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Union representatives urge Sunnyvale to study project labor agreements; city keeps PLA on study list
Summary
Union officials told the council a project labor agreement could expand apprenticeship entry, ensure prevailing wages and reduce wage theft; the proposal remained on the city—s study list and will be considered during the study-issues ranking process.
Several union representatives told the Sunnyvale City Council during public comment that a project labor agreement (PLA) could expand training and secure higher-quality, prevailing-wage construction work in the city.
At a special study-issues and budget workshop in February 2025, union speakers described apprenticeships and PLAs as pathways to livable wages, career training and employer accountability. They urged the council to pursue negotiations with regional building trades to evaluate a PLA for city-funded projects.
A PLA is a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement that can specify apprenticeship utilization, prevailing-wage compliance and dispute-resolution mechanisms. Supporters at the workshop argued those features reduce wage theft, attract experienced contractors and help local residents access apprenticeships.
Danny Mangan, a union representative for Sprinkler Fitters Local 483, said he supports a PLA because "apprenticeships utilize these agreements to gauge and determine ... how many apprentices we can intake" and to sustain a "highly skilled and trained workforce." Anthony Viscousa, a business agent for Local 16 Heat and Frost Insulators, said PLAs "come with their own built-in compliance" and stressed the sector—s waiting lists for entry-level apprentices.
Other speakers from trade locals amplified those points. Erica Valentine of UA Local 393 said union apprenticeship programs produce "skilled and trained workforce[s]" that reduce later operational costs from errors and omissions. Edmundo Scarcega, speaking for Plumbers and Steamfitters local members, asked the council to "adopt the community workforce agreement" to ensure benefits and training are provided on publicly funded work.
City officials and other speakers noted the PLA study appears on the city—s study-issue list under DPW 24-07 and will be included in the council—s ranking and work-plan process. No formal council action to adopt a PLA was taken at the workshop; councilmembers discussed staging the study and coordinating fiscal analysis with the city—s finance and public-works staff.
Council members who spoke during the department rankings told staff they view the PLA as a high-priority study issue. City Manager Tim Kirby and department staff said elements of PLA study work (cost analysis, outreach and legal review) can be handled in parallel by multiple departments and that staff would return with scope and fiscal-impact information if the council places the study above the line.
If council decides to create a PLA, staff said it would require negotiation with local trade organizations, a fiscal analysis of thresholds that would trigger PLA requirements, and an implementation plan tied to the city—s capital project schedules.
Supporters said the policy would let the city ensure public money buys work from contractors that meet wage, training and safety standards; opponents or concerned business voices did not win any formal council action to remove the study item at the workshop.
The PLA topic will return to the council as part of the study-issues prioritization and the city manager—s recommended budget process, where staff will present a recommended scope, estimated costs and an implementation timeline.
