Mad about the Columbus Crew? Let me introduce the concept of a Community Benefits Agreement (“CBA”).

It’s essentially an agreement between public or private institutions and the contractors, unions, and community reps working on large public works projects.

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A CBA contract can be used to force a real estate developer to provide specific amenities and/or mitigations to the local community or neighborhood.

In exchange, community groups agree to publicly support a project, or at least not oppose it.

Often, negotiating a CBA relies heavily upon the formation of a multi-issue, broad based community coalition including community, environmental, faith-based and labor organizations.

To demand power, you have to be organized, strategic, and you have to have numbers.

Successful CBA’s have existed in many U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Haven, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Syracuse, Nashville, Washington, D.C., and Wilmington.

Some of the things you can improve with a CBA include affordable housing, wages and working conditions, community services and amenities, jobs and workforce development, and future community relations and input. It’s an extremely powerful tool that we can have in our toolbelt!

So can it work for a MLS soccer team?

Yes! In fact that’s exactly what Nashville (which has a lot of similarities with Columbus) did in 2018. https://www.forworkingfamilies.org/page/policy-tools-community-benefits-agreements-and-policies-effect

One of the best things about CBA’s is that there is a ton of room for creativity and innovation beneficial for our community members. It’s a win-win!