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Project Labor Agreement (item 28) draws extensive public comment and is tabled for committee consideration
Summary
After extensive public testimony from small contractors, unions and community groups the board agreed to table a motion to advance a citywide project labor agreement (PLA) and schedule further committee work; proponents urged swift action while opponents asked for more hearings and analysis.
SAN FRANCISCO — A proposal to require a citywide project labor agreement (PLA) for certain public works projects drew intense public comment and divided remarks among supervisors at the June 5 Board of Supervisors meeting. The motion to advance the proposed citywide PLA (item 28) was tabled; the board and committee chairs agreed the matter should proceed with committee hearings to resolve outstanding issues.
Item 28, introduced on the floor, would require a citywide PLA for specified public-work or improvement projects and had been under committee consideration for more than a year. The meeting featured many public commenters — including local small contractors, minority- and women-owned business representatives, labor unions and advocacy groups — who disagreed on whether the proposed PLA would expand opportunity for disadvantaged workers or lock out nonunion small businesses.
Pro-union speakers and building trades representatives said PLAs help protect workers, guarantee benefits and advance apprenticeship and hiring goals. Speakers representing small, local, nonunion contractors and trade associations asked the board not to fast-track the ordinance and urged additional committee hearings so those businesses could participate fully in shaping the proposal. Several speakers said fast-tracking would deny due process to local small contractors who lack in-house counsel and cannot attend repeated hearings.
On the floor Supervisor Feuer urged that the PLA not be pulled to the full board without further committee consideration and requested more time for amendments and stakeholder hearings. Supervisor Peskin said he wanted the PLA passed but asked that parties convene quickly to work out remaining issues; Supervisor Safaie said he supported a committee hearing and sought to balance worker protections with business opportunity. Supervisor Kim, chair of the Government Audit and Oversight (GAO) Committee, said the committee was working to schedule the measure and asked parties to continue discussions; a committee-of-the-whole hearing was discussed but supervisors agreed committee consideration was the more appropriate forum.
The board ultimately tabled the item and directed that the GAO Committee consider the ordinance at a scheduled committee hearing (the chair indicated willingness to schedule a June 11 or June 20 committee meeting, subject to clerks and members' availability). The decision followed extended public testimony and several hours of floor discussion.
Action summary
- Motion to pull proposed citywide PLA into a Committee of the Whole: debated but the board agreed to proceed with committee scheduling instead. - Outcome: Item 28 tabled; further hearings to be scheduled in Government Audit and Oversight Committee for fuller stakeholder input and fiscal analysis.
Ending
The board's action paused an immediate vote and signaled that more committee-level negotiation and analysis is required before final action on a citywide PLA. Proponents urged timely resolution; opponents demanded more outreach to small and minority-owned firms to prevent unintended exclusion.
