Project Labor Agreement
Policy Study Session
JULY 12, 2022
CITY COUNCIL
Assistant City Manager Jason Nutt & Economic Development Division Director Raissa de la Rosa 1 Problem Statement
To evaluate tools that may best and most effectively help accomplish the following related to the delivery of some or all City infrastructure projects:
• Enhance our highly skilled local workforce and increase access to apprenticeship programs to benefit diversity, equity, and broader inclusion in the workforce.
• Reduce carbon footprint by keeping local workforce local. • Create positive economic impacts by re-investing capital improvement funds through the local workforce.
2 State Law & Contractual Requirements
3 COMMON ELEMENTS: PLAs & STANDARD CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS • Prohibits discrimination, including membership in a labor organization in hiring & dispatching workers for a project.
• Permits all qualified contractors & subcontractors to bid for & work on a project without regard to whether they are parties to a collective bargaining. • Disputes resolved by a neutral arbitrator/mediator
• Requires use of apprentices in apprenticeable occupations • Guarantees prevailing wages set by the Director of Industrial Relations
UNIQUE TO PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS
• Guarantees against work stoppages, strikes, lockouts and similar disruptions.
Definitions & Descriptions
Local Labor
1. Labor whose permanent home address is within the City's boundaries.
2. Labor whose permanent home address is within Sonoma, Marin, Napa, Lake, and Mendocino counties.
3. Labor whose permanent home address is within the jurisdictional boundaries of participating local trade organizations.
Contractor Type
• Building Trades – trades primarily concerned with the construction and finishing of buildings. • Union/Subscriber – a hiring hall, usually under the auspices of a labor union, which has the responsibility of providing new recruits for employers who have a collective bargaining agreement with the union.
• Non - Union/Merit – any company or organization that does not necessarily employ workers who belon to a union.
4 Definitions & Descriptions, cont.
Project Type: limited to public infrastructure projects • Roadway – concrete, asphalt, weatherproofing/wearing surface • Linear – water, sewer, fiber, etc.
• Vertical – buildings (i.e. fire stations, offices)
• Park, Landscape & Environmental – including earth movement • Electrical – traffic signals, building upgrade/retrofit • Mechanical – HVAC, boilers, controls
5 North Bay Trades Council
18 Northern California Organizations
6 • 4 in Sonoma County
• 1 in Marin County
• 3 in San Francisco
• 4 in Alameda County
• 5 in Contra Costa Cty
• 1 in Los Angeles
Union Labor Demographics
Lake
2%
(44)
Marin
5%
(125)
Mendocino
2%
(44)
Napa
5%
(145)
Solano
56%
Sonoma
30%
(795)
Membership By Location
Total North Bay
Membership, 2633
"Local" Membership, 1153
Total North Bay Membership
"Local" Membership
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Union Apprenticeship Members
Labor Demographics
Burbank Auditorium PLA
Employee Zip Codes Data
95401 – 17.9% (West Santa Rosa)
95403 – 13.4% (Coffey Park)
95404 – 6.0% (Central Santa Rosa)
95405 – 3.0% (Bennett Valley)
95407 – 10.4% (Roseland)
95409 – 1.5% (Rincon Valley/Oakmont)
95472 – 4.5% (Sebastopol/Forestville)
95492 – 6.0% (Windsor)
94928 – 11.9% (Rohnert Park)
7 Note: Map data reflects data in table
13.4%
17.9%
95407
13.4%
3.0%
6.0%
CIP Contract Labor Demographics
Sonoma County Contractor Survey
• 21 of 65 contractors responded
• 701 employees represented
8 Labor Demographics
City Contractors
Employee Zip Codes Data
95401 – 10.9% (West Santa Rosa)
95403 – 11.8% (Coffey Park)
95404 – 6.9% (Central Santa Rosa)
95405 – 3.2% (Bennett Valley)
95407 – 10.1% (Roseland)
95409 – 5.1% (Rincon Valley/Oakmont)
95472 – 5.9% (Sebastopol/Forestville)
95492 – 8.8% (Windsor)
94928 – 7.4% (Rohnert Park)
9 Note: Map data reflects data in table
Union Labor – Priority Assignment Process
10 1. Local Members – Contracting agency defines local, which could include jurisdictional boundaries, specific zip codes, census tracts, etc. (i.e. City of Santa Rosa; zip codes 95401, 95403, 95407; Census Tracts 1531 & 1532, etc.)
2. Regional Members – Contracting agency may further define second tier conditions to meet the local requirements, which may expand jurisdictional boundaries.
(i.e. Sonoma, Marin, Napa and Mendocino counties)
3. Statewide Members – If local membership is not available, members are pulled from other areas throughout the state beginning with those jurisdictions covered by the North Bay Building Trades Council.
Non-Union Trade Associations
11 Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC NorCal)
• Represent +/-500 large and small Northern California companies. • Train 300+ apprentices per year.
• Serve contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and associates of all trades doing business in unrestricted markets regardless of labor affiliation.
Western Electrical Contractors Association (WECA)
• Serves merit shop electrical contractors, their employees and the industry suppliers that support them.
• Offer federal and state-approved commercial, residential and ow voltage electrical apprenticeship programs, an electrician trainee program, certification exam preparation classes and continuing education classes for journeyperson electricians and low voltage techs.
Engagement & Research
Feb. 8, 2022
Consideration criteria
• Enhance skilled local workforce; increase
access to apprenticeship programs
• Reduce carbon footprint
• Increase economic impacts
May 10, 2022
Purpose: to develop skilled labor pool to support
public infrastructure projects; improve on-time
delivery within budget; ensure state & federal law
consistency; provides for the greatest public interest.
Definitions & Discussion: local labor; project types;
community workforce agreements; threshold.
12 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS
Recent Agency Inquiries
13 Regional Models
14 Local Models: What works/doesn’t work; feedback; suggestions; data, etc.
Other Sample Cities: What works/doesn’t work; feedback; suggestions; data, etc.
Project Labor Agreements
15 PLAs are a type of pre-hire collective bargaining agreement between a project owner and building trade unions that may be tailored to fit the employment terms and conditions for a particular construction project.
They are designed to govern the employer–employee relations of the general contractor and all subcontractors in connection with a particular construction project.
• Membership is certain trade unions is typically required • PLAs specify establishment of:
- Uniform work conditions
- Hiring procedures
- Wages & benefits
- Management rights
- Labor dispute resolution procedures
- Procedures to prevent work stoppages
- Agreement to adhere to existing Master
Labor Agreements for the trades
16 Common Pro & Con Statements
Potential Advantages
• Long-term project labor stability:
existing qualified labor pool, high wages, full
benefits, improved working conditions &
defined work rules.
• Project delivery & quality assurances:
on-time, on-budget, highly qualified labor
and no labor strife.
• Local workforce focus:
develops strong, diverse & sustainable local
workforce; local economic reinvestment; and
increases access to trades.
• Other: Increases worker and public safety.
Potential Disadvantages
• Long-term project labor stability:
limits apprenticeship options due to
availability and cost of union programs, state
requires prevailing wage and benefits.
• Project delivery & quality assurances:
increases total project costs, reduces
contractor competition, no city history of
labor disputes.
• Local workforce focus
: lack of validation that
PLAs are superior in developing local
workforce, economic reinvestment, limits
access to trades, may be negative for small
and minority owned businesses.
• Other
: non-union labor required to join
applicable union during the project duration.
Community Work Agreements (CWA)
17 CWAs are provisions that include targeted building trade hiring requirements to create employment and career paths for low-income or under- represented people.
CWA Examples:
• City of Los Angeles – generally requires 30-40% of new construction jobs created be filled by residents of neighborhoods or zip codes adjacent to the project, and 10-15% of construction work hours be performed by at risk workers. • Port of Oakland – requires 50% of construction hours be worked by residents of the Port’s local impact area (Alameda, Emeryville, Oakland, San Leandro), and 20% of hours worked be performed by apprentices from the local impact area. 80th and 90th Percentile Values, City Projects
18 City Projects
19 PROJECTEDCity Projects
20 Example Projects over $5M July 2023-July 2026
22 23
PLA
Yes
Project Type
Contract Type
Threshold
Local Labor
Definition
Local Hiring
Requirements
Other
Considerations
No
Status Quo
Overlay Language/
Agreement
CWA
Joint Work
Agreement
Other Workforce
Dev. Options
Apprenticeship
&/or Other Points
And / Or
Council Feedback Requested
Proceed With PLA Policy Development
Local Labor
• Local Labor Definition
• Recommendation: Sonoma, Marin, Napa, Mendocino & Lake counties • Recommendation: Local craft trade workers only. Professional consultants and other administrative staff are excluded. • Community Workforce Agreement
• Recommendation: Test 30% local workforce requirement
• Sanctioned or Merit Labor
• Recommendation: none
• Pre-Apprentice & Apprenticeship Requirements
• Recommendation: Consider requiring percentage of Pre-Apprentices Project Criteria
• Project Eligibility/Applicability
• Recommendation: All public infrastructure project types or project-by-project • Recommendation: Exemptions for project types and those with specialized funding • Project Value Threshold
• Recommendation: $5 million and above (indexed to CPI) Other Key Considerations
• Policy term
• Recommendation: 3 years to return to council with report 24 Council Feedback Requested
Amend Existing Contract Requirements
Local Labor
• Local Labor Definition
• Recommendation: Sonoma, Marin, Napa, Mendocino & Lake counties • Community Workforce Agreement
• Recommendation: Test 30% local workforce requirement
• Sanctioned or Merit Labor
• Recommendation: Allow for both without prejudice
• Pre-Apprentice & Apprenticeship Requirements
• Recommendation: Require percentage of Pre-Apprentices from either NB TIP and ABC programs Project Criteria
• All public infrastructure projects
• Project Value Threshold - none
Other Key Considerations
• Policy term
• Recommendation: 3 years to return to council with report 25 Goal
Implement and/or overlay tools that best and most effectively help accomplish the following related to the delivery of some or all City infrastructure projects:
• Enhance our highly skilled local workforce and increase access to apprenticeship programs to benefit diversity, equity, and broader inclusion in the workforce.
• Reduce carbon footprint by keeping local workforce local. • Create positive economic impacts by re-investing capital improvement funds through the local workforce.
26