Will lawsuit over contract for subway cars hurt Olympic planning?

Labor advocates are suing to force the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to rebid a $730-million order for subway cars meant to replace much of its aging subway fleet and run on the D Line extension to West Los Angeles that is set to be fully open ahead of the 2028 Olympics. The research and advocacy organization Jobs to Move America contends that when Metro officials awarded South Korean Hyundai Rotem, a part of Hyundai Motor Group, a contract in January to build at least 182 rail cars, they left out required provisions that would force them to detail worker pay and benefits and hire “disadvantaged workers,” including homeless people, single parents, veterans and others who have struggled in the workforce. Ahead of the lawsuit’s filing, Metro spokesperson Patrick Chandler said in an emailed statement that the agency was still reviewing the accusations, but found several of Jobs to Move America’s assertions to be “inaccurate and based on incomplete information.” “Hyundai Rotem is on track to deliver not just well-paying jobs and benefits, and capital investment in manufacturing capabilities for the benefit of Los Angeles County, but to deliver rail cars that will be moving athletes and those attending the LA Olympics in 2028,” he stated. “We were hoping that Metro would be as concerned as we were and thus hold Hyundai’s feet to the fire by enforcing strong labor standards in implementing this significant contract,” Janis said. Former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, who envisioned the rail system in the 1970s, saw its construction as comparable to New Deal programs, said Ethan Elkind, a UC Berkeley climate policy researcher and author of the book “Railtown: The Fight for the Los Angeles Metro Rail and the Future of the City.” “Union politics have always been a major factor in pushing rail development,” Elkind said.