More local workers will be hired for construction projects at the Port of Long Beach under a plan approved by the Board of Harbor Commissioners.

The new project labor agreement requires companies that work at the port to recruit at least 40 percent of their workforce from residents of Los Angeles and Orange counties.

There are also provisions for disadvantaged workers and veterans in the agreement, which was approved on May 23.

The deal calls for an additional 15 percent of employees have to be hired from a pool of disadvantaged workers, such as individuals who are homeless, have a criminal record, or lack a General Education Development certificate or high school diploma. A further 10 percent of workers have to be hired from a pool of military veterans.

The agreement covers major port projects over the next five years, which will cost up to $717 million, including fire facilities, rail improvements, and bridge construction.

“Our board wanted to make sure disadvantaged people like veterans will have work,” said Art Wong, a spokesman for the Port of Long Beach. “We provide incentives to include disadvantaged workers in the hiring process. The goal is to use this program to make sure we have well-trained employees.”

The program extends an existing PLA in place since 2011 that has similar requirements. Projects covered under the existing deal include renovations to the Middle Harbor Terminal, now completed, and the Gerald Desmond Bridge construction, which is ongoing.

“The companies will still need to go through the same bidding process,” Wong said, “but they will need to do more to hire disadvantaged workers.”

The Port of Los Angeles negotiated a similar five-year program in 2011 that requires companies at that port to hire 30 percent of local residents and an additional 10 percent of disadvantaged workers.

Uber en Espanol

Uber Technologies Inc. said it intends hire more Spanish-speaking drivers in Los Angeles County to attract extra customers from Latino communities.

The ridesharing service said it already employs more than 5,000 Spanish-speaking drivers locally but announced on May 25 that it is looking to add about 12,000 more by the end of the year through its UberEspanol app.

“Sometimes people can be nervous communicating to a driver in a foreign language,” said Tatiana Winograd, an Uber spokeswoman. “We hear a lot from riders that they want to utilize the app and talk to their drivers in Spanish.”

Winograd said the service was specially designed to help Spanish-speaking drivers communicate with riders in their native language and to create employment opportunities.

“If someone prefers to speak Spanish, it might be an opportunity for them to earn an income and do it in Spanish,” Winograd said, adding that San Francisco-based Uber has more than 56,000 drivers in Los Angeles County.

Passengers can request a Spanish-speaking driver under the UberX category at no additional charge, by entering “uberespanolla” in the promotions section, Winograd said.

Los Angeles is not the only city that uses the Espanol feature. The service is available in 18 cities with large Latino populations such as San Diego and Orange counties, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.

Hydrogen Car

The city of Long Beach has purchased its first hydrogen fuel cell car as part of a plan to boost its fleet of renewable energy vehicles.

Officials paid $24,000 for a Toyota Motor Corp.-made Mirai, which emits water vapor instead of carbon dioxide. It can travel more than 300 miles on a single dose of hydrogen and at speeds up to 67 mph.

“The city is very much into sustainability and new technology, looking for an opportunity to reduce impact on the environment,” said Kerry Gerot, a spokeswoman for the city of Long Beach. Nearly 20 percent of city’s vehicles run on renewable fuels.

With the purchase, Toyota provided three years of unlimited hydrogen fuel, along with an app that locates fueling stations. The car company also offered the city an option to lease the hydrogen vehicles in the future.

“If everything works well, we plan to purchase more of these cars,” said Gerot.

Mirai, which means “the future” in Japanese, only takes five minutes to fuel. There are 20 publicly accessible hydrogen fueling stations in Southern California, including one in Long Beach.

Staff reporter Olga Grigoryants can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 556-8326.