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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 2006)
Construction unions, housing groups clear wage hurdle Oregon construction unions and nonprofit housing developers will co- sponsor legislation in 2007 to better clarify — or even exempt — the pre- vailing wage law on certain housing projects. The Oregon State Building and Con- struction Trades Council, the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Car- penters, the Community Development Network and the Association of Oregon Community Development Organiza- tions announced their legislative plan and a memorandum of understanding they signed at a Portland Development Commission (PDC) work session Oct. 18. The federal and state law requires that government-financed construction projects pay workers the “prevailing wage.” The state prevailing wage is the average wage for a given craft in a spe- cific geographic area. Surveys, prima- rily on commercial projects, are taken annually by the Oregon Employment Division and wage standards are set by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Indus- tries. Oregon has adopted federal wage rates on state-financed residential proj- ects, “but there are a lot of gray areas,” acknowledged Bob Shiprack, executive secretary of the Oregon State Building T HE M ARCO C ONSULTING G ROUP T HE M ARCO C ONSULTING G ROUP INVESTMENT CONSULTANTS TO MULTI - EMPLOYER BENEFIT FUNDS P LEASE CALL J ASON Z ENK IN T ACOMA , WA AT (253) 759-6768 W EST C OAST O FFICE M IDWEST O FFICE E AST C OAST O FFICE 2912 N ORTH 26 TH S TREET T ACOMA , WA 98407 P: 253-759-6768 F: 312-575-9840 550 W EST W ASHINGTON B LVD . N INTH F LOOR C HICAGO , IL 60661 P: 312 575-9000 F: 312 575-9840 1220 A DAMS S TREET F IRST F LOOR B OSTON , MA 02124 P: 617 298-0967 F: 617 298-0966 and Construction Trades Council, a fed- eration of construction unions. For example, some low-income housing projects have common bath- rooms and/or kitchens. Under federal law, that type of structure falls under commercial prevailing wage rates. “But it’s not so much a money issue as it is a certainty issue,” Shiprack con- tinued. “Because their funding comes from so many sources, nonprofit hous- ing developers have to know to the dime what rates apply before a project ever begins.” Martha McLennan, president of the board of directors of the Community Development Network, said the joint proposal “will give affordable housing developers the certainty they need to build these critically important projects in our communities.” The Network is an association of nonprofit development organizations in Multnomah County. Some of its mem- bers include the Catholic Charities-Car- itas Housing Initiatives, Central City Concern, Downtown Community Housing Inc., HOST Development Inc., Human Solutions Inc. and Port- land Habitat for Humanity. “This should take the housing argu- ment off the table,” said Shiprack, re- ferring to a lingering debate between BOLI, PDC, developers, construction unions, contractors — both union and nonunion — and other public entities who have been trying for several years to establish wage guidelines on mixed- use projects (projects that co-mingle housing and commercial units, using both tax dollars and private money). One of the biggest arguments PDC uses against it is that the prevailing wage law hampers affordable housing development. “We get so tired of hearing that ar- gument,” said Cherry Harris, a business representative of Operating Engineers Local 701, a participant in the meetings with the Community Development Net- work. “Labor and housing folks were both feeling a little bit used,” she said. All of the parties signed a memoran- dum of understanding pledging to pro- mote fair labor standards for construc- tion workers on projects built by the nonprofit housing organizations; create job opportunities for union contractors; and secure funding for affordable hous- ing at the local, state and national level.” The community development organ- izations will help compile wage and benefit surveys of contractors on their projects in order to better identify sub- standard labor practices. In the mean- (From Page 1) said Mayor Potter. “I believe that his background will help provide insight into how we can increase opportunities for minorities and women on Portland’s construction sites.” Potter will bring the nomination to the City Council at the conclusion of the PDC’s current study of construction wages in the Portland market. Mohlis has been participating in that study as a representative of construction unions. The work sessions and PDC recom- mendation should be completed by the end of November. Mohlis is the mayor’s fifth appoint- ment to the five-person PDC, which is made up of volunteers who serve three- year terms. The board oversees the city’s semi-autonomous economic de- velopment agency, which focuses on RI :RUNLQJ LQ 3$,1" 0RVW,QVXUDQFH 3ODQV$FFHSWHG 3 528'/< 6 (59,1* 3 257/$1' : 25.(56 ) 25 2 9(5 < ($56 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS (Turn to Page 12) ...Mohlis named to PDC 7LUHG PAGE 8 time, construction unions said they will explore ways to invest more pension funds in housing projects, better pro- mote their apprenticeship programs in low-income areas and volunteer their labor skills on housing projects. “This is a natural partnership be- cause we are both working toward the same basic goal: improving economic opportunity for Oregonians,” said Shiprack. “The community develop- ment groups support our work creating more family-wage jobs, and we cer- tainly support their work to provide housing opportunity for working fami- lies earning low wages, as well as the elderly, the disabled and others. We hope we can find a similar resolution for commercial projects.” PDC is conducting public work ses- sions to determine whether or not it should set its own wage and benefit neighborhood revitalization, housing and job creation. Last year, Potter made three PDC appointments: In February, Bertha Fer- ran, a senior mortgage consultant who has spent much of her career working on affordable housing issues, joined the board. In April, Mark Rosenbaum, a fi- nancial planner and longtime commu- nity activist in children’s issues, joined her and eventually became board chair. The third appointment in June was busi- nessman Sal Kadri, the owner of Val- ueCAD, a Portland-based information technology, computer-assisted drafting company with offices in Portland and San Francisco. In July, Potter appointed financial analyst Charles Wilhoite. The last union official to serve on the PDC was Harold Halvorsen in the late 1960 and early ’70s. %HHVRQ &KLURSUDFWLF KHOSVEULQJWKH UHOLHI\RXQHHG 7UHDWPHQWIRUSDLQGXHWR RYHUXVHDQGUHSHWLWLYHPRWLRQ &KLURSUDFWLFDGMXVWPHQWV 7UHDWPHQWIRUDFFLGHQWDQG VSRUWVUHODWHGLQMXULHV 5HKDELOLWDWLRQH[HUFLVHV 7KHUDSHXWLFPDVVDJH ,QWHUQDOGLDJQRVLVDQGWUHDWPHQW /DEWHVWVDQG[UD\V 'U'DQ%HHVRQ&KLURSUDFWRU 6(7KLUWHHQWK$YHLQ6HOOZRRG &$// NOVEMBER 3, 2006
