Mayor Gray Apparently "Close" to CBA
Thursday, October 13, 2011
(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Highly-placed sources in DC Mayor Vincent Gray’s office now say the Mayor is
“actually very close” on a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA). Union City
reported last Friday that dozens of community groups and residents, saying that
Gray had failed to deliver the promised CBA, had taken their demands to the DC
City Council. Members of the Respect DC campaign, who have been demanding a
citywide Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) with Walmart, have been frustrated
by the lack of information in the Mayor’s negotiations with Walmart. “If
they really are close to a CBA, they haven’t communicated that to members of
our coalition, community members near the sites, or any of the Councilmembers
we’ve talked to,” said Respect DC’s Mike Wilson. “The community needs to
know when the CBA is projected to be finished and what’s in it.”
Councilmembers Muriel Bowser (D, Ward 4) and Yvette Alexander (D, Ward 7) both
said during public meetings over the summer that plans for the sites would not
move forward without a signed CBA. But in the meantime, Large Tract Reviews were
approved by the Office of Planning at both the Bladensburg Road and Georgia
Avenue sites. And two weeks ago, developer Foulger-Pratt began demolition at the
Georgia Avenue site and signed a lease with Walmart. Over the summer members of
the Respect DC coalition attended many of the Mayor’s public appearances to
remind him of the urgency of the issue. “The Mayor’s response was always
that the CBA was being worked on,” Wilson said, “but the community can’t
keep waiting now that a lease has been signed.” The coalition plans to keep
engaged with both the Mayor and DC Council to ensure that no Walmart store opens
without an enforceable CBA. “We’re encouraged to hear that the Mayor is
close to a CBA,” said Metro Washington Council President Jos Williams.
“However, it’s urgent that the agreement be finalized before any more leases
are signed, and we won’t be satisfied unless the agreement is
enforceable.”
photo: at a June Respect DC
demo at the Wilson Building; photo by Lillian Walker Shelton