Portland City Council adopted a resolution Wednesday, Nov. 8, to apply equitable contracting agreements to select city construction projects costing more than $10 million.
In an effort to develop workforces within disadvantaged communities that public development has historically impacted in a negative way, projects with these plans will be required to meet goals for including women and minority apprenticeships, as well as utilize women- and minority-owned subcontractors and other disadvantaged businesses.
The resolution adopted two plans, to be used only on what are known as “alternative method contract” projects. These are projects with contracts that are not awarded to the lowest bidder, as most city projects are.
After the completion of two successful pilot projects, Community Benefits Agreements, or CBAs, will be applied to these select projects costing more than $25 million. City employees created another model, the Community Equity and Inclusion Plan, to apply to select projects costing between $10 million and $25 million.
There are two large-scale projects in the pipeline under Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services for the 2018 fiscal year that these agreements will likely be applied to.
The CBA model was developed in response to a 2009 study that showed a disparity in the number of women- and minority-owned contractors hired to work on city projects.
It was tested on two city projects, the Kelly Butte Reservoir and Interstate Maintenance Facility. Both surpassed women and minority apprenticeship goals and disadvantaged-contractor goals. Both projects came in on time and under budget and under the scrutiny of an oversight committee that ensured fair labor practices were being met at job sites.
As Street Roots first reported in early October, proponents of CBAs were dumbfounded as to why the city was proposing what they described as a watered-down and loophole-filled plan for projects costing between $10 and $25 million.
But at Wednesday’s meeting, public testimony largely applauded the city for its consideration of the CBA model.
Kelly Haines testified on behalf of Metropolitan Alliance for Workforce Equity, a coalition that was instrumental in the crafting of Portland’s CBA model, and applauded the city for moving forward with its implementation.
“I think we’re in a good place, from our coalition’s perspective. We’re just focusing on the positive and trying to highlight that the use of the CBA going forward is a good thing,” Haines told Street Roots the day prior to the plan’s adoption.
Haines said, however, that the coalition wishes the dollar-amount threshold was lower and that the model would apply to more projects.
“But at this point people feel like, let’s move ahead with this positive development,” Haines said.
Of the 85 prime construction contracts awarded during the most recent fiscal year a complete list was available, 2015-16, just two projects cost more than $10 million. Those two projects, however, accounted for nearly 67 percent of total construction project costs awarded for that year.
During that time, Portland granted just 3 percent of its prime contract value and 6 percent of its subcontract value to minority-owned contractors, according to records obtained by Street Roots. Women-owned contracting companies were awarded just under 3 percent of the city’s total prime contract value and 7 percent its subcontract value.
Under a CBA agreement, however, a project must employ women- or minority-owned, emerging or otherwise disadvantaged subcontractors for 22 percent of construction costs. Additionally, project workforces must include 22 percent minority apprentices and 9 percent women apprentices, as well as 22 percent minority journey level workers and 6 percent journey level workers that are women.
Policy Specialist at Urban League of Portland Hannah Holloway told city commissioners at Wednesday’s meeting, “Policy without enforcement is as good as no policy at all.”
This was likely a jab at the city’s move to change the language in the CBA, making the oversight committee that’s charged with monitoring compliance an advisory committee rather than one with real authority.
“We will look to the muscle given to the (oversight committee),” she testified.
Union groups and immigrant advocacy organizations see oversight as a key component in these agreements, as it’s a tool that can be used to oust unscrupulous subcontractors, who may be exploiting workers, from public projects.
FURTHER READING: Labor groups demand end to worker exploitation on all publicly funded construction projects
Due to union and community-group representation on the oversight committee that will be meeting at least monthly on CBA projects, Haines said the feeling is that it will have the ability to advise the city on these matters effectively.
Commissioners voted in favor of the resolution, along with two companion items, 4 to 0. Commissioner Chloe Eudaly was not present for the vote, but has long championed CBA agreements.
Also adopted was the creation of a Community Opportunities and Enhancements Program and funding plan, in which 1 percent of construction costs will be funneled to support workforce development in disadvantaged communities.