OAKLAND (BCN) -- Local elected officials and labor and religious leaders Thursday called for Oakland residents to be given priority for jobs at a proposed major development at the former Army base in West Oakland.

Speaking at rally outside Oakland City Hall, Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson called the large piece of land, which is the size of 200 football fields, "a gem" and said, "We have to make sure Oakland residents are hired first."

Noting that Oakland has a 17.3 percent unemployment rate, Carson said, "This is about our survival."

Oakland City Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan said the site's developers should show "a commitment to jobs and inclusion for our community."

The development is expected to create about 8,000 jobs. Councilwoman Jean Quan said, "We want to make sure that jobs go to Oaklanders."

Last summer the City Council entered into a 360-day negotiating period with the California Capital Group and AMB Property Group, a team that's headed by longtime local developer Phil Tagami.

The development team is proposing to develop as much as 135 acres, starting out with logistics and industrial uses and later including research and development.

Quan said the development is expected to create jobs for construction workers, warehouse workers, forklift operators, longshoremen, truckers, clerks and mechanics.

The City Council is expected to vote on the first phase of the development in July and vote on whether to give final approval later this year, she said.

The rally was organized by a new group called Revive Oakland!

Among the organizations that are part of the coalition are the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, the Center for Third World Organizing, the Workforce Collaborative and the Alameda Labor Council.

Shirley Burnell of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment said the coalition is calling on the developers of the former Army base, which closed 16 years ago, to sign a "contract with the community" to ensure that the project creates quality jobs that are accessible to Oakland residents.

In addition to requiring that Oakland residents get a large portion of the new jobs, Burnell said the contract mandate a community-based training center, an outreach and job placement program, job training and "a level playing field" in which full-time permanent jobs would be the norm and temporary workers would be subject to the same living wage and labor agreements as permanent workers.

Nikki Bas, the executive director of the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, said, "We want jobs that are accessible to Oakland residents even if they have limited education and language skills and have criminal records."

Bas said, "The city and the Port of Oakland have the power" to mandate such a requirement.

The Rev. Clarence Johnson of Mills Grove Christian Church in Oakland said, "We can bring about peace by getting good jobs in Oakland and making this a model city."

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