Gulf Coast Civic Works Project

Gulf Coast Civic Works: An In-depth Look

1/28/07: Position Paper: Based on Louisiana Winter
3/29/07: GCCWP: From Inception to today

Brief Summary:
The Gulf Coast Civic Works Project will hire 100,000 Gulf Coast residents to rebuild New Orleans and the surrounding region. The residents will build and repair houses, schools, hospitals, parks, roads, and bridges.

The civic work jobs will be in such areas as construction, plumbing, electrical, brick building, and air conditioning. If workers do not have these skills, paid apprenticeships will be provided.

A new regional agency will be created to oversee the implementation of the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project. This TVA-like agency will include community-based organizations from the Gulf Coast, as well as other regional partners (e.g., politicians, school officials, and engineers).

We call upon Congress to immediately develop legislation based on the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project. The project has the dual goal of rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf Coast using the citizens from the region, as well as restoring faith in the government's social compact with its citizens.

The Gulf Coast Civic Works Project will accomplish 4 things:

1. provide our citizens with living wage jobs,

2. make housing available for themselves and their communities,

3. restore a sense of personal empowerment and hope,

4. restore faith among our citizenry of the government's ability to respond to the needs of our people.

Projected Cost:
Based on a ratio of labor to materials of 80-20, which was used under the Civil Works Administration of 1933-1934, and a wage rate of $15 per hour, the total cost of the project is $3.9 billion.

The Gulf Coast Civic Works Project will be funded plan by federal and state governments (e.g., Louisiana Recovery Authority), as well as from private sources (e.g., insurance companies).