City Government

Fund Begun to Help Oaklanders Get Jobs at Army Base

Published

12 years ago

April 25, 2014

Community groups and leaders have come together to support local workers who have been trying for several years to fill the jobs that have been promised with so much fanfare at the Oakland Army Base development project.

Seeking to help job seekers overcome barriers to employment, the Oakland Post has taken the initiative to set up a worker assistance fund to help job seekers pay for work equipment and other fees. Supporting the fund are Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney, the West Oakland Job Resource Center, the Urban Strategies Council and City Administrator Fred Blackwell.

The fund is kicking off by providing support for four workers, who have years of experience in the building and construction trades but have struggled to pay for work equipment and cover union fees, which could allow them to qualify for union jobs on the Army Base.

So far, the four have not made much headway in either of the two job pathways – going through a local union or sponsorship by a company. A letter of sponsorship from one of the companies working on the development would give these local job seekers two years of permanent employment, says Fernander Thompson, an Oakland resident who has devoted his efforts to getting hired on the Army Base since 2012.

Fernander Thompson

Thompson, along with Jeffery Duckett, Johnny Evans, and Otis Duckett, have worked temporary warehouse jobs for the past three years to make ends meet.

Still, they remain hopeful that with the necessary resources and a sponsor, they will finally get a chance to put their skills to work on the Army Base.

“We’ve been waiting,” says Duckett. “I want to get into the Army Base like everybody else is getting in there. I’m ready to work; we just haven’t had the opportunity.”

These four workers, like so many others, do not lack training. With many years in warehousing, construction, landscaping, and welding, they are highly experienced. In addition, they have worked closely with the West Oakland Job Resource Center to enhance their skills with workshop trainings and apprenticeship programs.

They, like many other job seekers in West Oakland, are counting on the promise of Army Base jobs for local residents.

“West Oakland was particularly impacted by the loss of jobs with the close of the Army Base. It’s really critical that West Oakland residents are empowered to receive the jobs that are returning to the base,” says Brigitte Cook, West Oakland Community Liaison with Councilmember Lynette McElhaney’s office.

“The job center is working to get residents to apply and be qualified for these positions. We’re tracking the number of residents, particularly in the 94607 and 94608 areas, to see how successful our outreach is and make sure our efforts are going to encourage West Oakland residents to apply for those positions,” Cook continued.

Andreas Cluver, Secretary-Treasurer of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Alameda County, encourages job seekers looking to get into construction to first go through pre-apprenticeship programs.

“[Construction] is a difficult industry to get into, but pre-apprenticeship programs are so essential. Their chances of success are going to be much higher,” Cluver said.

As far as funding, Cluver adds, “The city should continue funding these programs to ensure that [job seekers] have access to the services they need. That really needs to be coming from public sources.”

The promised worker support funding that was meant to be part of the West Oakland Job Resource Center has not materialized. That money was supposed to come form revenue from billboards, which have not been built.

Duckett, Thompson, Evans, and Duckett have already received contributions towards their work equipment but are still looking for donors to cover their union dues, and are seeking a company sponsor. They have committed to reimburse the funds paid after they find permanent employment so that job seekers after them can also receive the benefits.

The Post will be following this story and tracking the progress of these four men and their journey to employment.

For more information on how to make a contribution, call the Oakland Post at (510) 287-8207.

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From Disparity Study to Solutions: Oakland Coalition and Mayor Barbara Lee Renew Commitment to Reform City Contracting

She committed to ensuring the coalition has direct access to City leadership by designating Assistant Deputy City Administrator Chuck Baker the primary liaison. Working alongside Deputy City Administrator Sofia Navarro, DWES Director Emylene Aspilla, Race and Equity Director Darlene Flynn, and other City departments, the coalition will continue advancing these priorities while maintaining regular communication with City leadership.

Published

2 days ago

July 15, 2026

Oakland Post

Present at the recent meeting on implementing recommendations on Oakland’s Disparity Study on city work contracts were (first row, l. to r.): Chuck Baker, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and Darlene Flynn. Second row, l. to r.) Samuel Adams, Erica Astrella, Chadwick Spell, Cathy Adams, Stanley Cooper, Maria Wagner, Len Turner, Derek Barnes, Paul Cobb. Photo courtesy of Oakland Mayor’s Office.

Special to The Post

On June 30, a coalition of minority business leaders, contractors and others met with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee to discuss the City’s commitment to implement recommendations outlined in Oakland’s Disparity Study and eliminate barriers that have historically prevented Black and minority-owned businesses from fully participating in public contracting opportunities.

Representatives of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce (OAACC), National Association of Minority Contractors Northern California (NAMC NorCal), Construction Resource Center (CRC), and the East Bay Rental Housing Association (EBRHA) said the meeting represented an important milestone in a process that has been underway for several months.

On April 21, the Oakland City Council’s Life Enrichment Committee received a progress report from the Department of Workplace and Employment Standards (DWES), where Director Emylene Aspilla presented the coalition’s working document and outlined a collaborative implementation plan between the coalition and the City. That report established 30-, 60-, and 90-day objectives focused on five key priorities:

Reforming Local and Small Local Business Enterprise (L/SLBE) waiver practices
Strengthening prompt payment compliance
Improving procurement forecasting and transparency
Expanding contractor capacity building and business development
Increasing oversight, accountability, and public reporting

A series of working sessions was scheduled between coalition representatives, DWES, and the City Administrator’s Office to begin implementing those priorities but were temporarily delayed by the resignation of former City Administrator Jestin Johnson.

Rather than allowing that momentum to stall, OAACC President and CEO Cathy Adams requested a meeting with Lee to gain clarity on the City’s direction and reaffirm its commitment to implementing the recommendations contained within the Disparity Study.

Coalition leaders described the meeting as productive, candid, collaborative, and encouraging.

During the meeting, Lee spoke not only from her role as mayor but also from her experience as an 8(a) contractor and business owner, sharing that she understands firsthand what it takes to build and grow a successful company, employ a substantial workforce, compete for public work, and navigate the complexities of municipal contracting.

Mayor Lee also expressed her commitment to personally participate in future working meetings with the coalition.

“This meeting represents a renewed commitment to partnership,” said Adams. “Mayor Lee listened, engaged, and demonstrated that she wants to move beyond conversation and into implementation.”

CRC’s Len Turner said the roadmap is already in place. ““The City already has the evidence. What’s been missing is execution. …Now it’s time to deliver results.”

Mario Wagner, president of NAMC NorCal agreed that the next phase must focus on implementation, funding, and accountability.

“The coalition is ready to get to work. …The next step is ensuring these initiatives receive meaningful funding in the upcoming fiscal budget cycle. Just as important, the City must establish transparent reporting mechanisms that keep the public informed through regular progress reports, measurable benchmarks, and accountability.”

Coalition leaders also acknowledged that while City leadership has indicated it is reviewing Local and Small Local Business Enterprise waiver practices, the community continues to seek a formal response regarding existing long-term waivers, including waivers extending 10 and 25 years. The coalition believes those waivers should be comprehensively reviewed and, where appropriate, rolled back as part of the City’s broader contracting reforms.

The coalition is also calling on the City to include meaningful funding in the upcoming fiscal budget cycle to support implementation of the Disparity Study recommendations and establish better methods and mechanisms to keep the public informed through regular progress reports, measurable benchmarks, and transparent accountability.

The coalition’s immediate next step is to schedule a working meeting with Baker, Aspilla, Lee, and the appropriate City staff to review what has already been accomplished under the implementation framework.