While Seattle enjoys a substantial boom in construction and related employment, the city is struggling to balance the needs of contractors with demands for local hiring for Seattle construction and infrastructure projects.
The Seattle City Council is considering a local hire ordinance that will require construction companies working in Seattle to hire workers from within and close to the city.
In many cases, workers on city-backed projects aren’t from Seattle or even the surrounding King County area, according to MyNorthwest.com,
Supporters of the ordinance believe that city-funded projects should employ workers from the Seattle area. This keeps city tax dollars paid to construction workers in the local economy. At the same time, it gives a substantial boost to local employment and helps those workers in Seattle who need a job.
In contrast, opponents say that Seattle doesn’t have enough skilled workers to meet the increasing demand for skilled construction labor. They also fear that without the ability to hire from a larger geographical area, the costs of major projects such as roads will increase substantially.
A coalition of local builders, policy experts and workers has already devised a preliminary set of recommendations, but the issue still demands attention to reach a resolution that will accommodate both sides.
For example, forecasts indicate the region will see a substantial shortage of construction workers by 2019. To prevent the problems that this expected shortage will cause and to address the current issue of hiring local workers, the city should invest in job training and education for the construction industry, said city councilmember Sally Clark.
The city council also has to resolve other matters, such as the actual definition of “local” and maintaining an environment in which both union and nonunion workers and contractors can bid competitively.
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