55575.18120\45243947.2
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
DATE: SEPTEMBER 9, 2026 BUSINESS & LEGISLATIVE
SUBJECT: DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE DIRECTION REGARDING COMMUNITY
WORKFORCE AGREEMENT (CWA)
FROM: Scott C. Stiles, City Manager
BY: Joel Montalvo, City Engineer and Jeffrey Ballinger, City Attorney SUMMARY:
On May 27, 2021, the Palm Springs City Council approved entering into a Community Workforce Agreement (CWA) with the San Bernardino/Riverside Counties Building & Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO, for a period of five (5) years. That CWA was subsequently finalized and executed effective as of August 31, 2021. As the five year term nears its completion, this agenda item provides the City Council with an opportunity to decide whether to renew the term of the CWA, and if so, upon what terms.
RECOMMENDATION:
Discuss and provide City staff and City Attorney with direction regarding a possible extension of the Community Workforce Agreement (CWA).
BACKGROUND:
As indicated in the February 27, 2020 City Council staff report, a Community Workforce Agreement is a variation of a Project Labor Agreement (PLA). A PLA is pre-hire, collective bargaining agreement with one or more labor organizations that establishes the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project or class of projects. A Community Workforce Agreement (CWA) is a PLA that includes a targeted hire provision designed to create local jobs and/or achieve other social welfare goals (i.e., community benefits) through the construction projects they apply to. Such social welfare goals can include targeted hiring of low-income individuals, veterans, former offenders, residents of low-income neighborhoods, at-risk youth, and (for projects with federal funds) percentage goals for racial minorities and women.
At the February 27, 2020 Council meeting, the City Council first considered possibly entering into a CWA. City staff and the City Attorney brought back a draft CWA to the Council on April 8 and May 27, 2021, at which time the City Council provided direction on
City Council Staff Report
September 9, 2026 -- Page 2
Community Workforce Agreement
55575.18120\45243947.2
a number of remaining key deal points of the CWA. The CWA was thereafter finalized and executed, with the last signatory being the City, which signed on August 31, 2021.
Some of the key terms of the CWA include the following:
Applies to City public works projects of $1,000,000 or more 5-year term
A goal of 30%, as recommended by the Building Trades Council initial draft CWA, of the total work hours performed on City Public Works projects subject to the CWA shall be local residents (those within specified Coachella Valley zip codes), as well as Veterans, regardless of where they reside
A goal for the career placement of disadvantaged and at-risk youth, low income and under/unemployed residents, women, minorities, and veterans. The Unions committed to:
Coordinate and participate in City-based career and apprenticeship fairs and events;
Provide industry speakers for City programs and outreach events; Support local events and programs designed to recruit and develop adequate numbers of competent workers in the construction industry; Work cooperatively with the City and community groups to provide pre- apprenticeship training, utilizing building trades and union apprenticeship readiness program.
Incorporates the City’s non-discrimination protections (PSMC 7.09.040 (now
7.05.02).)
Promotion of programs describing opportunities available for involvement of local residents, entrance into formal labor/management apprenticeships, and available training for students and graduates of the City wishing to pursue careers in construction with such cost to be the responsibility of the members of the Trade Council/Union and contractors
The Trade Council will identify, establish and maintain effective programs and procedures for persons interested in entering the construction industry The use of Apprentices, through a Joint Labor Management Apprenticeship Program, up to 30% of each craft’s workforce, resulting in a highly skilled and safety conscious project workforce
The City, Trade Council members, and contractors will mutually promote training opportunities to encourage application from Palm Springs residents. The City will designate a “CWA Administrator”, either from City’s own staff or an independent contractor, to serve as the City’s liaison to the contractors and other persons, monitor compliance with the CWA, and assist in implementing the CWA. A no work-stoppage and lock-out clause to avoid project disruptions and delays.
On March 23, 2023, the City Council awarded a four-year contract through April 1, 2027, to TSG Enterprises, Inc., dba The Solis Group, to provide services to the City as the City’s “CWA Administrator”. The initial contract provided for a not to exceed amount of City Council Staff Report
September 9, 2026 -- Page 3
Community Workforce Agreement
55575.18120\45243947.2
$200,000. This initial amount was based on an estimate of the cost of the services that staff felt would be needed over the term of the CWA. However, because this was the City’s first CWA, the actual costs of the administrator services were not known. As such, on March 28, 2024, the City Council approved an amendment increasing the not to exceed amount to $500,000. On September 10, 2025, the not to exceed amount was increased by Council to $1,200,000.
STAFF ANALYSIS:
Under the CWA, the Trades Council is required to provide the City with an annual written report that provides the number of skilled Construction Workers, including any legally permissible demographics. (CWA, § 3.5.4) The City’s CWA Administrator is required to prepare quarterly reports on apprentice utilization and the training and employment of City residents, and a schedule of Project Work and estimated number of craft workers needed. (CWA, § 17.2)
Since its effective date, the City has undertaken 23 capital and airport projects that exceeded the $1M threshold and thus were subject to the CWA. To date, the City has issued 30 task orders to our CWA Administrator, the Solis Group, totaling $721,518.
The Solis Group provided the following statistics on the local workers' hours, number of workers, and the 30% local workforce goal on 17 of the 23 projects:
City Council Staff Report
September 9, 2026 -- Page 4
Community Workforce Agreement
55575.18120\45243947.2
Please note that the “local” workforce goal shown above with the 30% goal includes the greater Riverside County Area.
For the Palm Springs area, only one project exceeded the 30% workforce goal. Palm
City Council Staff Report
September 9, 2026 -- Page 5
Community Workforce Agreement
55575.18120\45243947.2
Springs workforce is defined as any person that lives within 20 miles of the Palm Springs zip code.
Two examples of project labor workforce hours are shown below:
The complete report provided by the Solis Group is included as Attachment E.
Should the City Council wish to extend the term of the CWA, some of the issues that the Council might want to consider involve the following:
Term
The Council will want to consider the term of any extended CWA. The current CWA has a five (5) year term. It contained no “termination for convenience” provision. The Council should consider how long is wishes to be bound to any extended CWA.
Dollar Threshold
The current CWA has a threshold of $1,000,000. In staff’s opinion, this is a relatively low threshold. Local contractors have verbally indicated that they are not providing bids on City projects because they do not want to participate in the CWA. Staff have also noted
City Council Staff Report
September 9, 2026 -- Page 6
Community Workforce Agreement
55575.18120\45243947.2
a trend of fewer proposers on projects, potentially limiting the competitiveness of the bids.
For example, the Navigation Center only had one bidder, and the Library Project only had two bidders.
It is also important to note that, of the 23 contractors proposing on the above-mentioned projects, only one contractor has a Coachella Valley address.
CWA Administrator
The CWA requires that the City designate an administrator to help administer the CWA, but leaves to the City’s discretion as to whether to utilize a City employee or contract out that work. To date, the City has contracted out that work. Were this work to be brought in-house, the City would need to either hire an employee with pre-existing experience in this type of work, or train someone to develop this type of experience.
Federal Policy Impacts to Community Benefits
One issue that has surfaced just recently is the impact of federal policy, even in California, on PLA’s/ CWA’s at least with respect to federally funded public works projects. The City was recently notified by CalTrans that the City’s CWA could not be used on the City’s Ramon Road Bridge and East Palm Canyon Bridge projects. According to CalTrans, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), found the following italicized language in the City’s CWA problematic:
Article 1.14 – “The use of masculine or feminine gender or titles in this Agreement should be construed as including both genders and not as gender limitations unless the Agreement clearly requires a different construction. Further, the use of Article titles and/or Section headings are for information only, and carry no legal significance.”
Article 3.4 -- “Non-Discrimination in Referral, Employment, and Contracting. The Unions and Contractors agree that they will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment in hiring and dispatching on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, age, membership in a labor organization, sexual orientation, political affiliation, marital status, disability or other protected class under Title 7, Section 7.09.040 of the Municipal Code of the City of Palm Springs. Further, it is recognized that the City has certain policies, programs, and goals for the utilization of local small business enterprises. The Parties shall jointly endeavor to assure that these commitments are fully met, and that any provisions of this Agreement which may appear to interfere with local small business enterprises successfully bidding for work within the scope of this Agreement shall be carefully reviewed, and adjustments made as may be appropriate and agreed upon among the Parties, to ensure full compliance with the spirit and letter of the City’s policies and commitment to its goals for the significant utilization of local small businesses as direct Contractors or suppliers for Project Work.”
Article 3.5.4 – “The Parties to this CBA support the development of increased numbers of skilled Construction Workers from among residents of the City of Palm City Council Staff Report
September 9, 2026 -- Page 7
Community Workforce Agreement
55575.18120\45243947.2
Springs. Towards that end, the Parties agree to cooperatively seek to establish work opportunities for local residents and address Training and Employment needs in the Community. The goal is for the Career placement of disadvantaged and at- risk youth, Low Income and Under/unemployed residents, Women, Minorities, LGTBQ+ members of the community, and Veterans. The Unions commit to:
(a) Coordinate and participate in City based Career and Apprenticeship Fairs and Events, including events such as Village Fest, the annual Pride festival, and the ONEPS Picnic. Without limiting the nature of the foregoing, the Unions commit to hold at least one (1) annual career fair in the City of Palm Springs, to provide an opportunity for Palm Springs residents to learn about careers in the building trades; (b) Provide Industry Speakers for City Programs and Outreach Events; (c) Support Local Events and Programs designed to recruit and develop adequate numbers of competent workers in the Construction Industry; (d) Work cooperatively with the City and Community groups to provide pre- apprenticeship training utilizing Building Trades and Union Apprenticeship readiness Programs.
(e) The Trades Council and Unions shall seek partnerships with the Riverside County Workforce Development Board, Palm Springs Unified School District, Desert Community College District, and non-profit community groups to provide construction career opportunity awareness and outreach throughout the City and greater Coachella Valley. These partnerships will include Apprenticeship Readiness Programs, Career awareness through Job Fairs, and Pre- Apprenticeship Training. Outreach shall include a focus on demographic groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in the Construction Industry, including, but not limited to, Women, Minorities, economically disadvantaged, LGBTQ+, and formerly incarcerated individuals.
Trades Council, on behalf of the Unions shall, commencing on the first anniversary of the effective date of this CWA, submit to the City an annual written report, which provides the number of skilled Construction Workers, including any legally permissible demographics.”
Article 14.3 – “Identification and Retention of Skilled Labor and Employment of Local Residents The Project Work will require large numbers of craft personnel and other supporting employees. It is therefore the understanding and intention of the Parties to use the opportunities provided by the extensive amount of work to be covered on these Projects to promote, through cooperative efforts, programs and procedures (which may include, for example, programs to prepare persons for entrance into formal labor/management apprenticeship and/or training programs) to the community describing opportunities available as a result of the Project Work, for involvement of Local Residents in the construction industry, to assist them in entering the construction trades, and, through utilization of labor/management apprenticeship and/or training programs, to provide training opportunities for Local Residents and students and graduates of the City wishing to pursue a career in City Council Staff Report
September 9, 2026 -- Page 8
Community Workforce Agreement
55575.18120\45243947.2
construction. Such cost for programs and training will be the responsibility of the Union and contractors. The City will work with the Unions, trade groups, and Contractors, in marketing such potential job and training opportunities to encourage application from residents of the City of Palm Springs. Further, with concurrence from the CWA Administrator, the Contractors and the Unions will work together to promptly develop and implement procedures for the identification of craft needs, the scheduling of work to facilitate the utilization of available craft employees, and the securing of services of craft employees in sufficient numbers to meet the demand of the Project Work to be undertaken. The City will work with the Contractors and Unions in promoting said opportunities to encourage application from residents of the City of Palm Springs.” Under section 2.5.10 of the CWA, the CWA does not apply to projects that are funded with state or federal funds, if those state/federal funding requirements preclude the use of a CWA.
So, until the federal policy changes, it appears that these “community benefits” of the CWA will not be realized, at least on federally funded projects.
Therefore, City staff and the City Attorney seek direction from the City Council as to whether, and upon what terms, the City Council may wish to extend the current CWA, which expires on August 31, 2026.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
The requested City Council action is not a “Project” as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Pursuant to Section 15378(a), a “Project” means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. According to Section 15378(b), a Project does not include: (2) “Continuing administrative or maintenance activities, such as purchases for supplies, personnel- related actions, general policy and procedure making….” The CWA, and any possible extension of its term, would constitute such procurement and general policy and procedure making.
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PLANNING:
This item aligns with the following City Council Strategic Plan Broad Goal: Infrastructure and Facilities and Public Safety and Community Services, as well as the Overarching Principle of Social Equity – as its purpose is to enhance construction staff available to perform capital projects for the City and to ensure that those workers are paid a fair wage for their work.
City Council Staff Report
September 9, 2026 -- Page 9
Community Workforce Agreement
55575.18120\45243947.2
FISCAL IMPACT:
As indicated above, the CWA has caused the City to expend $721,518 in CWA Administrator costs over the CWA’s 5-year term. As indicated in the City’s February 27, 2020 staff report, some reports estimate that Community Workforce Agreements may increase the cost of public works projects anywhere from 7% to 20%. However, because current bidding practices do not call out increased costs, if any, resulting from the City’s CWA, the City does not have reliable data on the increased project costs, if any, to the City as the result of the current CWA.
REVIEWED BY:
Department Director: Joel Montalvo
City Attorney: Jeffrey S. Ballinger
City Manager: Scott Stiles
ATTACHMENTS:
A. Community Workforce Agreement (2021)
B. City Council Staff Report, May 27, 2021
C. City Council Staff Report, April 8, 2021
D. City Council Staff Report, February 27, 2020
E. Solis Group Report, 2026