R&R Pacific Construction Company has been a pressing concern of mine since the 2020 election. I meticulously reviewed the downtown construction bids during 2020 and before. The company consistently submitted bids that were just dollars below the next bid. When I raised this issue with the City Manager, Bryan Montgomery, his response was that the company, being local and having a significant number of contracts in Oakley, could afford to bid lower due to their equipment being readily available in Oakley.
During my four years on the Oakley City Council, I have been inundated with complaints about R&R Pacific Construction, ranging from wage theft to unfair labor practices and failure to pay prevailing wages. These issues directly impact the trade union members who supply labor to Oakley’s projects, and they are understandably concerned. When I sought an explanation from City staff, City Engineer Kevin Rohani dismissed the concerns as ‘sour grapes’ from unions not getting more from the company.
Concerned, I pulled years of change orders for R&R Pacific Construction Company projects. I found numerous change orders in which the company obtained more money than the original contract price. I suspect that the extra cash took R&R’s project costs above the successive few bids. I am asking for the bids of the projects concerned, but our City Attorney, Derek Cole, supervises PRA requests. Thus, my requests tend to languish. I am afraid that the request might not be honored until mid-October, but I will keep Oakley residents informed.
Below are links to the change orders:
George Fuller, Ed.D.
City Councilmember, City of Oakley, CA
