CENTRAL
COAST BLUE
MEMORANDUM
TO: Arroyo Grande City Council
Grover Beach City Council
Pismo Beach City Council
Central Coast Blue Regional Recycled Water Authority Board FROM: Geoff English, General Manager
RE: Supplemental Information - Joint City Council/Board Meeting Agenda Item 6 - Local Hiring Alternatives for Central Coast Blue Construction Contracts
DATE: June 5, 2023
Attached is correspondence received from Tom Fulks, Chair of the SLO County Democratic Party, regarding the above referenced agenda item.
City Managers
Assistant City Managers
Administrative Services Directors
Public Works Directors
Attorneys
City Clerks
Public Review Binder
CCBRRWA website
M Gmail Kelly Wetmore <[email protected]>
FW: Agenda Item #6 - Local Hire
1 message
[email protected] <[email protected]> Mon, Jun 5, 2023 at 9:52 AM To: [email protected]
From: Tom Fulks <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, June 4, 2023 7:47 PM
To: [email protected]
Cc: Dona Hare-Price <[email protected]>; Jim Cogan <[email protected]>; Barry Price <[email protected]>; Jamie Maraviglia [email protected]>; Mary Strobridge <[email protected]>; Debra Stakes <[email protected]> Subject: Agenda Item #6 - Local Hire
Dear Mr. English,
Please place this letter in the public record for the special meeting of the Central Coast Blue Regional Recycled Water Authority Board of Directors, scheduled for June 5, 2023.
We'd appreciate it if the board sees this letter prior to taking up Agenda Item No. 6:
Local Hiring Alternatives for Central Coast Blue Construction Contracts.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Tom Fulks
Chair, SLO County Democratic Party
SLOCDP letter of support for CWAs v1.docx
55K
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY
DEMOCRATIC
PARTY
June 4, 2023
To: Central Coast Blue Regional Recycled Water Authority Board of Directors From: San Luis Obispo County Democratic Party
Subject: June 6, 2023, Board meeting agenda, Item No. 6: Local Hiring Alternatives for Central Coast Blue Construction Contracts
Via email: Geoff English, General Manager, CCBRRWA ([email protected]) Honorable board members and staff:
I'm writing on behalf of the San Luis Obispo County Democratic Party (SLOCDP), which supports our local workforce, its right to organize, and its right to compete for local, publicly funded public works projects. The use of local taxpayer and ratepayer money for the employment of local workers is among the SLOP's highest priorities.
That said, the hiring of local labor is not - and should not be - a partisan issue. It's a community issue, a human issue, one that deserves robust consideration when public works projects are built on behalf of the people within your jurisdiction.
Your agency's staff report is a good illustration of thoughtful consideration:
Approximately $60 million in infrastructure will be constructed in the first phase of the Project, which presents a significant opportunity to reinvest in the local workforce and economy by prioritizing employment of local workers. To maximize local worker participation, the Partner Agencies included provisions in the Agreement requiring contractors who bid on the Project to make a good-faith effort to employ local workers. In addition to local hire good-faith effort programs, project labor agreements (PLAs), and local hiring mandates can be used to prioritize local worker participation on the Project.
The SLOCDP Party strongly encourages your board to adopt and implement Community Workforce Agreements (CWAs, also known as Project Labor Agreements, or PLAs) in all publicly funded public works projects, this one in particular.
There are many benefits of PLAs or CWAs, including, but not limited to:
• All Community Workforce Agreements benefit the local workforce by utilizing local, non-discriminatory hiring halls for the referral of local workers. • Contractors are selected for the project based on the project owner's qualification
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY
DEMOCRATIC
PARTY
process. No contractor is excluded based on union affiliation. Both union and non-union construction firms are free to bid and work on the project. • Community Workforce Agreements ensure local dollars stay in the community and that the discretionary dollars produced in the local community will benefit our local business and our local tax base.
• Community Workforce Agreements provide peace of mind to the project owner through a partnership with highly skilled workers and the world-class local training programs that produce them.
• All Community Workforce Agreements benefit veterans through a commitment to utilize the Helmets to Hard Hats Program.
• Other common community benefits that can be addressed through a Community Workforce Agreement target at-risk youth, women in construction, local small business, those previously incarcerated, the homeless and young workers through programs like the "MC3 Apprenticeship Readiness" programs, "we build" and others.
• Community Workforce Agreements provide a uniform framework that encompasses an entire project. This, in turn, ensures maximum efficiency, streamlined administration and ultimately higher production and probability of a project coming in on time, on budget and of the highest quality. • Without a Community Workforce Agreement, out-of-town employers who win bids on local projects are free to import all of their workforce, leaving local workers out of the process, negatively impacting the surrounding community and the local economy.
We thank you for your consideration of this request, and for your dedication to public service in our community.
With kind regards,
Tom Fulks, Chair SLOCDP
916-508-3837
[email protected]
PARTY