All This Over a Bridge?

Brothers and Sisters,

I hope this article finds you doing well and getting ready for another busy spring and summer. I have had several members tell me that work has seemed to slow down in the last few years. In the past four years (2021 – 2024) Sacramento has increased its hours every year and is one of the only areas to do this.  From 2021 through 2024 total working hours for Sacramento have been 1,046,105 hours or an average of 261,526 hours per year.  This is not only good for our pockets, but it is also good for our Resilient Pension, IUPAT Pension, Annuity, and allows us to retire that much sooner. Another plus is with more work and working hours, we gain a greater share of our market. 

Yesterday the members of District Council 16 voted in favor of ratifying the DC16 proposed By-Laws by 64%. If you came out and voted, I want to thank you for exercising your right as a union member to vote for what rules affect you directly and indirectly. With the DC16 By-Laws ratified, we can start to work on the local’s By-Laws, they will need to be submitted to DC16 and the IUPAT, then ratified by the members so they can be effective by the first of June 2025.

Last week, I had the honor of representing the members of DC16, Local 1237, Sac-Sierra Building Trades, and the Sacramento Central Labor Council at the Sacramento City Council Special Meeting for the proposed Truxel Bridge. The bridge would link North Natomas to the Sacramento downtown area with 2 lanes for motor vehicles, two tracks for light rail and the remainder for pedestrians and bicycles. The project would create hundreds of good paying union jobs for local workers, and is an investment in Sacramento’s workforce, providing family sustaining wages, benefits, and apprenticeship opportunities for the next generation of skilled workers. Infrastructure projects like this strengthen our local economy and ensure that taxpayer dollars support workers in our community.

Thousands of workers who live north of the river but work in the downtown area are stuck in traffic on I-5 and the Northgate Bridge every day. The Truxel Bridge will provide a direct, reliable route that reduces congestion and shortens commute times, meaning workers can spend less time in traffic and more time with their families. By improving transportation options whether by car, transit, bike, or foot, it will make it easier and safer for workers to get to their jobs. Those in favor of the Truxel Bridge spoke about how it is a win for workers, a win for economic growth, and a win for Sacramento’s future. Those opposed did not want motor vehicles included in the final version of the bridge, and some went as far as not wanting light rail to cross the bridge. In the end, the Sacramento City Council voted 7 to 1 in favor of moving forward with the bridge with all modes of transportation.

Fraternally,

Randy Rojas