One Hill representatives announced yesterday that a CBA involving the construction of a new arena for the Pittsburgh Penguins is nearly complete--it just needs to be approved by the 100+ members of the broad based community coalition. It also still needs to be approved by the mayor and county executive, both of whom have refrained from stating that they have a "tentative agreement."According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the tentative CBA contains the following provisions:
- A "Neighborhood Partnership Program" that would aim to generate $500,000 a year for six years from corporations willing to sponsor economic development in the Hill District in exchange for tax credits;
- Guarantees from the Penguins that the team will not block the formation of labor unions and that businesses that open in the neighborhood will pay employee wages between $12 and $30-plus an hour with benefits;
- Requirement that residents of the Hill District are included in approving a master plan for development in the neighborhood;
- A career resource center modeled on Milwaukee's "Big Step" program. The city and county will provide $90,000 a year for at least two years to build the center.
