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SD inks union construction pact

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Andrew Keatts
Kate Murphy
February 1, 2024

The city of San Diego on Wednesday reached a major deal for local construction unions, agreeing to a seven-year project labor agreement, or PLA, on all city work exceeding $5 million for the next two years and more than $1 million for the following five years.

State of play: The agreement among the San Diego County Building and Construction Trades Council stipulates wages and benefits for workers and guarantees sufficient labor to complete projects, while requiring contractors to hire through union halls.

National City, Chula Vista and La Mesa likewise agreed last year to PLAs for most city projects.

Between the lines: Those deals illustrate the dramatic remaking of union politics in San Diego in more than a decade.

In 2012, voters passed a ballot measure prohibiting the city from requiring PLAs on public works, following passage of similar bans around the county.

In 2022, city voters passed a ballot measure rescinding that ban, making way for the agreement the City Council approved Wednesday.

The big picture: The share of American workers who are union members hit a new low in 2023 — now 1 in 10 — although the total count of unionized employees rose slightly, Axios’ Nathan Bomey writes.

Why it matters: Advocates say unions are a needed proponent of worker rights and compensation, while critics suggest they throttle progress in the workplace.

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San Diego County adopts prevailing wage policy for projects on county land

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

BY DEBORAH SULLIVAN BRENNAN
FEB. 17, 2022 5 AM PT

San Diego — Construction projects on county land must use skilled, trained workers and pay them prevailing wages, the Board of Supervisors decided in a split vote last week. Supervisors Jim Desmond and Joel Anderson, the two Republicans on the board, opposed the measure, while Democratic Supervisors Nathan Fletcher, Terra Lawson-Remer and Nora Vargas voted in favor.

Prevailing wages are set by the state to establish pay and benefits for public works projects based on compensation rates for similar work in the same area. The federal government and the state of California set prevailing wages on public projects under their jurisdiction, as do some local governments including the city of San Diego.

The county’s action, called the Working Families Ordinance, requires contractors for construction projects on county land to use skilled, trained workers and pay prevailing wages on projects over $1 million. It also requires employers on county-leased land to provide paid sick leave and to ensure worker protections against retaliation and discrimination.

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San Diego airport officials vote to use PLA on $3B airport project (CA)

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

AUTHOR – Kim Slowey
PUBLISHED – April 8, 2019

Dive Brief:

  • Board members of the San Diego County (California) Regional Airport Authority have voted to require that the design-build contractor chosen to lead the $3 billion redevelopment of San Diego International Airport must enter into project labor agreements with local unions.
  • The regulation requiring the PLAs, according to a staff-prepared report, “ensures labor harmony by eliminating the threat of work stoppages, strikes, slowdowns, and lockouts for the life of the project,” which, airport staff said, is a critical element for keeping the five-year project on schedule.

…

Dive Insight:

Also included in the staff report to the authority was the fact that California state law allows a public agency to require a PLA. Lawmakers in many other states, however, don’t. Last month, Kentucky became the 25th state to enact anti-PLA regulations mandated by state and local government agencies. Kentucky’s new law keeps its public agencies from requiring that bidders sign on to PLAs, although it does not ban the agreements altogether nor does it prevent contractors from entering into voluntary PLAs.

(Read More)

Register Now – 20th Annual NAFC Conference, August 19-22, 2018 – San Diego, CA

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

June 2018

It’s our 20th Anniversary! Save the date and join NAFC at our next Annual Conference in sunny San Diego, CA. The Conference will be held at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel, in downtown San Diego. This year’s Conference will be jointly sponsored by the Center for Contract Compliance and will have a national as well as a California specific focus. The NAFC National Conference is attended by participants from across the nation, including representatives from labor organizations, responsible contractors, fair contracting compliance organizations as well as researchers, academics, attorneys and officials from federal, state and local governments.

Stay tuned for further information.

(Visit NAFC’s Conference Page)

(Download Joint Conference Registration Form)

Prevailing Wage, Local Workers Sought for Affordable Housing Projects

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Posted by Debbie L. Sklar
March 14, 2018

Builders who receive city money for affordable housing and public works projects would be required to hire skilled, local workers and pay them a prevailing wage under a proposal advanced by a City Council committee Wednesday.

Councilwoman Georgette Gomez’s “HireSD” program would aim to lift people out of poverty by requiring developers in certain projects to hire workers who have completed apprenticeships or other training because those workers are paid a higher wage. The resulting demand for skilled workers would create an incentive for economically disadvantaged people to complete that training as a “pipeline to middle-class jobs,” the councilwoman’s Chief of Staff Dominika Bukalova said.

The plan would also require developers of certain projects to hire local people and pay a prevailing wage, a minimum wage currently paid in certain public works projects.

The rules would apply to projects that receive money from the city’s affordable housing fund and a business subsidy program. Part of the proposal is an expansion of a 2013 prevailing wage ordinance that applies to public works projects.

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SAVE THE DATE – 20th Annual NAFC Conference, August 19-22, 2018 – San Diego, CA

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

It’s our 20th Anniversary! Save the date and join NAFC at its next Annual Conference in sunny San Diego, CA. The Conference will be held at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel, in downtown San Diego. This year’s Conference will be jointly sponsored by the Center for Contract Compliance and will have a national and also a California specific focus. The NAFC National Conference is attended by participants from across the nation, including representatives from labor organizations, fair contractors, fair contracting compliance organizations as well as researchers, academics, attorneys and officials from federal, state and local governments.

Stay tuned for further information.

(Visit NAFC’s Conference Page)

SAVE THE DATE – 20th Annual NAFC Conference, August 19-22, 2018 – San Diego, CA

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

It’s our 2oth Anniversary! Ensure to save the date and join NAFC as it will be holding its next Annual Conference in sunny San Diego, CA. The Conference will be held at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel, in downtown San Diego. This year’s Conference will be jointly sponsored by the Center for Contract Compliance and will have a national and California state specific focus. The NAFC National Conference is attended by several hundred participants from across the nation, including representatives from labor organizations, fair contractors, fair contracting compliance organizations as well as researchers, academics, attorneys and officials from federal, state and local governments.

Stay tuned for further information.

(Visit NAFC Conference Page)

Registration now open – 18th Annual NAFC Conference – San Diego, CA – Oct. 17 – 19, 2016

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

July 6, 2016

NAFC will be holding its Annual Conference in San Diego, CA this year. The Conference will be held at the Hilton San Diego Resort and Spa on Mission Bay, just outside downtown San Diego. This year’s Conference will be jointly sponsored by the Center for Contract Compliance and will have both a national and California state specific focus. The NAFC National Conference is attended by several hundred participants from across the nation, including representatives from labor organizations, fair contractors, fair contracting compliance organizations as well as researchers, academics, attorneys and officials from federal, state and local governments.

Register today, spaces are limited.

(Visit NAFC’s Conference Page)

(Download your registration form here)

Minimum Wage Hike Approved by San Diego Voters

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

The proposition not only raises the minimum wage to $10.50 but also gives workers five days of paid sick leave.

By Liberty Zabala
Published at 7:43 AM PDT on Jun 8, 2016

 

San Diego voters made their support for a minimum wage increase very clear when they went to the ballot box Tuesday.

Proposition I was approved by 63 percent of voters, clearing the way for an immediate increase to the city’s minimum wage.

The proposition not only raises the minimum wage to $10.50 but also gives workers five days of paid sick leave.

In January, the minimum wage will be boosted to $11.50 an hour.

The state also approved a similar hike to $15 an hour minimum wage.

(Read More)

SAVE THE DATE – 18th Annual NAFC Conference – San Diego, CA – Oct. 16-19, 2016

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

March 3, 2016

NAFC will be holding their next Annual Conference in sunny San Diego, CA. The Conference will be held at the Hilton San Diego Resort and Spa on Mission Bay, just outside downtown San Diego. This year’s Conference will be jointly sponsored by the Center for Contract Compliance and will have a national and California state specific focus. The NAFC National Conference is attended by several hundred participants from across the nation, including representatives from labor organizations, fair contractors, fair contracting compliance organizations as well as researchers, academics, attorneys and officials from federal, state and local governments.

Stay tuned for further information.