OAKLAND — A coalition of community organizations rallied outside the Port of Oakland’s Jack London Square offices Thursday to demand the agency include local hiring, living wage and other provisions in a development agreement for a proposed logistics center at the former Oakland Army Base.

Chicago-based developer CenterPoint Properties wants to build warehouse space for transfering and loading cargo and distribution services on a 27-acre plot within the 185-acre parcel controlled by the port, said port spokesman Mike Zampa.

The local hiring agreement at the logistics center, one of the first projects to be developed by the port at the former army base, will set a precedent for future development there, said Jahmese Myers, the campaign director for the Revive Oakland! Coalition, a consortium of more than 30 labor, community and faith-based organizations.

“What happens at this warehouse and the jobs policy will really set the tone and establish the foundation for all future warehouses on the base,” Myers said. “So, there’s a lot at stake.”

Kimberly Moses, chapter president for SEIU Local 1021 ﻿and one of more than 30 people who packed the commission meeting, said it was also important to consider that CenterPoint is owned by CalPERS, a state agency that manages public employee pensions, including those of local SEIU members and port staff.

“As stakeholders, we should want to have an agreement that strengthens our communities, that provides good jobs and that provides a way for people to not be displaced and to stay in their homes,” she said.

The U.S. Army closed the Oakland base in 1999, and Myers said she, along with other community groups, have been closely monitoring redevelopment plans there ever since.

In 2012, the coalition secured an agreement with the city of Oakland, which received roughly 228 acres for redevelopment at the base, and developer Phil Tagami for a “good jobs policy.” That policy included living wages for every worker, requirements to hire locally, provisions to reach out to low-income and disadvantaged communities to recruit employees, access to employment for formerly incarcerated people, and limited use of temp agencies. The agreement also established the West Oakland Job Resource Center, where local residents can receive job training and other resources.

So far, Myers said there appears to be support for several of the coalition’s priorities for local hiring and outreach, but she said the coalition is still working to secure other job provisions. The coalition is also seeking agreement to “ban the box” on job applications, so formerly incarcerated people don’t have to disclose they have been convicted of a crime.

Dr. Steven Pitts of the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education urged the commission to consider the growing awareness nationally around the need to end mass incarceration, which disproportionately impacts communities of color.

“Our belief is that public agencies have both a moral and a political responsibility to change the system,” he said. “We need to look at what their record is at the job itself and not consider a blanket policy that puts you here or puts you there.”

Port commission President Michael Colbruno said the commission was committed to matching the city of Oakland’s good jobs policy for the former Army Base and exceeding it. But he also cautioned that there were other considerations at play.

“We also have to work with CenterPoint, who have been great partners, and we also have to make sure that the competition is fair,” Colbruno said. “But regardless of what happens, we’re going to have the best community benefits plan in the nation, and you can’t ask for more than that.”

Amy Tharpe, the port’s director of social responsibility, said there was already a lot of agreement between the developer, the port and the community, including the possibility of incentives for employers who hire formerly incarcerated people.

Representatives from CenterPoint did not immediately return requests for comment, but Colbruno said an agreement is expected to go before the commission for approval at its next meeting in September.

Contact staff writer Erin Baldassari at 510-208-6428. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/e_baldi.