City of Camden, NJ Project Labor Agreements

Housing that is restricted for occupancy and affordable to households with incomes no greater than 80% of area median income by family size as established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) including, but not limited to, housing that is funded by HUD, Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code or which is covered and regulated by the State Council on Affordable Housing (COAH).

APPRENTICE

A worker who participates in a federally approved apprenticeship program or, as an apprentice equivalent, participates in a federally approved training program, takes a construction apprenticeship test, and receives benefits and pay not less than those received by an apprentice.

APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM

A registered apprenticeship program operated by a labor organization engaged in the construction industry providing to each trainee combined classroom and on-the-job training under the direct and close supervision of a highly skilled worker in an occupation recognized as an apprenticeable trade, and registered by the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training of the U.S. Department of Labor and meeting the standards established by the Bureau.

CITY OF CAMDEN

The City or the Business Administrator and/or her/his designee.

CITY REPRESENTATIVE

The individual designated by the City to provide services in support of the contractors', subcontractors' or agents' local, minority, and women hiring goals.

DEVELOPER

The recipient of a tax exemption or abatement for a tax abatement project or the awardee of a public construction contract for a Public Works project, and/or their contractors, subcontractors or agents.

LABOR ORGANIZATION

An organization which represents, for purposes of collective bargaining, employees involved in the performance of Public Works projects or tax abatement projects and eligible to be paid prevailing wages under the "New Jersey Prevailing Wage Act," P.L. 1963, c. 150 (N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.25 et seq.), and has the present ability to refer, provide or represent sufficient numbers of qualified employees to perform the contracted work, in a manner consistent with this article and the enabling statute (N.J.S.A. 52:38-1 et seq.) and any plan mutually agreed upon by the labor organization and the City of Camden or the developer, as relevant to the situation.

NOT-FOR-PROFIT

Any entity that is organized as a nonprofit or not-for-profit entity, corporate or otherwise, or a governmental entity.

PROJECT COMPLETION

The determination by the City of Camden that the project, in whole or in part, is ready for the use intended, which ordinarily shall mean the date on which the project receives its final certificate of occupancy.

PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENT

A pre-hire collective bargaining agreement between a labor organization and the City of Camden or a developer, as the situation dictates, that contains at a minimum the requirements set forth in this article, which cover the terms and conditions of a specific project.

PUBLIC WORKS PROJECT

Any Public Works project for the construction, reconstruction, demolition or renovation of buildings entered into by the City using public funds, for which:

It is required by law that workers be paid the prevailing wage determined by the State Commissioner of Labor pursuant to the provisions of the "New Jersey Prevailing Wage Act", P.L. 1963, c. 150 (N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.25 et seq.); and

The total estimated cost of the project, exclusive of any land acquisition costs, will equal or exceed $5,000,000.

TAX ABATEMENT PROJECT

A project that has an estimated total construction cost that is equal to or exceeds $5,000,000, exclusive of any land acquisition costs, for which the City has granted a tax abatement pursuant to the Long Term Tax Exemption Act, N.J.S.A. 40A:20-1 et seq. However, any project that is being undertaken by a not-for-profit organization or which shall contain more that 50% affordable housing units shall be excluded.

§ 118-2 Project labor agreements required for certain projects.

All tax abatement projects and all requests for proposals, specifications and final contracts for Public Works projects shall require the execution of a project labor agreement that complies with the requirements of this article, unless the Business Administrator determines, taking into consideration the amount of City financial resources required and the increased cost and feasibility challenges that would result to the project, the nature, phasing, size and complexity of the project, including the height of the buildings, the presence or absence of elevators and the utilization or nonutilization of steel, that a project labor agreement is not appropriate. In all cases, the project labor agreement must advance the interests of the City of Camden, including labor cost savings, efficiency, quality, safety, timeliness, skilled labor force, labor stability, predictability of workflow, safety, and consistent with and following the State of New Jersey's own policy to advance minority- and women-owned businesses as provided under state law, regulations, and executive orders.

§ 118-3 General requirements.

The project labor agreements shall contain the following terms pursuant to this article and in accordance with N.J.S.A. 52:38-1 et seq.:

General terms.

(1)

A guarantee that there will be no strikes, lock-outs or other similar actions.

(2)

Set forth effective, immediate and mutually binding procedures for resolving jurisdictional and labor disputes arising before the completion of the work.

(3)

A provision to bind all contractors and subcontractors on a Public Works project or tax abatement project in all relevant project documents, including bid specifications.

(4)

Evidence that each contractor and subcontractor working on a Public Works project or tax abatement project has an apprenticeship program.

(5)

A requirement that 20% of the labor hours required shall be performed by apprentices and that 100% of the apprentices shall be Camden residents. However, if the labor organization can demonstrate in writing it made good faith efforts to increase enrollment of Camden residents in their apprenticeship programs but, despite these good faith efforts, fulfilling this requirement is not possible because there are not enough apprentices available, the required percentages of apprentices will be decreased accordingly. Upon written request of the City, the labor organization will provide the City with a list of all Camden residents enrolled in their apprenticeship programs.

(6)

Conformity with all statutes, regulations, executive orders and applicable City ordinances regarding the implementation of affirmative action requirements for women- and minority-owned businesses, the obligation to comply with which shall be expressly provided for in the project labor agreement.

(7)

State that contractors and subcontractors need not be a party to a labor agreement with the applicable labor organization other than for the project covered by the project labor agreement.

(8)

If applicable, require that each contractor agree to be monitored by a New Jersey State and federal agency to ensure that minorities, women or economically disadvantaged persons are afforded the opportunities to participate in apprenticeship programs, which result in the placement of apprentices on the project.

(9)

State that any and all Camden residents, who are already in any signatory union or an apprenticeship program, shall be referred to contractors or subcontractors who request them.

(10)

Include a publicly available plan regarding the shares of employment and apprenticeship positions in the Public Works project or tax abatement project for minority group members and women, which is in full conformance with the requirements of all applicable statutes, regulations, executive orders and local ordinances and is mutually agreed upon by the participating labor organizations engaged in the construction industry and the City or the developer, which will own the facilities, which are built, altered or repaired, provided that any shares mutually agreed upon pursuant to this subsection shall equal or exceed the requirements of other statutes, regulations, executive orders or local ordinances.

(11)

Require the contract to provide whatever resources may be needed to prepare for apprenticeship a number of women and minority members sufficient to enable compliance with the plan agreed upon pursuant to Subsection A(10) of this section and provide that the use of those resources be administered jointly by the participating labor organizations engaged in the construction industry and the City, or the developer or the community-based organizations selected by the City or the developer.

(12)

Require the City to monitor, or arrange to have a state agency monitor, the amount and share of work done on the project by minority group members and women and the progression of minority group members and women into apprentice and journey worker positions and require the City to make public, or have the State agency make public, all records of monitoring conducted pursuant to this subsection.

A requirement that developers and labor organizations engaged in the construction industry complete the following pre-construction actions:

(1)

Pre-construction meeting. Not less than 90 days prior to the commencement of construction, the developer will meet with the Business Administrator and/or her/his designee to present workforce needs, which will include the job description of the positions to be filled and the duration of the project. In addition, the developer will provide the construction schedule. The labor organization will present the developer and the City with the projected availability and trades of eligible apprentices, who are projected to be available to work on the project.

(2)

Advertisement. Not less than 60 days prior to the commencement of construction, the labor organization will advertise in two newspapers regularly published and distributed in Camden and outreach via other media, such as cable television, the internet, and/or radio. The advertisement will solicit apprenticeship applications for the labor organization's apprenticeship program, describe the basic requirements for admission, describe the job training and set for the range of salaries.

(3)

Job fairs. The developer and the labor organization will jointly participate in at least two job fairs to be held at a location to be provided by the City in order to explain the apprenticeship programs and solicit applications from attendees. Each participating developer shall pay a pro rata share of the costs of each job fair.

A requirement for local, minority, and women hiring goals providing that for each contractor or subcontractor performing work on a covered project, the project labor agreement shall provide that at least 30% of all project work hours will be performed by Camden residents and at least 30% of all project work hours will be performed by minorities and/or women. A contractor or subcontractor shall not be subject to enforcement actions for violations of this section if that contractor or subcontractor can demonstrate that it made good faith efforts to comply with same. For the purposes of this section, "good faith efforts" for a contractor or subcontractor shall at a minimum include compliance with the following:

(1)

Entry into a project labor agreement and obtaining letters of assent from each contractor and subcontractor.

(2)

Convene pre-bid and pre-construction meetings to educate construction managers and subcontractors about the local, minority, and women hiring goals.

(3)

Cooperate with City representative. The Contractor shall cooperate with the City representative designated by the City. Among other things, the City representative will:

(a)

Establish a point of contact to provide information about available job opportunities;

(b)

Develop and maintain an up-to-date list of qualified Camden residents by trade and confirm their residence in Camden;

(c)

Assist contractors with reporting by working with contractors and the City where appropriate.

(4)

Regularly contacting and documenting of contact with City representative, and providing certified payroll and other records on a regular basis to the City representative.

(5)

Use and documenting use of City-approved craft request forms sent to both unions and the City representative. "Craft request form" means a document through which contractors shall request workers from unions.

(6)

Requesting local, minority and women hires from union hiring halls.

(7)

Documenting reasons for not hiring referred candidates from target populations, if applicable.

(8)

Allowing the City representative prompt and willing access to documentation of all of the above activities and to the work site if requested.

§ 118-4 Reports and records.

The project labor agreement shall require the submission of the following reports to the Business Administrator on the 15th day of each month for the previous month, for each year of construction until project completion.

Manning report. The developer's report will accurately reflect the total hours in each construction trade or craft, and will list separately the work hours performed by City residents, including a list of minority resident and women resident workers in each trade or craft, by such employees of the contractor and each of its subcontractors during the previous quarter.

Certified payroll report. The developer's report that will specify the residence, gender and ethnic/racial origin of each worker, work hours and the rate of pay and benefits provided.

Equal employment opportunity reports. The labor organization's Local Union Report (EEO-3) and Apprenticeship Information Report (EEO-2), which are required to be filed with the US Commission of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by the labor organization.

Apprenticeship report. The Report of the labor organization shall list the names of all persons who were accepted in to the Apprenticeship Program.

Other reports. The developer or labor organization shall immediately furnish such reports or other documents to the City as the City may reasonably request from time to time in order to carry out the purposes of this article.

Records. Records to support the work hours stated in the above reports must be maintained for a period of three years after project completion. All records shall be made available to the City upon 10 days' prior written notices.

Site access. Officials, employees and representatives of the City shall be permitted to have appropriate access to all work sites and to all applicable records in order to monitor compliance with the provisions of this article.

§ 118-5 City remedies.

In the event of default, the developer shall be provided with a written notice of default allowing the developer 10 days to cure the default. Should the developer fail to cure, then in addition to any other remedies available at law or in equity including termination, the City shall be permitted to seek the following remedies for the failure to comply with this article, which remedies shall also be included in the project labor agreement.

Suspending or terminating the contract, grant, subsidy agreement or tax abatement agreement in question.

For Public Works projects, debarring the developer, contractor or subcontractor from eligibility for future City contracts.

Such other remedies available at law or in equity.

§ 118-6 Pre-apprenticeship training program.

Inter-agency cooperation. The City and the labor organization will solicit the support of the Camden City Board of Education; colleges, vocational schools, and other educational institutions located within Camden; the Camden Housing Authority; and other Camden-based organizations to maximize individuals' participation in the apprenticeship program among eligible City residents.

Preparatory services. The City and the labor organization shall be responsible for the development of a program to provide all necessary preparatory services for enrolled pre-apprentices, including assistance with GED preparation, obtaining driver's licenses, mentoring, and other supportive services for pre-apprentices. The pre-apprenticeship program shall be operated in such a manner that its successful graduates will be equipped and eligible for entry into the apprenticeship programs.

Mentoring. The City shall have the right to supervise pre-apprenticeship programs that may be operated by labor organizations engaged in the construction industry sponsoring apprenticeship programs and shall retain authority to review and approve the curriculum and procedures used to recruit and select participants.

§ 118-7 Implementation.

The City shall include language requiring compliance with this article in all financial agreements and other documents approved by the City that provide a tax abatement.

Any advertisement for a Public Works project published 60 days or more following the effective date of this article shall contain provisions conditioning the award of any contract on compliance with this article.

Any tax abatement where the tax abatement application is filed after the effective date of this article shall be subject to compliance with this article, if applicable.