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Project Labor Agreement Signing from (l-r) WRD Board Member Vera Robles DeWitt, WRD Board Member Rob Katherman, LA/OC Building Trades Council Executive Secretary Ron Miller, WRD Board President John Allen.
May 25, 2021
Lakewood, CA –The Water Replenishment District (WRD) Board of Directors has approved a project labor agreement (PLA) with the Los Angeles/Orange County Building and Construction Trades Council. This agreement reaffirms the District’s longstanding practice to create good-paying local jobs for residents of the 43 cities served by the District.
In 2008, WRD adopted a resolution to establish labor agreements for district construction projects. Today’s agreement includes WRD’s upcoming Regional Brackish Water Reclamation Project, a water treatment facility that will ensure a drought-proof supply of local water by producing up to 20 million gallons per day of safe, clean drinking water for residents in the South Bay.
The Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council represents 48 local unions and district councils in 14 trades. Membership in these unions totals more than 100,000 skilled men and women.
“WRD has a responsibility to keep these good-paying jobs available for the same residents we serve daily,” said WRD Board President John Allen. “This labor agreement ensures that we can retain a trained and highly skilled workforce comprised of union members from throughout the district’s service area.”
“We are grateful to the labor unions who are part of this agreement,” said WRD Board President Emeritus Willard H. Murray Jr. “We look forward to working with the Council to create a new and sustainable supply of water in the region.”
“The Water Replenishment District has been a strong ally for our region’s hard-working men and women and their families,” said Ron Miller, the Executive Secretary for the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council. “Partnerships like this expand productivity in the region and keep the local economy thriving.”
