Santa Cruz Supervisors approve a PLA pilot program

Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted three-to-one to approve the Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. ​ This approval launches a pilot program to establish a Building and Construction Trades Council for ten capital projects valued at over $1 million per project. ​

I had the opportunity to speak at the meeting where the vote took place, and it was a significant success and a positive step for unions and Santa Cruz County, marking the first PLA in the area. The supervisors aim to use this pilot program to assess how effective project labor agreements are in promoting local workforce development, ensuring fair labor practices, increasing local contractor involvement, and utilizing skilled labor to save time, enhance safety, and improve the quality of construction projects. ​

To achieve this, the supervisors plan to gather data on performance, project completion, costs, and labor force usage to guide potential future PLA policies. ​ Key provisions of the project include preferences for hiring local workers, apprenticeship requirements, and support for small businesses, all aimed at evaluating the benefits and challenges of PLAs in promoting fair construction practices while meeting county policy goals. ​

Cole Davis

Local 1621 

Business Representative