In June 2014 Sadakao Whittington completed a 15-year state prison sentence for armed robbery. In August, he started work as a Laborers Union apprentice deconstructing warehouses on the former Oakland Army Base as part of the Oakland Global Trade and Logistics Center project.
Soon after the deconstruction work ended, Whittington, 41, landed a gig with the Laborers at the San Francisco Airport that he expects to last for the foreseeable future. He has a 10-year plan: Become a Journeyman and then start his own business.
“My problem was that I had a poor work ethic and I ended up with jobs that weren’t really gainful employment, where I was just surviving and couldn’t get ahead,” Whittington said. “I came to realize that you have to apply yourself 100 percent to the job.”
Whittington’s resolve is a big part of his successful transition from prison. He also credits the Oakland Global Project and the West Oakland Job Resource Center. The job center developed out of the project’s community meetings and jobs policies jointly crafted by the City of Oakland, employers, unions, community organizations and developers.
A driving force for the job center was to help the Oakland Global Project and other contractors working with the City meet local hiring requirements. A community jobs agreement dictates that at least 50 percent of Oakland Global Project work hours must be performed by local residents. For each construction trade, 20 percent of work hours must be handled by apprentices and at least 25 percent of work hours performed by apprentices are to be completed by “disadvantaged workers,” which include ex-offenders.
Hiring data through December 20, 2014 shows that 663 workers have been employed on the job, 230 of whom are Oakland residents.
A breakdown of work on the project so far is as follows:
- 50.1 % percent of construction work hours have been performed by Oakland residents
- 22.4% of construction work hours have been performed by apprentices
- 67.2% of apprentice construction work hours have been performed by disadvantaged workers
“Mr. Whittington’s story is a shining example of what the project’s approach to jobs was intended to accomplish: Employ Oaklanders and give deserving people a second chance,” said Phil Tagami, CEO of California Capital & Investment Group, the lead developer on the Oakland Global Project. “There are many others who also have made contributions to the project while improving their lives. That’s what we had hoped for when we set out to make the former Army Base a working waterfront again and it is gratifying to see it happen.”
Whittington said that the Oakland Global Project offers opportunities to people who have “checkered pasts or gaps in their employment,” but who really want to work.
“It’s ‘hey, you can put up or shut up.’ If you want to work the opportunity is there,” Whittington said.
Joyce Guy, who works at the job center placing potential employees with unions, said Whittington’s experience demonstrates how the center is intended to work.
“We have the individual who needs work, we have the resource center, and then we have the unions, but everything needs to work together, including the individual taking responsibility,” Guy said. “Half of the people who come to the center don’t have a driver’s license or can’t pass a drug test, so it can be challenging sometimes.”
Whittington noted that not all has gone smoothly since he started working. In early December his truck was broken into and tools were stolen. A reminder — and Karma, he suspects — from his previous crimes.
While the past will always be there, the present feels pretty good, he said.
“I wear my dusty work clothes home and I get a positive response from strangers,” Whittington said. “I think they see that I have a sense of purpose; I feel an element of respect and responsibility that I didn’t used to get.”
