Template revised April 12, 2018.
COMMISSION
AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Item No.
11a
BRIEFING ITEM
Date of Meeting
July 23, 2024
DATE: June 13, 2024
TO: Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director
FROM: Brian Sweet, Director of Engineering- Construction Management
Sheri Cook, Construction Labor Group Manager
Samuel Pierce, Apprenticeship and Priority Hire Manager
SUBJECT: 2023 Apprenticeship and Priority Hire Annual Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Port of Seattle (Port) is a regional and national leader in equity and social justice. This
commitment is part and parcel to promoting economic inclusivity and social responsibility. In line
with this commitment, the Port strives to identify barriers and eliminate disparities across our
Port-related workforce sectors. The Port promotes economic fairness by ensuring all workers
have the same opportunities and resources. The Port’s Apprenticeship and Priority Hire
programs provide a pipeline for workers from all backgrounds and from economically distressed
areas to obtain on-the-job training, classroom instruction, family-sustaining wages with annual
increases, health care benefits and retirement. These two programs contribute to the economic
revitalization of our communities. The Port and our regional partners continue to provide
opportunities for those who can’t overcome significant hurdles on their own. From connecting
disenfranchised workers with an overall support system that includes finding training,
counseling, and basic needs assistance, to job search and placement for these workers.
The Port continually evaluates these programs to increase our impact with more opportunities
to all. Focusing on issues such as disconnected youth, aligning efforts with regional agencies,
targeting disparity zip codes, addressing employment opportunities and other programs raises
the awareness that high paying careers in construction are careers worth pursuing.
The 2023 Apprenticeship and Priority Hire Annual Report was published on (Insert date when
known). This briefing to the Commission will share the Port’s 2023 results of both programs on
our major works projects, and the oncoming and upcoming work.
BACKGROUND AND GOALS
Port Commission Resolution 3725 recognized that effective and economical execution of the
Port’s capital program depended on a healthy and diverse market of contractors and suppliers,
and on the availability of a skilled, experienced, and capable construction labor workforce. To
COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. 11a Page 2 of 3
Meeting Date: July 23, 2024
Template revised September 22, 2016.
meet the construction needs, the Port recognized that this workforce must include participation
by women, workers of color and those living in economically distressed neighborhoods.
Apprenticeship, Pre-apprenticeship and Priority Hire programs together play a key role both in
providing fair access for individuals and supplying enough trained and capable workers.
Resolution 3725 also requires the establishment of apprenticeship goals, and aspirational women
and workers of color apprentice hiring goals. Resolution 3736 establishes a Priority Hire policy
that ensures family wage construction jobs for local workers from economically distressed areas
and can increase the diversity of the workforce on Port construction projects.
CONSTRUCTION APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM
The Port of Seattle’s commitment to Apprenticeship utilization was first adopted thirty years ago
and continues to be committed to achieving its apprenticeship hiring goals set in Port policy and
addressing the disproportionately low involvement by people of color and women in the
construction labor force.
Apprentice utilization goals for non-Project Labor Agreement (non-PLA) major works
construction projects are set at 15% and includes a goal of 10% of apprenticeship hours for
women and 15% for people of color. In 2018, the Construction Labor Group negotiated new goals
to increase percentages for people of color and women for projects with a Project Labor
Agreement. The apprentice utilization goals for Project Labor Agreement (PLA) projects are now
set at 15% per craft, which includes a goal of 12% of apprenticeship hours for women and 21%
for people of color. These goals are in alignment with the other Regional Public Agencies.
2023 Apprenticeship Performance Summary
• In 2023 the Port exceeded our overall construction workforce development goals
on our capital projects.
o 20.7% apprenticeship utilization
• There were 50 active projects with apprenticeship goals that resulted in:
o 202,160 total apprenticeship hours that included four Tenant
Reimbursable contracts (up from 140,916 hours in 2022)
o 188,211 total apprenticeship hours were performed under Twenty-two
(22) projects were under a Project Labor Agreement (PLA). This is a 93.1% of
all apprentice hours. In 2022 87.5% of apprentice hours were performed on
PLA projects.
o In total, contractors paid over $61 million in wages and benefits to
construction workers on these 50 Port projects with over $9.3 million paid to
525 apprentices.
CONSTRUCTION PRIORITY HIRE PROGRAM
The Port of Seattle supports the City of Seattle and King County findings that King County has
geographic areas of economic distress as evidenced by poverty indicators. The Priority Hire
program expands opportunities for disadvantaged populations to advance equity and social
COMMISSION AGENDA – Briefing Item No. 11a Page 3 of 3
Meeting Date: July 23, 2024
Template revised September 22, 2016.
justice and ensures that Port construction projects are planned and implemented in a way that
improves equity in local communities.
The Priority Hire program, which is only administered on PLA projects, requires contractors to
hire workers from economically distressed areas of King County. Priority Hire ZIP codes are
defined by King County as having a high concentration of residents based on these three
criteria:
• People living 200% or more below the federal poverty level
• High concentration of unemployed people per acre or share of total
residents
• People without a college degree
King County ZIP codes with a high density per acre of the three criteria are identified as
Economically Distressed Areas (EDA) and included on the Priority Hire ZIP code list published by
King County’s Finance and Business Operations Division.
The goal for Priority Hire utilization is 20% annually and is administered only through a Project
Labor Agreement. 2023 was the fourth year we applied a Priority Hire program to new non-FAA
Project Labor Agreements.
2023 Priority Hire Performance Summary
• There were 10 active projects with Priority Hire goals that resulted in:
o 51,496 Priority Hire hours (up from 17,056 in 2022).
o 283 Priority Hire workers were paid $2.98 million in wages and benefits.
o Priority Hire workers performed 24.3% of all labor hours on these projects.
Inclusion goals for apprentices, journey workers, women, or people of color have not been
established, but tracking of performance in these areas is ongoing to better understand
performance of these programs.
• Priority Hire worker utilization for people of color was 40.15% up from 34.8% in
2022.
• Priority Hire worker utilization for women was 6.07% up from 1.9% in 2022.
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS BRIEFING
(1) Presentation
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS
June 13, 2023– The Commission was briefed on the 2022 Apprenticeship and Priority Hire Annual
Report
