Kinkisharyo, LACMTA OK production pact
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefFollowing a lengthy impasse, Kinkisharyo International LLC and labor and community groups have reached an agreement whereby Kinkisharyo will manufacture 175 light rail vehicles within L.A. County for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Crenshaw, Exposition, and Gold lines.
Los Angeles Mayor and LACMTA Chair Eric Garcetti, who intervened in the stalled talks, announced on Nov. 25, 2014 that an agreement has been reached “to resolve an impasse that would have seen Kinkisharyo locate manufacturing operations for its next order of Metro cars outside of L.A. County.”
As a result of the agreement, Kinkisharyo will expand its existing LRV assembly and testing operations in Palmdale. Currently, Kinkisharyo is assembling and testing 78 LRVs at Palmdale under a 2012 LACMTA contract. Under this agreement, the facility will be expanded to perform additional manufacturing tasks and employ up to 250 people to fulfill an order for 97 additional LRVs.
Kinkisharyo has signed a neutrality agreement, and has made a commitment to explore additional skills training and assistance for disadvantaged L.A. County workers. LACMTA will work with the Jobs to Move America coalition to develop new public records act protocols; labor and community groups settled a public records act lawsuit and agreed that all environmental challenges are now moot. Kinkisharyo and Jobs to Move America will explore ways to expand opportunities for disadvantaged L.A. County workers including military veterans, women, and minorities, and will also explore potential job readiness training programs
“Last month, the lines were drawn in the sand, and we were going to see jobs that could be in L.A. County go somewhere else,” said Garcetti. “But because we brought both sides back to the table to grind out night and day negotiations with my office, L.A. County is going to see new middle class jobs and an expansion of our manufacturing base. It’s critical to me that our economy benefits from our $36 billion transportation build-out, and this agreement makes that happen.
“Today is a historic day for Kinkisharyo, and we are glad we are able to come to an agreement with IBEW Local 11,” said Donald Boss, General Manager, Program Management, Los Angeles, for Kinkisharyo. “These negotiations were not easy, but we are confident that as a result of our agreement with IBEW Local 11, we will continue to do what we do best—manufacture quality railcars and deliver them on time and on budget. I want to especially thank Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and his staff and Supervisor Mike Antonovich for his support, and the strong support we have received from the Los Angeles business community over the past few months.”
“This settlement is a win for Los Angeles taxpayers, transit riders, the environment, and working families,” said Madeline Janis, Director of the Jobs to Move America coalition. “Our public transit dollars can go the distance to create high-quality jobs, promote clean transit choices, and generate opportunities for disadvantaged people. This settlement in L.A. should serve as a model for other U.S. cities expanding their transportation systems.”
The Jobs to Move America coalition describes itself as “a national coalition uniting more than 40 community, labor, faith, civil rights, philanthropic, academic, and environmental groups to make our transit dollars go the distance. . . . and is dedicated to ensuring that the billions of public dollars spent on public transit systems create better results for our communities: good jobs, cleaner equipment, and more opportunity for low-income people.”
Last October Kinkisharyo delivered the first LRV to LACMTA, prior to the announced pact.
