Dive Brief:
- In preparation for construction of a $16.8 million low-risk correctional facility, the NAPA County Board of Supervisors is exploring the possibility of a local "first source" hiring policy, the Napa Valley Register reported.
- Hiring policies that require local workers to be given first priority must show justification for that special treatment, a difficult task in Napa, which has an unemployment rate (4.4%) below both the state (5.6%) and national (5.1%) averages. County officials point out that county residents ages 20-24 (13.3%) and veterans under 35 (22.6%) have higher rates.
- Unlike nearby San Francisco, however, Napa officials said the rule they have in mind, historically subject to fewer legal challenges, will not make actual hiring of locals mandatory but would give them priority in the job application process.
Dive Insight:
There are a reported 3,300 construction jobs in Napa County, but, according to industry projections, that number will jump to 7,136 over the next five years, so county officials are attempting to set the labor framework for the correctional facility, as well as future large projects.
There are other cities, albeit with higher unemployment, which have also instituted local hiring policies around large construction projects. For example, the $627 million Red Wings hockey arena in Detroit has a local hiring policy that requires 51% of workers be local. In addition, developers of the new $2.5 billion Rams NFL stadium in Inglewood, CA, have set a 30% local hiring goal for that project.
The NAPA County board is also developing a project labor agreement for use with local unions and trade groups. As expected, there are detractors who believe that PLAs, or collective bargaining agreements, drive up project costs by requiring higher wages and limiting the pool of bidders. Proponents of these agreements maintain that union labor provides consistent, quality results. Nevertheless, the country's union presence has dwindled over the years, and even strongholds like New York City have seen a decrease in the use of union labor exclusively. In fact, the largest construction companies in New York, like Gilbane Building Co. and Tishman Construction, have recently passed on renewing some of their collective bargaining agreements with local unions.