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Public Works reports 46,300 project labor hours (Jan–Aug 2025); local share ~19% and minority participation high, director flags barriers
Summary
Public Works told the committee that projects logged roughly 46,300 labor hours between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31, 2025, with about 19.4% by Alameda County residents and minority groups performing roughly 58% of hours; staff emphasized outreach and capacity-building but noted low apprenticeship/local percentages in some project types and barriers such as housing costs.
The Public Works Agency told the Procurement and Contracting Policy Committee on Sept. 15 that its semi-annual workforce and outreach report (Jan. 1–Aug. 31, 2025) recorded roughly 46,300 total labor hours on 26 active projects and that county residents performed about 8,900 of those hours (about 19.4%).
The agency’s director reported minority participation of about 58.4% of hours and said apprenticeship hours and enrollment are increasing overall, though local apprenticeship hours remain low in some project types. The report showed women accounted for a very small share of hours (reported at under 1%), and PWA staff called for expanded outreach and targeted programs to boost participation among women and small local/emerging businesses.
PWA described outreach and capacity-building efforts including breakfast outreach sessions and bidding and estimating workshops; staff said these activities helped move disadvantaged and small businesses from subcontractor roles toward prime contracting in recent procurements. The agency reported about 32% of winning bids were secured by local Alameda County businesses, and roughly 21% each by DBE and SBE firms among winners during the reporting window.
Supervisors asked whether the county’s Project Stabilization and Community Benefits Agreement (PSCBA) threshold change would increase future local-hire figures; staff and other directors clarified that the PSCBA now applies to projects with contract values of $1,000,000 and higher following recent board action, which would extend coverage to almost all projects under the current portfolio and could raise local-hire outcomes over time.
A public commenter questioned the comparability of PWA’s reported hours to GSA and suggested PWA may be underreporting; the PWA director responded that the PWA figures are contractor-submitted payroll data tracked in the county’s reporting system and that the agency focuses on building local capacity rather than controlling contractors’ hiring decisions. Staff agreed to provide contract-value totals on request to help contextualize hours and participation rates.
The committee did not take formal action on the report; staff said they will continue outreach, mentorship and capacity-building activities and will return with updated data.
