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
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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
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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.
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NOVEMBER 3, 2006
