Minutes Exhibit B
Port Commission Special Meeting
Talking Points - Seattle Building & Construction Trades Council) .               on . .
of April 16, 2019
Port of Seattle Commission  Consideration of Project Labor Agreement "Policy Directive"
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
12:00 pm  PLA isfar down published agenda
POS Commission Chambers, Pier 69, 2711 Alaskan Way, Seattle

e  Good afternoon. Today you are focused on policy direction that will help sustain and grow

a partnership that is creating economic opportunityfor thousands of working people,
including disadvantaged workers, women and veterans from throughout the region.

e   On behalf of over 20,000 construction workers and their families across the region and the
19 affiliate unions in the Seattle-King County Building Trades, we want to thank the
Commission and the Port administrative team for your leadership on productive Port
partnerships with Labor.

e  The Building Trades are working with partners across the region through Community
Workforce Agreements, Priority Hire and other similar partnerships. We are helping build
great communities by building better with the highest quality craftspeople, by being
inclusive, by being innovative and by working in productive partnerships.

e   With this incredible economic boom the Seattle region is continuing to experience, we hear

a lot about the historic records being broken on jobs and the number of construction

cranes in the sky. But what we don't hear enough about is the human upside: beneath all of
the hardhats are real, mostly local people who are working hard day in and day out for this
amazing economic development.

e  And these are the kind of jobs that bring strength and diversity to our regional economy.


e  The construction workers on the Port of Seattle projects are some of the safest, most highly
trained, and productive skilled craft workers found anywhere in the world.

e  Through our partnerships with the Port, we are also bringing new entrants into the
construction field, through apprenticeships and training that will help bring more inclusion
of women, people of color, veterans and others who are disadvantaged into construction.
Through our strong training programs and projects such as this one, the Building Trades are
building the next generation of construction workers from our local communities. This is a
true pathway out ofpoverty.

In addition to their workforce development value, Project Labor Agreements are also tools
for efficiency, predictability and certainty on construction projects.


In one Cornell University study, the researchers reviewed 185 Project Labor Agreements
nationwide. The study concluded that PLAs "provide value for government and corporate
purchasers of construction services  getting the best work for the money with far greater
likelihood of on-time, on-budget performance."

You may hear that PLAs undermine access for smaller firms. There is now a significant
amount of data from the Port, as well as the City of Seattle, King County and the State 
and programs across the country  that demonstrate that these agreements are not
hindering access for women and minority-owned firms, they are actually facilitating access
and inclusion.

And we are working with our partners and our own affiliates to increase access and
opportunity through increased outreach and technical support.

We believe strongly that job sites should reflect the community. Through our strong
training programs and partnerships, the Building Trades are building the next generation of
construction workers from our local communities.

We are proud of our partnership with the Port of Seattle, and we lookforward to
continuing to strengthen it.

We look forward to continuing to work with you. Thank you for your time and
consideration.