In today’s construction news, read about prior to Monday afternoon’s inaugural luncheon, Trump began signing a flurry of about 200 orders aimed at implementing a broad conservative agenda for the nation. These orders included measures to regress the United States’ climate goals, crack down on immigration, and resume construction of the Mexican border wall, all of which had begun during his first term in office. On the other hand, according to Maegan Ortiz, executive director of Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA), day laborers and domestic workers, who are primarily immigrants, face particular challenges during wildfires because their occupations are frequently paid on a daily basis and provide limited social safeguards. According to a 2020 UCLA study, there are over 100,000 domestic workers in LA County, which accounts for around one-third of the state’s total domestic employment. The great majority are women of color including immigrants from the Philippines and Latin America.
Trump Issues Many Construction-related Executive Orders
Original Source: Trump signs raft of executive orders affecting US construction
Within hours of taking office, Donald Trump signed a number of executive orders that will impact the building industry.
Even before an inaugural luncheon on Monday afternoon, Trump signed around 200 orders to implement a conservative agenda, including reversing climate goals, cracking down on immigration, and resuming construction of the Mexican border wall, which he started in his first term.
“America will be a manufacturing nation again, and we have the most oil and gas on Earth. We will use it,” Trump said in a 30-minute Capitol Rotunda speech. “We will lower prices, fill our strategic reserves to the top, and export American energy worldwide.”
Trump announced that the US has left the Paris climate agreement, signed orders to increase oil and gas production, and overturned a Biden-era directive that required 50% of new vehicles sold in the US to be electric by 2030.
“With my actions today, we will end the New Green Deal and revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry and keeping my sacred pledge to our great American autoworkers,” Trump said.
Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border, allowing him to build a wall without congressional approval.
The incoming president also signed an executive order to remove birthright citizenship, a US constitutional entitlement. He did not announce massive deportation measures for undocumented immigrants, which he had campaigned for. According to US Census Bureau data, 31% of construction trades jobs are filled by immigrants, therefore such schemes would undoubtedly have a large impact.
Trump signed an executive order requiring US government departments to explore trade concerns, but he did not impose fresh taxes on foreign goods on day one as he had warned.
Trump told reporters from the Oval Office following the ceremony on Monday that he may impose high tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods starting February 1, 2025. The president said he “may” impose a global tariff on imports.
Construction, Housekeeping, and Gardening Jobs in LA Are Threatened
Original Source: ‘What is the long-term plan?’: LA housekeepers, construction workers and gardeners see jobs go up in flames
Ocean Housekeeping, owned by Mayra Chacon, hires Guatemalan and Mexican immigrants who came in the US within six months. Every Saturday, they clean hundreds of Los Angeles homes and send their salaries home.
However, wildfires earlier this month cost Ocean Housekeeping almost 50% of their business overnight. Fires destroyed 25 Palisades residences Chacon’s business cleaned weekly and 10 Altadena and Pasadena properties. Chacon claimed her staff can’t find employment elsewhere and speak little English. With revenue falling, she’s offering new customers a 25% discount to schedule more tasks and pay everyone.
“At this point,” Chacon added, “it’s not only my family but 10 more families I have to look out for.”
As of Friday, the LA County wildfires had burned over 40,000 acres and killed 25 people. The Palisades and Eaton fires destroyed over 10,000 buildings, including multimillion-dollar residences where thousands of house cleaners, gardeners, nannies, and caregivers labored day and night to support their families.
According to Maegan Ortiz, executive director of Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur de California, domestic and day laborers, who are mostly immigrants, have significant challenges during wildfires due to their day-to-day pay and little social safeguards.
“Every day the fire is going on is a day without work,” Ortiz added, adding that many undocumented workers cannot receive state assistance.
A 2020 UCLA research found over 100,000 domestic workers in LA County, one-third of the state’s total. Most are Latin American and Filipino immigrants and women of color. IDESCA examined how the 2018 Woolsey fire, which damaged over 1,600 structures, affected Malibu domestic workers in 2020. Over half of the approximately 200 workers questioned confirmed permanent job loss in the impacted area. The flames caused financial and emotional hardship for many for two years.
“That’s just one fire in one area,” Ortiz said. What is the long-term plan for vital personnel after these flames are contained?
IDEPSCA communicates with 5,000 LA-area domestic workers. Ortiz estimated that nearly half were homeless before the fires, and that number will rise in future weeks. The group has received 75 job loss calls from home workers, and there is a backlog.
The Palisades fire cost plumbing service owner Amit Mohan over 80% of his business, including $20,000 in jobs over two weeks.
Mohan said the wage drop means he has use his meager savings to pay rent and other costs. However, he is more concerned about the hundreds of Palisades homeowners he has become friends with in 30 years of service. A talk with an elderly customer who witnessed his house in ashes made him cry.
“It’s a hard pill to swallow,” Mohan remarked. “Many more people need help than I do.”
A UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute report published Monday found that wildfires “exacerbate long-standing inequities” for Latinos and other underprivileged communities, who are overrepresented in agriculture, construction, and landscaping. Latino communities have three times more workers in these sectors than white neighborhoods. Workers exposed to wildfire smoke risk respiratory disease and economic problems.
Since the Eaton fire destroyed about half of the homes they maintained, Altadena landscaping firm owner Bryan Yepez said the family may have to lay off some workers. Yepez has also canceled appointments at non-burn zone residences owing to safety concerns.
He stated, “There’s a lot of ash on the ground so we can’t use leaf blowers and the chemicals going around are pretty bad”.
Labor activists said the fires underscored the need for hazard pay, unemployment compensation, and healthcare for low-wage critical workers.
“We’re really looking to ensure that recovery isn’t all just about relief,” said Megan Foronda, a Nafcon community organizer and certified nurse assistant.
She stated many Filipino caretakers lost their jobs and homes. Some assisted evacuate patients and worked in motels without medical equipment. Nafcon organizers distributed relief packs and performed door-to-door wellness checks to 300–400 Filipino caregivers and service workers affected by the fire.
Because few caregivers and vital workers qualify for Fema support, which is for those whose homes burned down, Foronda said grassroots groups had to organize; “We’re trying to show people that this is a very narrow definition of who’s directly affected by the fire,” Foronda added.
Local activists and non-profits have started fundraisers for vital workers in financial distress. The economic justice group Inclusive Action for the City established an emergency fund for street sellers and landscapers. First-come, first-served $500 cash payments will be made. The National Domestic Workers Alliance is raising money for PPE, basic supplies, and long-term recovery support.
“We’re seeing the wildfires affect so many of us in LA,” Foronda said. The grassroots activities indicate that we have a lot of power when we unite.
Summary of today’s construction news
In summary, in order to deploy government funds to build a wall along the US-Mexico border without congressional permission, Trump proclaimed a national emergency at the US southern border. Additionally, the new president signed an executive order aiming to abolish the US Constitution’s guarantee of birthright citizenship. He refrained from revealing the widespread deportation plans he had advocated for, which would have targeted people living in the US illegally or without proper paperwork. The US construction industry, which, according to data from the US Census Bureau, depends on immigrants to fill about 31% of all construction trade employment, would probably be significantly impacted by such schemes.
On the other hand, local activists and nonprofits have started fundraising efforts to help vital workers who are struggling financially. For outdoor workers like street sellers and landscapers, the economic justice organization Inclusive Action for the City established an emergency fund. First-come, first-served, $500 one-time cash contributions will be used to disperse the funds. Donations are being raised by the National Domestic Workers Alliance to pay for workers’ long-term recovery assistance as well as PPE and necessities.
