The only measure that has not surpassed levels experienced in the 1981/82 recession (previously the worst since the Great Depression) is the overall unemployment rate. While unemployment at that time peaked at 10.8% as opposed to 10.2% today, the current situation is actually much worse. This becomes clear when we look at unemployment across education levels. People are more educated today than they were in 1981/82. For instance, there are many more college graduates and fewer high school dropouts today than there were previously. In both recessions, the unemployment rate for highly educated workers is lower than for less educated workers. If the population today had the same (lower) level of education as it had in 1981/82, the unemployment rate today would more closely reflect the higher rate for workers with less education and would be substantially higher than 10.8%.

Apart from the unemployment rate, there are many other dimensions that point to the severity of the current recession as compared to the 1981/82 recession. In the 1981/82 recession, 3% of payroll jobs were lost between the start of the recession and its peak. Currently, 6% of payroll jobs have been lost and the losses are still continuing. In the 1981/82 recession, by 23 months from the start of the recession, there had been great employment gains. More than half of the jobs lost during the recession were regained by this point. We are 23 months into the current recession and have not yet begun to increase employment.

Construction industry jobs fall into two camps – either “high‐road” or “low‐road.” High road construction jobs and contracting opportunities are regulated, safe, pay wages that can support a family, provide benefits, and create middle‐class careers. Low‐road construction jobs on the other hand are unregulated, dangerous, low‐paying and offer few opportunities for career advancement. Many public agencies and private companies are using Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) or Project Stabilization Agreements (PSAs) as a tool to ensure that construction work follows the high‐road. These agreements, which help to improve economic opportunity within local communities, provide standards for quality, safety, and cost on construction projects.

One major provider of construction projects in the Los Angeles region is the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The LAUSD has spent nearly $8.7 billion over the past 7 years on new construction and renovation projects. The LAUSD has signed a PSA and provides a good case study of PSAs in action as utilized by a large, urban employer. PLAs or PSAs are generally created with the intention of meeting certain goals around   local hiring and diversity. The LAUSD PSA established employment goals for small, local, emerging, and disabled business enterprises as well as small and minority contractors. This Research & Policy Brief will draw on a larger report published by the UCLA Labor Center’s California Construction Academy to discuss the role of PLAs or PSAs in creating high‐road construction industry employment and whether the LAUSD met the goals laid out in its PSA

In a system of tripartite consultation, workers, employers, and the government work together to improve labor standards and protect workers’ rights. The International Labor Organization (ILO) has advocated for this system since its founding in 1919. China’s transition toward a market economy and World Trade Organization (WTO) accession calls for a new labor relations consultation mechanism, which is more market‐oriented, globalized, diversified, and flexible. In this context, China implemented its own form of tripartite consulta‐ tion in 2001, with the founding of the State Labor Relations Tripartite   Consultation Conference. 

The tripartite system in China has been widely adopted and has been an innovative development in Chinese labor relations. However, many argue that it does not meet the standards of the ILO tripartite system. Indeed, China’s tripartite consultation mechanism differs from that advocated by the ILO. The tripartite consultation mechanism in China lacks neutrality, enforceability of consultation outcomes, trade union independence and workers’ representation. Nonetheless, the tripartite mechanism currently utilized in Chinese labor relations is a first step toward a more authentic tripartite   consultation mechanism by ILO standards. This is an important development in Chinese labor relations. As the beginning of social dialogue, the Chinese tripartite mechanism has the potential to impact both informal systems and the way labor law is structured.

On April 8, 2009, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed an ordinance to the Los Angeles Administrative Code establishing the Green Retrofit and Workforce Program. The Ordinance will lead to green retrofits of more than 1,000 city buildings and a workforce development policy that creates career pathways into good, green, safe jobs, targeting those in low-income neighborhoods.

The result of a two-year campaign, the Ordinance was developed by the Los Angeles Apollo Alliance, convened by Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE) in 2006 and comprised of more than 25 local community, labor and environmental organizations within the city of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Apollo Alliance put forth the Green Jobs Ordinance in an effort to locally meet environmental and economic development goals set out by the New Apollo Program, a national program intended to increase the clean energy economy and decrease energy bills for families and business. Nationwide, buildings account for almost three-quarters of electricity consumed and over a third of overall energy use. They contribute an estimated 38% of carbon dioxide emissions, leaving a large carbon footprint in urban areas. Locally, the Ordinance is in line with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s 2007 Green LA Climate Action Plan designed to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions in Los Angeles to 35 percent below their 1990 levels by 2030.