California Alliance for Jobs

10/09/2026

Sacramento’s newest light rail station is officially open.

The Dos Rios Station opened September 28 on SacRT’s Blue Line, expanding transit access for residents, workers, and visitors in the River District. The project secured $42.8 million in state and federal funding to support station construction, safe access improvements, and surrounding redevelopment.

Located near Mirasol Village, the new station brings light rail closer to several new affordable housing communities and provides a new transit connection for the growing neighborhood.

10/09/2026

10/08/2026

A new approach to engineered wood could turn more of California’s excess wood into a useful construction product.

Researchers at UC Berkeley’s Wood Lab are advancing mechanically laminated timber (MLT), which can use salvaged wood, small-diameter trees, and sustainably harvested timber. That could provide another use for excess wood removed as California works to reduce wildfire risk through forest thinning and other treatments.

Unlike some other engineered wood products, MLT can be made without adhesives or heavy, expensive equipment, allowing it to be produced at smaller scales. The research has already helped Humboldt County-based Mad River Mass Timber become the first company in the nation to commercially produce dowel-laminated timber.

Innovations like MLT could open new possibilities for building sustainably while making better use of California’s natural resources.

10/08/2026

10/07/2026

The California Alliance for Jobs strongly opposes Proposition 43 and its attack on essential public infrastructure and critical services.

The CAJ and coalition members Operating Engineers Local 3 and Ghilotti Brothers were proud to stand with Mayor Daniel Lurie, Mayor Barbara Lee, firefighters, healthcare workers, and nonprofit housing providers to sound the alarm on Prop 43 this morning.

10/06/2026

The California Alliance for Jobs, Rebuild SoCal Partnership, and Transportation California held their annual joint meeting in Temecula.

This is what it looks like when unions and employers representing 200,000 workers and 3,000 businesses get together to plan out the future of California's public infrastructure.

Thank you to
Rebuild SoCal
Transportation California
Northern California District Council of Laborers
Southern California District Council Of Laborers
Operating Engineers Local 3
Operating Engineers Local 12
Associated General Contractors of California
United Contractors

10/02/2026

09/30/2026

California is taking steps to move a Bay Area infrastructure project forward faster.

The Berkeley Water Transportation Pier Ferry Project would replace the Berkeley Municipal Pier, which has been closed since 2015 due to structural problems, with a new 1,080-foot public pier supporting both recreational access and electric ferry service.

Plans also include a ferry terminal, breakwater, public plaza, electric-vessel charging infrastructure, and pedestrian and bicycle improvements along the Berkeley waterfront.

The proposed project has now been certified for expedited judicial review under SB 149, which could shorten the timeline for resolving potential CEQA challenges as it moves through the environmental and design process.

09/29/2026

📅 Caltrans District 1 Recruitment and Outreach Events – October 2026 📅

We’ll be all over the District (and even in southern Oregon) in October to share exciting career opportunities at Caltrans.

◾️ Thursday, Oct. 1 – Carle Continuation High School Career & College Fair, Lower Lake
◾️ Tuesday, Oct. 6 – 2026 Lake County Job & Resource Fair, Konocti Vista Casino Resort
◾️ Wednesday, Oct. 21 – 2026 Mendocino County Job & Resource Fair, Ukiah Valley Conference Center
◾️ Wednesday, Oct. 21 – Civil Engineering & Geomatics Career Fair, Oregon Tech, Klamath Falls campus
◾️ Thursday, Oct. 22 - College & Career Day at Mendocino College's Coast Center, Fort Bragg
◾️ Thursday, Oct. 29 – Engineering Internship & Job Fair 2026, Cal Poly Humboldt

We hope to connect with you at one of these events! If you can’t make it in-person, go to calcareers.ca.gov to view openings near you.

09/29/2026

Key federal transportation programs were set to expire this week, but Congress has temporarily extended them through December 11.

The programs, authorized under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, provide federal funding for transportation infrastructure across the country. As Congress works toward the next surface transportation bill, industry stakeholders are calling for long-term funding certainty to keep infrastructure investment moving.

For California, maintaining reliable federal investment will be critical to planning and delivering the transportation projects communities rely on.