This is a brief history of OaklandWORKS which is is a West Oakland based, citywide focused Advocacy Alliance. Our current focus is the Oakland Army Base Redevelopment Project.
Our Mission is to advocate for Oakland’s underrepresented communities and the traditionally underserved in the areas of economics, social, and environmental justice.
This is a brief history of OaklandWORKS which is is a West Oakland based, citywide focused Advocacy Alliance. Our current focus is the Oakland Army Base Redevelopment Project.
Our Mission is to advocate for Oakland’s underrepresented communities and the traditionally underserved in the areas of economics, social, and environmental justice.
This is a brief history of OaklandWORKS which is is a West Oakland based, citywide focused Advocacy Alliance. Our current focus is the Oakland Army Base Redevelopment Project.
Our Mission is to advocate for Oakland’s underrepresented communities and the traditionally underserved in the areas of economics, social, and environmental justice.
In
2009
Mayor
Ron
Dellums,
after
extensive
dialogue
with
business
and
community
leaders,
including
the
West
Oakland
Community
Advisory
Group
(WOCAG),
concluded
that
the
best
use
for
the
decommissioned
Oakland
Army
base
would
be
providing
logistics
for
Oaklands
busy
Port.
A
Request
for
Qualifications
and
a
Request
for
Proposals
process
was
undertaken,
and
the
developer
chosen
to
pursue
this
project
was
CCG
in
partnership
with
ProLogis
Inc.
In
2010
Kitty
Kelly
Epstein,
PhD,
a
member
of
Mayor
Dellums
staff
was
sent
to
a
meeting
on
community
benefits
to
be
written
into
contracts
with
the
developer.
She
was
surprised
to
discover
that
no
organization
explicitly
representing
West
Oakland,
the
African-American
community,
or
other
communities
of
color
was
present
in
these
important
meetings.
It
had
been
widely
acknowledged
that
West
Oakland
had
suffered
the
most
negative
impacts
from
Port
activity.
Mayor
Dellums
said
that
the
community
had
a
right
to
be
independently
represented
and
called
a
meeting
of
many
participants.
The
OaklandWORKS
Alliance
was
born
in
order
to
provide
this
independent
representation.
The
initial
members
of
the
OaklandWORKS
alliance
included
the
West
Oakland
Environmental
Indicators
Project
(WOEIP);
BWOPA
(Black
Women
Organized
for
Political
Action);
the
Oakland
Black
Caucus;
PUEBLO;
Leadership
Excellence;
John
George
Democratic
Club;
Oakland
Natives
Give
Back;
Oakland
Parents
Together;
the
ILWU
Local
10,
and
representatives
of
WOCAG.
The
OaklandWORKS
Alliance
has
accomplished
many
things:
1. Proposed
and
campaigning
for
strong
local
hire
provisions.
2. Supporting
and
campaigning
for
the
rights
of
local
businesses
to
remain
at
the
Port
or
on
the
Base
itself.
This
includes
support
for
truck
and
other
maritime
support
so
that
street
parking
and
other
operations
should
cease
in
West
Oakland
proper.
3. Supporting
California
Waste
Solutions
as
Oaklands
local
and
preferred
waste
management
company
4. Supporting
other
campaigns
including
those
created
by
PUEBLO
and
other
organizations
5. Holding
several
information
meetings
for
the
community
and
City
staff.
6. Demanding
and
winning
creation
of
the
Jobs
Resource
Center,
a
dedicated
worker
assessment
and
placement
center
in
West
Oakland
7. Winning
two
dedicated
seats
on
the
new
Oakland
Commission
8. Meeting
with
unions
and
contractors
to
identify
the
systemic
barriers
to
employment
in
the
construction
industry
9. Holding
the
first
jobs
round
table
in
West
Oakland
to
bring
the
community
and
city
administration
together
to
discuss
the
racial
and
social
barriers
to
putting
West
Oakland
residents
to
work.
While
all
of
these
efforts
have
been
useful,
the
community
agreements
on
Local
Hire
reached
between
the
developer,
the
trades,
and
the
community
organizations
represented
by
OaklandWORKS
have
been
undermined
by
abuse
of
process.
Therefore
much
work
remains
to
be
done
on
the
Army
Base
and
other
emerging
projects
in
order
for
Oaklanders
to
obtain
their
fair
share
of
the
work
and
the
benefits
accruing
from
these
multi-billion
dollar
projects.