When the Fresno City Council approved an agreement with local labor unions in 2021, the goal was significantly more local hires.

A new report shows that the Project Labor Agreement is falling short of its goals.

Approved by the city council in 2021 and taking effect a year later, the pact has resulted in more than $86 million of PLA projects. The agreement with local unions on hiring practices and other parameters is triggered on city projects with a $1 million threshold.

Supporters say PLA projects help deliver jobs on time and on budget by using union labor. Opponents say the PLA unfairly denies city jobs to nonunion contractors.

Built-in goals called for 30% to 55% local hires for key job categories. City staff is scheduled to present the annual PLA report to the city council on Thursday. The report shows a local hiring shortfall.

Chuck Riojas, executive director with the Fresno, Madera, Tulare Counties Building and Construction Trades Council — the union group that negotiated the deal — said the numbers were “set very optimistically” and are “difficult” to achieve.

“It’s still a relatively new program,” Riojas said. “Those are goals, best effort-type goals to accommodate. So any apprenticeship numbers we get in the positive, I think it is a positive.”

The two-year progress report — covering January 2022 through January 2024 — show only 42% of workhours on PLA projects for the journeyman class were performed by Fresno residents instead of the 50% goal; 30% for apprentice hours instead of 55%; and 23% of new apprentice hours, instead of 30%.

Critic Calls PLA Pact ‘a Disaster’

PLA critics jumped on the report.

“The PLA has been a disaster, which is not surprising for anyone that understands when you lock out 90% of the construction workforce from being able to work on your projects, this is what you get,” said Eric Christen, executive director of the Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction.

The city sent the union a written notice in July 2024 of the shortfall. The sides met in September “to discuss status and established desire to assess options to improve outcomes,” according to a staff report.

If the numbers do not approve by February, the city will issue a written notice.

“No excuses. You know, we’ll continue and strive to do better with the local hire piece,” Riojas said.

Current PLA projects include the FAX facility improvement, Blackstone/McKinley train tracks grade separation, and several road fixes.

City Councilmembers Still Support

The council approved the PLA on Jan. 7, 2021 by a 6-1 vote. Five of the councilmembers remain. Mike Karbassi, Miguel Arias, Tyler Maxwell, Luis Chavez, Nelson Esparza and Esmeralda Soria — now a two-term state Assemblymember — voted in favor. Garry Bredefeld, who voted no, will soon join the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.

Esparza is willing to give the local hiring goals more time.

“I think it’s really one of those situations where we shot for the stars, missed, and landed on the clouds. And so I’m not discouraged. I’m not dissuaded. I’m still very much a firm believer in this PLA,” Esparza said.

Maxwell still supports the program, and suggested counting workers in county islands as local hires.

“But for all intents and purposes, they contribute in so many aspects of city life. They rely on city services. They pay many city taxes. They contribute to our local economy,” Maxwell said.

Chavez wants to consider expanding local hire to mean surrounding Fresno County communities.

Acknowledging the hiring goals are ambitious, Chavez said they are improved from when the city did not engage in PLA.

“We were essentially getting contractors that were coming in, doing the work here from Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Oregon, and then taking in 100% of all of those incomes back home to where they were at. Great for them. Terrible for us,” Chavez said.

Rex Hime, government relations director with the Western Electrical Contractors Association, said the PLA restricts who is eligible to be hired. He said WECA apprentices would not be eligible for local hire because they are not part of a union program.

“I think the question isn’t are the local hire goals too high? I think the question is if local hire is a priority, why would you not allow all local workers to work on the city of Fresno’s projects?” Hime said.

Christen offered a solution.

“What they could do is to alter the (contract), and allow it to not discriminate against nonunion contractors, workers, and apprentices. Of course, this completely Big Labor special interest-owned city council would never do such a thing,” Christen said.

The PLA Battle

The 2021 PLA vote drastically changed the city’s long-held policy for union labor on public works projects.

Christen said the council rejected bids on some projects because they came in higher than city estimates. He blamed PLA mandates.

Also on Thursday’s agenda, the city council will vote on rejecting a bid for a $2.6 million airport noise mitigation project. Only one contractor — from Syracuse, New York — bid on the project. The bid was $3.3 million.

Other recent bid rejections because of high costs include a parking garage project and renovation of Radio Park.

Riojas rejects that argument that the pact raises costs. He says prevailing wages must be paid regardless.

“It’s just a matter of them coming in too high. I can speculate as to why that is, but I’d hate to do so. The contractor has every right to build the job the way they want,” Riojas said.

Chavez also defended the PLA while criticizing nonunion contractors.

“They have no merit, no credence, but they have their own agenda. Right? They want to come in and do low bids and do shoddy work. And that’s just not what the city of Fresno is going to be doing,” Chavez said.