Labor Council Response to U-T San Diego Column on Chargers Stadium Search

For Immediate Release                                                                                                
Contact: Patrick Pierce
January 9, 2012  

Labor Council Response to U-T San Diego Column on Chargers Stadium Search

SAN DIEGO - San Diego Labor Council Secretary-Treasurer Lorena Gonzalez made the following statement today in response to Nick Canepa’s column in U-T San Diego:

“While the San Diego Labor Movement is generally supportive of both expanding the Convention Center and building a new Chargers Stadium, we feel there are a host of community benefits that need to be addressed before either move forward.

“Plans for both projects will require the use of taxpayer dollars and public land and, we believe, such substantial investment by the San Diego community must be met with an equally significant benefit for the community.

“To ensure the community a return on its investment, we believe there must be a written agreement requiring the use of local workers on those projects along with training opportunities in the construction trades for our city’s unemployed. We believe that there must be a discussion and commitment to raising the job quality of the tourism jobs that would be created as a result of either project to stop the race to the bottom seen in the service sector. And we are absolutely opposed to any change of operations or marketing of the Convention Center Corporation that would lead to the privatization of this public asset due to turning over control of the board to wealthy hoteliers.

“As of now, neither project addresses these concerns, but we look forward to working with any groups that are willing to encourage responsible economic growth.”

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San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council
The San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO represents more than 192,000 union workers in the region and advocates for an economy with more jobs, better jobs and better lives for all workers in the region - union and non-union.
www.unionyes.org