High-speed rail moves forward with union labor

By Sheri Williams

In a major milestone, the entire high-speed rail route from Los Angeles to San Francisco for California’s high-speed rail project was officially cleared of environmental concerns in July, after a vote by the High-Speed Rail Authority’s board of directors.

The final piece of the puzzle was clearance for a crucial segment in southern California between Palmdale and Burbank, which the Authority voted to approve.

“This is a transformative project for the state of California as a whole, and today’s approval is a major milestone for connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles in less than three hours. It’s also transformational for Los Angeles County, connecting Palmdale to Burbank in a way that’s never been possible before,” said HSR Authority CEO Brian Kelly.

Already, the project has provided thousands of union jobs across the state. In March, the HSR Authority announced that 13,000 jobs had already been created, and an apprenticeship program is helping to bring new workers into the union jobs to meet the need.

In a statement, the Authority said, “Although more than 70 percent of those jobs are going to residents of California’s Central Valley, where the first segment is being constructed, the robust employment will also boost Building Trades members in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.”

Union leaders noted that in addition to direct construction on the project, union jobs in places such as Sacramento are also being created to support the project with materials and infrastructure.

The project began in 2015 and has been subject to delays and controversy. But on average, about 1,400 Building Trades members work on high-speed rail sites every day, according to the Building Trades.

The project also enjoys support from the majority of Californians, who would benefit from the quick trip up and down the state, at speeds up to 220 miles per hour. A second phase of the project—not approved and likely years in the future—would connect Sacramento in the north and San Diego in the south as part of the rail line.

In April, work also began on a separate high-speed rail project that would connect Las Vegas to Cucamonga, in southern California.

Currently, there are 119 miles of the California project under construction, involving more than 25 construction sites in the Central Valley. When completed, the project will span more than 400 miles.

Chuck Riojas, Secretary-Treasurer of the Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare Counties Building and Construction Trades Council, told the Southern California Building Trades, “High-speed rail construction has continued to flourish, creating good paying construction jobs for men and women across the Valley. As the number of construction sites continues to grow, so does the need of a growing workforce to bring the nation’s first high-speed rail system to California. When construction grows, these workers and their families thrive, and we couldn’t build this system without them.”

The High-Speed Rail project has worked with unions for years.  In 2023, the Authority marked 10 years since the establishment of its Community Benefits Agreement with the Building Trades, which has helped create thousands of good-paying union jobs, with most of the jobs going directly to individuals from disadvantaged communities, according to the Southern California Building Trades.