Oakland Army Base project has much potential, if done right

Written by Byron Williams

Saturday, 17 July 2010

Oakland needs jobs! Though true, hardly an earth-shattering remark.

For too many in Oakland, the job search has become synonymous with the sign posted at the entrance of Dante's Inferno: "Abandon all hope you who enter here."

Estimates of the unemployment rate in Oakland run as high as 17 percent. Bear in mind that number is only tracking those who are actively looking for work.

So the news of the Oakland Army Base project, a parcel of land the equivalent of 200 football fields, which could potentially create 8,000 jobs, is indeed news for an urban community such as Oakland in need of putting its people back to work.

News of potential projects invariably fall into two categories: The majority of the jobs are in the service industry offering low salaries and no benefits, or notification to those who would benefit most from the news that quality jobs are available locally tend to occur after things are set in motion.

Therefore, timing can be the enemy of community activism. Grass-roots efforts learn of opportunities at the eleventh hour, inevitably placing them in a reactionary and antagonistic position with developers.

But the Oakland Army Base project offers the possibility of a different outcome that could be groundbreaking in its approach.

In all likelihood, it will be several years before any construction begins, but that has not discouraged the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) from forming a coalition consisting of labor, segments of the faith community and other community partners under the campaign called Revive Oakland.

Revive Oakland's primary purpose is for the developer — a team comprised of AMB property group and California Capital Group — to sign a "contract with the community" to ensure the project creates quality jobs that are accessible to Oakland residents.

The term "quality jobs" can be somewhat amorphous, but in this case it is defined as jobs that offer a livable wage accompanied by benefits.

Revive Oakland believes there will be demand for cleanup and infrastructure, new construction for the new rail terminal, warehouse operators, along with an expanded need for truck drivers and crane operators.

I support, in theory, the notion that a project this large should prioritize hiring to those who live in the city. The problem with theory is that it is not always prudent.

I don't like the idea of placing such restrictions on businesses, whose first priority is to make a profit, especially if there is not a ready workforce to fill the jobs required.

Oakland, like many other urban communities with failing public schools, has a large unemployed population that does not possess the requisite skills to be hired.

Here's where Revise Oakland being proactive could pay dividends. Part of the contract with the community includes job training for the potential positions available.

Job readiness is key. Without it, any discussion to hire Oakland first could simply be ramblings from those craving sound bites.

The other benefit to Revise Oakland's proactive approach, 17 percent unemployment is dangerously heading toward the creation of a permanent nihilistic underclass on a large scale. That serves the interest of no one.

Nihilism, to live life without meaning or purpose, on a large scale would mean one could have a hire-Oakland-first project every week, but it would have no impact.

In the aforementioned scenario, such policies would serve only to hamstring the ability of companies to make a profit in Oakland.

Permanent nihilism on a large scale benefits neither the developer nor the city, nor those living in certain communities. Moreover, this project must be a win-win for the city.

The concept of a contract with the community has been done in other places, but nothing on the scale of what is being presented here. I have long maintained societies are judged by how they treat their young, their old and those on the margins.

This is clearly a project that has the potential to help many who are currently on that margin.

On Tuesday, there will a Port of Oakland hearing regarding the Oakland Army Base redevelopment. Individuals are encouraged to attend this important meeting that could impact Oakland's economy for decades.

Those interested should arrive around 4:30 p.m. or contact EBASE at 510-893-7106.

It would not only be unfortunate, but very telling, if the only individuals who attended the meeting, besides representatives of the Port of Oakland and the developers, were members of Revise Oakland.