Employment Advisory Committee Meetings
EMPLOYMENT COMMITTEE
MINUTES
October 7, 2004
Members Present
Commissioner Larry Lee, Commissioner Faye Woo Lee, Bridgett Brown, Rodney Hampton, Jerry Jones, Greg Marutani, Judy Starbuck-Sorro, Norma Tecson, Ronnie Rhoe, and F. Ross Woodall
Members Absent
Stan Warren, Guillermo Romero, and Len Vetrone
Staff Present
Linda Chin, Kabir Hypolite, Mary Gin Starkweather, Diana Rathbone, Frank Anderson, and James Fields
Guests
Joseph Ehling, Raymond Martin, Clarence Williams, Sharonita Williams and Sharice Wolridge.
Call to Order/ Roll Call
The meeting was called to order at 1:35p.m. A quorum was present.
Approval of Agenda
F. Ross Woodall moved to adopt the agenda. Greg Marutani seconded and the motion was carried unanimously with no discussion.
Approval of Minutes
Commissioner Larry Lee moved to adopt the September 2, 2004 minutes. F. Ross Woodall seconded and the minutes were unanimously adopted.
Public Comment for items not on the Agenda
Frank Anderson requested that this meeting be adjourned in the memory of our former Commissioner, Mr. Vernon Alley.
Commissioner’s Report
Commissioner Larry Lee reported that the Unified School District, with the strong support of the Building trades, has successfully re-instated "Shops" programs back into the Middle Schools and High Schools for students who wish to learn a trade instead of going to college.
Staff Report
1. At the request of the committee, Frank Anderson, Senior Contract Compliance Officer clarified a statement made by a staff member that he had been directed not to write letters of non-compliance to contractors. Seven years ago, a staff member wrote a letter to a contractor placing them in non-compliance for being delinquent on the submission of monthly utilization employment workforce reports. The letter was legally & programmatically incorrect. Staff was then advised to issue a letter informing the contractor of the consequences of being delinquent in submitting the employment workforce reports and was subsequently warned. Mr. Anderson stated that there are only two entities that can place a contractor in non-compliance: the Human Rights Commission (HRC) Executive Director and the full Human Rights Commission.
Mr. Anderson stated that, to his knowledge, there has not been a HRC Director who would not implement the program. The HRC Director must give a contractor due process. The HRC has placed contractors in non-compliance and recommended sanctions only after due process has been followed. Due process involves warning the contractor, meetings with the Director and hearings that are conducted by an impartial hearing officer.
There was discussion regarding the backlog of information from the monthly workforce reports and the lack of employment diversity in contracts. Mr. Anderson said that because of the lack of resources, there has not been data entry performed for the last eighteen months. Also, the CBO’s requested that HRC be more proactive and to work with them.
Members of the Committee requested an update of the working group regarding the setting employment goals by trade. In addition, the committee requested the guidelines of the working group. Mr. Anderson stated that the next meeting of the working group would be the third week of October 2004. The committee requested to have Ed Campos provide a follow-up report.
2. Kabir Hypolite followed up on the telephone call that Commissioner Fay Woo Lee received from a woman that claimed she was discriminated against from See’s Candies. Commissioner Lee related the telephone call to a HRC staff, who has recollection of the conversation, but the name of the person is unknown. Therefore, HRC was not able to identify the person’s name and also was not able to track down any written documentation. Commissioner Fay Woo Lee commented that she may still be able to track down the person’s name and a copy of the letter that was given to her.
Old Business
Diana Rathbone, Senior Contract Compliance Officer presented a follow-up report on the recommendations to the construction employment program. Ms. Rathbone informed the committee that Director Virginia Harmon asked her to extend the PUC program to include other City departments. The other City departments include the Department of Public Works, the Mayor’s Office of Community Development, and the Mayor’s Office of Housing.
Mary Tramil, HRC Representative has been brought in from the Airport to assist in the Employment program for the additional departments. Thus far, Ms. Rathbone has three staff persons working with her. Those assigned to work with her are Brian Thomas, Mary Tramil, and Verma Walton, who performs the data entry and administrative duties.
Currently, Ms. Rathbone reported that forty-five people have been placed in the employment program and the intent is to circulate the employees among City jobs for two years. So far, there have been thirty-eight contracts to work with at the Public Utilities Commission, (PUC).
Ms. Rathbone spoke of what she and her staff have managed to accomplish. The main accomplishment was having sufficient data to ascertain a contractor was in non-compliance on existing contracts. Therefore, contractors in non-compliance would be prohibited to receive another contract until the matter has been resolved. Currently, her staff is entering employment data from the International Hotel, the Golden Gate Park Garage project, and 22 Bryant St. Condominium, one of the large developments from the Port of San Francisco.
Based on the concerns of the communities, a compliance sub-committee of the Employment Collaborative was formed. The sub-committee consists of Raymond Martin, Judy Sorro, and Rodney Hampton. Ms. Rathbone meets with the members of the sub-committee every other week.
Committee member, Jerry Jones commended Director Harmon for the start of this employment program, and commented, "a great improvement from six months ago."
Commission Fay Woo Lee and Commissioner Larry Lee both commended Diana Rathbone for her good work.
On the topic of workforce monitoring, there was active discussion on ways to generate more assistance, what was done in the past, and what can be done now with HRC’s limited resources.
New Business
1. Bridgett N. Brown, Employment Services Counselor presented information on the Independent Living Resource Center, (ILRC). The mission of this center is to ensure that people with disabilities are fully participating members of its work force, its educational institutions, its cultural and recreational activities, and political areas. The role is to advocate, so that all people with disabilities have as full, productive and independent lives as they so chose.
The Independent Living Resource Center offers various programs and Services. These services include Information & Referrals, Tools for Living – Assistive Technology Program, Housing Counseling and Advocacy, Services for Deaf and Hearing Impaired Persons, Transition to Community Living Program, Personal Assistance Services, Systems Change Advocacy, and Independent Living Skills.
Ms. Brown stated that the Independent Resource Living Center also provides employment counseling, and employment workshops, which are held every Thursday, at 9:30AM. The workshops provide information on how to obtain SSI/SSDI, MediCal, and Medicare.
2. Rodney Hampton, Young Community Developers, presented information on the Citywide Town Hall Meeting on contracting opportunities. The Town Hall meeting was scheduled on September 20, at the State Building, Milton Marks Conference Center. There was an overview of upcoming Professional Services Contracts in the morning session and Construction contracts in the afternoon session.
The participating departments were Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Department of Public Works (DPW), Municipal Railway (Muni), Community College District (SFCCD), San Francisco International Airport (SFIA), Port of San Francisco, and the Redevelopment Agency (SFRA).
Mr. Hampton informed the committee that the Town Hall meeting was well attended and informative. He also stated that all departments provided descriptions and projections of upcoming contracting opportunities. The Citywide Town Hall Meeting is an annual function.
Public Comments
There was active discussion regarding the lack of job opportunities for young adults that have completed the Young community Developers (YCD) training program and that have also completed the apprenticeship programs. The young adults, Joseph Ehling, Clarence Williams, Sharonita Williams, and Sharice Wolridge, expressed frustration and concern in the community based on the lack of job opportunities.
Announcements
1. The Department of Elections is actively recruiting for poll workers for the November 2, 2004 consolidated general election. The contact person is Nataliya Kuzina, Poll Worker Division Manager. She can be reached at (415) 554-4395.
2. The Employment Development Department (EDD) is sponsoring a Women’s Trades Job Fair on October 27, 2004 at the Glide Memorial Church’s Freedom Hall. It is located at 330 Ellis St., San Francisco. The contact person is Garry Grady. He can be reached at (415) 674-6185.
Adjournment
F. Ross Woodall moved to adjourn. Greg Marutani seconded and the motion was carried unanimously.
After a moment of silence, the meeting was adjourned at in the memory of Vernon Alley at 3:35p.m.
Next Meeting
Thursday, November 4, 2004
1:30pm to 3:30pm
25 Van Ness Avenue, 8th Floor, San Francisco, 94102