From the Desk of Organizer Dave Tafoya
There is no better time than now to support the biggest infrastructure project being built in California. The California High-Speed Rail (HSR), known as the “Bullet Train” is under way and creating a lot of work for Union Crafts. This project is moving along 119-miles in the Central Valley, from Madera to Bakersfield, this portion is scheduled to open in the year 2022. The High-Speed Rail will then be moving into the Bay Area soon. More than 1,700 men and women are working to build the first (HSR) system in the “Nation.” This is a great opportunity for those who live in the Central Valley and Bay Area who want to join “apprenticeship programs” throughout the building trades.
There are a lot of skilled crafts performing work on this huge project that will continue for years. All the work is covered under a Project Labor Agreement (PLA). With smoke, there will be fire, as union crafts continue moving forward on the construction of the High-Speed Rail. The outlook for the future project will boost the economy and create more jobs in the Central Valley. As the unemployment rates in the Central Valley are substantially, higher than anywhere else in California.
The majority of Californians still support the state’s high-speed rail project, with 53 percent in favor, and 43 percent opposed, according to a new poll from the (PPIC), the Public Policy Institute of California in 2018. This survey is up from 48 percent when the survey was conducted in 2017. Members need to exercise their right to VOTE! Proposition 1A was passed in 2008 by the voters of the state of California to approve the construction of the High-Speed Rail. With the upcoming elections on June 5th and with the Governor race upon us in 2018, it is important to elect those who are in favor of the (HSR), continue to have a voice and the proper funding to make this historic project happen.
Dave Tafoya