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Chevron Agrees to Hire Locals for Richmond Refinery Jobs

Published

11 years ago

April 1, 2014

Qualified Richmond residents will be given priority when it comes time to hire construction and other workers for Chevron’s proposed $1 billion refinery modernization project, according to an agreement announced this week.

Representatives from the City of Richmond, Chevron and the Contra Costa Building and Trades Council signed an agreement today aimed at boosting job opportunities for local residents.

Around 1,000 construction workers are expected to be hired to complete the modernization project, as well as some 500 support workers, according to Sal Vaca, Richmond’s employment and training director. The agreement also states that Chevron will look to Richmond businesses to provide goods and services needed for the project.

“This represents the strongest agreement we have seen on any economic project in our city and serves as a template for the future,” Vaca said.

Although the agreement isn’t legally binding, Vaca said labor leaders and representatives from the city and Chevron will hold monthly meetings to ensure they’re meeting local hiring goals for the project.

The city council is set to vote on the project this summer. If approved, construction could begin as soon as the end of the year, Vaca said. City officials say Richmond’s unemployment rate is about 11.5 percent, a figure that represents some 6,200 residents.

The rate is twice the unemployment level compared to the rest of Contra Costa County and well above the statewide unemployment rate of 8 percent. Vaca said the Chevron agreement is “an exciting opportunity for our community at a time when we continue to suffer with double-digit unemployment.”

More than 100 people attended press conference in Richmond announcing the partnership, including Kish Rajan, Director of Gov. Jerry Brown’s Office of Business and Economic Development.

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The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of January 15 – 21, 2025

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Supreme Court Decision Confirms Convicted Felon Will Assume Presidency

NNPA NEWSWIRE — In a 5-4 ruling, the court stated that Trump’s concerns could “be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal” and emphasized that the burden of sentencing was “relatively insubstantial” given that Trump will not face prison time. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court’s three liberal justices in the majority, with four conservative justices dissenting.

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January 10, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s emergency request to block criminal proceedings in his New York hush money case, ensuring that a sentencing hearing will proceed as scheduled on Friday. The decision makes it official that, on January 20, for the first time in its history, the United States will inaugurate a convicted felon as its president.

In a 5-4 ruling, the court stated that Trump’s concerns could “be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal” and emphasized that the burden of sentencing was “relatively insubstantial” given that Trump will not face prison time. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court’s three liberal justices in the majority, with four conservative justices dissenting.

Trump was convicted in May for falsifying business records related to a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg argued that the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction to intervene in a state criminal case, particularly before all appeals in state courts were exhausted.

Trump’s legal team claimed the sentencing process would interfere with his transition to power and argued that evidence introduced during the trial included official actions protected under the Supreme Court’s prior ruling granting former presidents immunity for official conduct. Merchan, the New York judge who presided over the trial, ruled in December that the evidence presented was unrelated to Trump’s duties as president.

Prosecutors dismissed Trump’s objections, stating that the sentencing would take less than an hour and could be attended virtually. They said the public interest in proceeding to sentencing outweighed the President-elect’s claims of undue burden.

Justice Samuel Alito, one of the four dissenting justices, confirmed speaking to Trump by phone on Wednesday. Alito insisted the conversation did not involve the case, though the call drew criticism given his previous refusals to recuse himself from politically sensitive matters.

The sentencing hearing is set for Friday at 9:30 a.m. in Manhattan. As the nation moves closer to an unprecedented inauguration, questions about the implications of a convicted felon assuming the presidency remain.

“No one is above the law,” Bragg said.