Transcript Document

Making Development Work for Local
Residents
Policy Frameworks and Programs for
Successful Construction-Industry
Workforce Development Strategies
Kathleen Mulligan-Hansel, Ph.D.
Construction Careers Basics
Goal is to create construction career opportunities!
 Job quality standards
 Job access requirements
 Job readiness infrastructure
It is critical to do all three!
 Key Caveats:
– Local, State, Federal
– What’s the right policy? Local context!
Construction Careers Basics
 Policies and agreements create demand for new workers
(community benefits agreement, project labor agreement, local
government or redevelopment agency policy)
 A good program creates a pipeline of new workers ready to
take those jobs: pre-apprenticeship, apprentices, journey-level
workers
 Getting new workers into high quality construction jobs = have to
create more opportunity for good firms to get the work
 Apprenticeship/journey-level
 Relationships are key: work with building trades leaders to
identify and implement opportunities for new workers
Construction Industry Job Quality
Job Quality Indicator
Low Road Practice
Policy Solution
Safety
Little or no safety training
Require OSHA 10 hour
Wage/hour compliance
No documentation of
wage/hour payment;
outright violations
Require to demonstrate no
violations in past three
years
Sustainable wages,
benefits
Low wages ($8.50, or
less), no health insurance
Require to pay prevailing
wages
Require provision of
health insurance
Benefits of employment
Misclassification of
workers as independent
contractors
Require contractors to
show they have hired
employees
Training
No investment in training
Require to participate in
certified apprenticeship
program; pay into training
trust fund
Strategies for Establishing Job Quality
 Community Workforce Agreement (negotiated
among developer, contractors, construction
unions)
 Require payment of prevailing wages
 Establish responsible contractor standards
 Require apprenticeship utilization
 Establish Best Value Contracting Process
Construction Industry Job Access




Journey-level vs. apprentices
Careers vs. work
Unions vs. high road
“the list”
– Require firms to use workers on the list
– Find ways to get new workers on the list
and make sure they get called
– Name call, zip coding, direct entry
Strategies for Establishing Job Access
 Community Workforce Agreement
 Targeted hire requirements – neighborhood,
household income, targeted categories (public
assistance, criminal justice), pre-appr. graduate
 First source referral systems
 Apprenticeship utilization
 Responsible contractor standards
 Best Value Contracting process
Strategies for Establishing Job Access
CHALLENGES
 Aggregation of work
 Strong pre-apprenticeship programs necessary
to supply workers
 Low-road contractors may appear to have easier
compliance
Examples
Community Workforce Agreement
 Community Redevelopment Agency of LA Construction
Careers Policy; passed Feb 2008
 Any development that receives $1 million or more in
financing, or built on CRA owned land
 Project Labor Agreement
 Targeted hiring: 30% of work hours performed by residents
of low-income neighborhoods or hard-to-employ workers
Anticipated impact: $170 million in construction, 5000 new
jobs for low-income people
Examples
Targeted Hire/Prevailing Wage Requirement
 Milwaukee MORE Ordinance, passed April 2009
 Any development subsidized with $1 million or more of
public funding
 Must pay prevailing wage for all construction
 Use city’s first-source referral system
 40% of work hours performed by targeted hires
(a) Have worked less than 1200 hours in the preceding 12 months;
(b) Have not worked in the preceding 30 days; or
(c) Have a household income at or below the federal poverty guidelines.
Department of City Development Report: 11 of last 23 subsidized developments
would have been covered.
Examples
Responsible Contractor Standards
 Atlanta BeltLine; authorizing language requires
community benefits, passed 2005
 Construction Career Ladder policy developed by
Georgia Stand Up (not yet adopted)
 Anticipate 48,000 construction jobs over 10 years
 Construction Career Ladder Policy: responsible
contractor, first source, prevailing wage, money
for training
Examples
 Atlanta BeltLine Responsible Contractor
Standards
 Must demonstrate compliance in order to work on
the BeltLine:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Are appropriately licensed and insured
Have a proven track record of satisfactorily performing the work required
Are providing the full benefits of employment to workers
Are utilizing workers that are highly skilled and trained
Has access to sufficient workforce to complete the job
Is in compliance with related BeltLine and City of Atlanta policies, such as
local hiring or first source
– Provides OSHA approved training and safety plans
– Have not been in violation under previous contracts with the city, BeltLine or
ADA
Examples
Direct Entry, Pre-apprenticeship graduate
 Santa Clara County Building Trades Council/De
Anza Foothills Technical College construction
careers agreement (San Jose area)
 University Hospital PLA (Cleveland)
 Malloy Initiative, NYC Public Housing Authority
Strategies
 Get language into every official document: state
plan, guidance, rfp, contracts, etc.
 Requirement vs. preference
 Build relationships with trades
 Organize locally to implement