Linking Public Works to Local Hiring Faces a Trump Challenge
The ban, Attorney General Mike DeWine of Ohio argued in his appeal, “protects construction workers from residency quotas” like those
that exist in Cleveland and Akron, and “allows construction workers to live where they want without losing out on available work.”
Mayor Frank G. Jackson of Cleveland countered that cities often spend huge sums on development activities,
but “don’t necessarily see the benefits going back to their citizens, in terms of contracts and wages.”
“We didn’t do this willy-nilly,” he said of the city’s hiring law.
In other areas, like education, Mr. Trump has chastised the federal government for imposing “its will on state and local governments.” This week, however, a Transportation Department spokesman said
that “the prior administration’s proposed rule and proposed long-term extensions of pilot programs is under review.”
The agency’s move troubled officials both within and outside the affected cities.
In Los Angeles, where $36 billion is committed to the region’s public transportation projects, the Obama administration’s pilot program “helps L. A. multiply the benefits of federal transportation dollars, in a way
that strengthens our local economy and gives our workers a chance to build new careers,” said George Kivork, a spokesman for Mayor Eric Garcetti.
“This is just common-sense stuff.”
According to figures compiled by the mayor’s office, one-fifth of all work hours went to Cleveland residents
and 11 percent of those Cleveland hours went to low-income residents.
