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SFPUC staff recommends extending Project Labor Agreement to sewer program after WSIP success
Summary
Staff told commissioners the Water System Improvement Program’s Project Labor Agreement delivered training, local-hire and labor-harmony results and recommended extending its core features to the Sewer System Improvement Program; stakeholders and unions urged the Commission to solicit 30 days of public feedback before returning with a resolution.
Staff presented an evaluation recommending the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission extend key elements of the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) Project Labor Agreement (PLA) to the Sewer System Improvement Program (SSIP).
The presentation, led by Masood Ortekani of the Infrastructure Division, said a PLA helps secure a skilled labor pool, reduces disruption from jurisdictional disputes and creates structured training and local-hire pathways. Ortekani cited WSIP results: "we've put 12,000 workers to work," said Ortekani, and staff reported about $450,000,000 in wages and benefits paid under the WSIP PLA and that 70% of apprentice hours on WSIP were performed by SFPUC service-territory residents.
Why it matters: SSIP is large and technically complex, and staff argued a PLA would minimize schedule risk and support local workforce goals. The memo on the table said the SSIP’s size and scope make it suitable for a PLA and highlighted pre‑job conferences, joint administrative dispute resolution, and an established jobs‑training partnership with the Office of Economic and Workforce Development and CityBuild.
Public-safety and jobs advocates as well as union representatives spoke in favor of the extension. Charlie Lavery of operating engineers and other union and contractor speakers described project-specific training cohorts that led participants into long-term construction careers. A speakers representing CityBuild and community-based training programs urged attention to career-pathway retention and recommended allocating training dollars to local workforce intermediaries.
What the commission decided: commissioners and staff agreed to post the PLA proposal for at least 30 days of stakeholder review and feedback. Staff said they would return with a resolution authorizing negotiation and extension of the WSIP PLA to SSIP if community feedback remains generally supportive. No formal vote on the PLA extension was taken at this meeting.
Next steps: staff will solicit stakeholder comments for 30 days, prepare a draft resolution based on the feedback, and return to the commission with proposed language and legal documentation for formal action.
