Minutes Exhibit A
Port Commission Regular Meeting
of January 26, 2016


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AGCWA COMMISSION TESTIMONY ON DRAFT CONSTRUCTION LABOR RELATIONS
RESOLUTION

JANUARY 26, 2016

AGC membership includes both Union and Open shop contractors; 55% of our membership is
Union and 45% is Open shop. Of the Open shop members 32 % are women and minority
contractors. AGCWA contractors perform most of the public works projects in the State by
dollar value.

Among the services AGC provides, our members negotiate Master Labor Agreements (similar
to Project Labor Agreements (PLA'S) with the Carpenters, Cement Masons, Operators,
Laborers and the Teamsters and have been doing so for decades.

Over the years, we have had a good working partnership with the Port:

0  The AGC/POS Best Practices Committee has been meeting quarterly since 2008 to
discuss ways to improve procurement and contracting practices both for the Port and
Contractors.

.  The AGC Education Foundation has provided education and training assistance for Port
with the
programs and staff and most recently discussed how the foundation might help
Port's Accelerator Program for small businesses.

0  We have signed on to be part of the Chamber's Tomorrow at SeaTac Coalition effort.


.  Routinely we collaborate on variousstate legislative efforts and contracting issues
through CPARB at the State.
With respect to the draft resolution, our Union, Open shop and WMBE members have concerns
that were outlined in my January 8th memo to Ralph Graves copied to the Commission. Their
main issues are:

The FLA default threshold isn't necessary. Current Port criteria for PLA'S already
.
memo.
capture 80% of the dollars and 66% of the work according to your staff briefing
There is no need to expand the use of PLA's to additional projects by applying an
arbitrary threshold of 10 million dollars.

PLA's are most effective when reserved for large complicated projects of long duration
with multiple trades and significant labor hours of work or when critical operations or
deadlines would be interrupted or missed if there were a work stoppage.

the
Project examples are the SR 520 floating bridge, the Viaduct Replacement Program,
Seattle Seawall and the Port's North Satellite Arrival Terminal project. Thousands of

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lesser public works projects including Port Projects have been successfully
contract specifications with
accomplished through standard contracting practices and
and inclusion goals and the
special provisions such as apprenticeship, small contractor
Master Labor Agreements.
no strike provisions included in our

our members is that
0  PLA negotiations exclude contractors. A long standing issue for
contractors present at
the Port negotiates the labor agreements with the Unions without
had no say. The
the table yet contractors must implement rules for which they have
resolution should require that contractors be included in the negotiations.

work rules and other
o  PLA's decreased Open-shop participation. PLA's impose union
and minority firms.
union requirements on openshop contractors including women
their
These requirements often exclude them from participating and certainly impede
ability to successfully perform.

and payment into
Union work rules, representation fees, core worker requirements
Arrival Terminal
Union health and benets trusts as contained in the North Satellite
PLA present barriers that make it difcult for these companies to become a successful
bidder on a project.

limits the use of PLA's
This can be mitigated by ensuring the criteria in the resolution
and or establishing a much higher threshold amount.

on the Seattle Seawall project report
0  Locality hiring goals. AGC contractors working
There needs to be sufficient labor
they are having difficulty in meeting this requirement.
workers for the
hours by primary trade and the capacity in the community to provide
goals to work.
decision criteria and the
Labor hours by trade needs to be added to the proposed PLA
goals should be aspirational until capacity is developed.

0  Payment of prevailing wage. By law prevailing wage must be paid on all public works
If the payment of prevailing wages will be
jobs but that is not the case for private work.
required for private work on Port property, it should be consistent with State law.
It

should be clear that it is a contractual requirement and does not constitute an agreement
as a matter of law.
by the parties that the Public Works Act applies