economist. California construction companies could look out-of-state for skilled labor. However, there will be competition for experienced tradespeople. Thirty-nine states, including ours, are experiencing their own construction booms and doing more hiring, according to government labor reports. Two states experiencing sharp downturns in construction hiring are Illinois and Mississippi, where the sector lost 6,600 and 3,600 jobs, respectively, in April. The Illinois state government is dealing with a massive budget crisis, which has idled all non-essential activities and state-funded construction projects. There are other state labor pools ripe for cherry-picking by Southern California contractors. The largest construction job losses are happening in the Houston metro area (7,600 jobs), followed by St. Louis (4,000 jobs) and the Chicago area, which is down 3,800 jobs in the latest data. Skilled labor also can be found in the West near Casper, Wyoming, which experienced a 21 percent drop in employment. Double-digit job losses are happening in the Midwestern states of Michigan and to the East in Trenton, New Jersey and Charleston, West Virginia, the data shows. Construction workers are averaging nearly 40 hours per week, and hourly pay had climbed to $28.55 as of May. The building industry says pay in the trades is typically nine percent higher than what people earn in the private sector. Demand is highest for homebuilders, where employment nationwide was up nearly five percent in May. Demand for labor in nonresidential construction and heavy and civil engineering work is increasing, but at a slow rate of 1.7 percent in a year-over-year comparison. Private sector projects have triggered the building boom. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California (14,600 jobs, 16 percent) added the most construction jobs over the past year, followed by Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida (8,900 jobs, 13 percent), data shows. Other construction hot spots are Las Vegas- Henderson-Paradise, Nevada (8,500 jobs, 16 percent); Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia (6,800 jobs, six percent) and San Diego-Carlsbad, California (6,300 jobs, eight percent). Association officials cautioned that public investments in infrastructure have declined by 8.5 percent during the past 12 months, even as private sector demand continues to grow. The recent infrastructure proposal outlined by the Trump administration should provoke needed debate in Washington about how to pay for future public works projects, trade officials said. The LAX modernization project is a notable exception. The $14 billion update to the terminals, runways and parking facilities include a proposed people mover that will connect off-site parking near the 405 freeway with the nation’s second-busiest airport. Projected to last through 2023, the program is considered the largest public works project in the history of Los Angeles. It began in 2009 with the expectation it would create 121,000 construction jobs annually over the project’s 14-year span, according to the Los Angeles World Airport website. • Community Briefs from page 3 The Aerospace Corporation Welcomes New Board Member City Asks Residents to Weigh in On Marijuana Law Survey With the passage of Proposition 64 (the Adult Use of Marijuana Act) last November, California voters made it legal for adults 21 years or older to cultivate, possess and use marijuana for non-medical purposes. With the new state law, the El Segundo City Council wanted to get the community’s opinions before considering potential policy changes on items the City has some ability to regulate. The survey, available on the City of El Segundo’s home page (www.elsegundo.org), asks residents and business owners if they believe the City should allow commercial marijuana-related businesses in El Segundo; if they support the City generating additional revenue by allowing marijuana-related retail businesses (license fees/sales taxes); if the City should allow any commercial marijuana-related businesses in El Segundo (manufacturing/testing, transportation/delivery, outdoor cultivation, retail, storage/warehousing); should the City reasonably regulate personal cultivation of marijuana indoors (require permits, property owner authorization, inspections for fire safety); and should the City allow personal cultivation of marijuana outdoors. Those who participate in the survey can also optionally provide their name and/ or email address to receive updates on future City marijuana policy discussions. • The Aerospace Corporation has elected Stephanie O ’Sullivan, former principal deputy director of National Intelligence, to join its board of trustees, effective immediately. “Stephanie brings a wealth of knowledge and technical expertise from the intelligence community, as well as the military and aerospace sectors,” said Ambassador Barbara Barrett, chairman of the board of trustees. “Our board greatly values her deep insight and experience, and we look forward to working with her to serve our nation’s best interests.” For the last six years, O’Sullivan oversaw the operations for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and supported initiatives and resource challenges for the Intelligence Community. She retired from this position in January 2017. Prior to that assignment, she served as the associate deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In this role, she worked with the director and deputy director in the overall leadership of the agency and day-to-day management of the organization. Prior to becoming associate deputy director of the CIA, O’Sullivan led the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology (DS&T) - the part of the agency responsible for developing and deploying innovative technology in support of intelligence collection and analysis. Throughout her career, she held various management positions in the CIA’s DS&T, which included oversight of systems acquisition, and research and development in fields ranging from power sources to biotechnology. O’Sullivan joined the CIA in 1995 after working for the Office of Naval Intelligence and TRW, which is now part of Northrop Grumman. She holds a bachelor’s of science degree in civil engineering from the Missouri Science and Technology University. – Provided by The Aerospace Corporation Lundquist Historic $100 Million in Gifts to Torrance Memorial Torrance Memorial Medical Center leadership and community members were joined last week by local elected officials from throughout the South Bay to announce a $32 million donation by philanthropists Melanie and Richard Lundquist to establish a Neuroscience Institute and an Orthopedic and Spine Institute at the 470-bed nonprofit medical center located in Torrance. The contribution, combined with the Lundquists’ previous contributions of $68 million to the hospital, gives Torrance Memorial the distinction of receiving $100 million from a single donor--the largest known contribution to a non-teaching/research hospital in the United States. The $32 million donation will establish an Orthopedic and Spine Institute as well as a Neuroscience Institute at the hospital where 8,000-10,000 orthopedic, spinal, neurosurgical, and neurological patients were served last year. The focus on orthopedics and spine surgery will allow Torrance Memorial to expand its capabilities and recruit surgeons in these specialties. The hospital also intends to establish new ambulatory locations for orthopedic and spine medical services, reducing the need for patients to leave the South Bay. The Neuroscience Institute—one of the only such programs at a non-academic hospital in Los Angeles County—will mean that patients with neurological needs, which previously had to be referred out of the area, could be cared for at Torrance Memorial. Additional funding will go to upgrade the surgical and ICU capabilities at the hospital. The Lundquists’ commitment to Torrance Memorial stretches back to 1985 when Melanie was a volunteer at the hospital. Melanie’s inside view of the hospital’s operations motivated her to become more involved. Over the last 11 years, the Lundquists established a Cardiovascular Institute, significantly expanded beds in the hospital’s Emergency Room and helped to fund the Lundquist Tower, a 256- bed all-private room hospital. The Lundquists provided in the $50 million donor agreement that their name should be removed from the building when naming rights could be used to attract another significant donor in the future. – Content Abridged from Press Release Provided by Torrance Memorial submit comments following presentations from LAWA staff and consultants. The Final EIR was released in February 2017. With the CEQA process drawing to a conclusion, attention turns to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) approval, which continues with the upcoming release of the Draft Environmental Assessment. – Content Condensed from Los Angeles World Airports Press Release Visit us online: www.heraldpublications.com
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