Template revised January 10, 2019.
COMMISSION
AGENDA MEMORANDUM Item No. 8e
ACTION ITEM Date of Meeting December 9, 2025
DATE : November 17, 2025
TO: Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director
FROM: Janice Zahn, Chief Engineer
Greg Gauthier, Labor Relations Manager
SUBJECT: Project Labor Agreement for FAA-Funded Covered Projects between the Port of
Seattle and the Seattle/King County Building and Construction Trades Council (SBT),
and Western States Regional Council of Carpenters
ACTION REQUESTED
Request Commission authorization for the Executive Director to execute a new project labor
agreement (PLA) for FAA-funded projects between the Port of Seattle and the Seattle/King
County Building and Construction Trades Council (SBT), and Western States Regional Council of
Carpenters, covering the period from August 20, 2025, through December 31, 2028.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Good faith bargaining between the Seattle/King County Building and Construction Trades
Council, and Western States Regional Council of Carpenters, and the Port of Seattle resulted in a
fair bargaining agreement consistent with the Port’s priorities. The FAA has approved the
tentative agreement.
The Port of Seattle Commission Policy Directive on Construction Labor Practices for projects
located on Port of Seattle Property (Policy Directive), established in October 2016, provides
direction for construction labor for projects on Port property. The purposes of the policy directive
are to expand access to construction jobs; ensure fair treatment of workers; promote labor
harmony and uninterrupted work progress; and improve safety at construction sites. It also
chartered the Projects and Procurements Committee to work with staff and stakeholders to
develop standard language to be used in project labor agreements (PLAs). During negotiations in
2025, Port staff, Seattle/King County Building and Construction Trades Council, and Western
States Regional Council of Carpenters, have agreed on such standard language. The agreed
language is to remain in force through December 31, 2028.
The negotiations for the FAA-PLA were brief and resulted in a document consistent with previous
Port PLAs for FAA-funded covered projects with minor modification. Minor modifications include
updating the name of the negotiating body for the Carpenters union from Northwest
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8e Page 2 of 3
Meeting Date: December 9, 2025
Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting).
Construction Alliance II to Western States Regional Council of Carpenters; enhancing small
business outreach and participation; updating the list of pre-apprenticeship training programs
for preferred entry; removing gender specific language; updating the Substance Abuse appendix
to mirror the language in the Safety Management specification; and general revisions to language
for clarity. The standard language is consistent with previous Port PLAs for FAA-funded covered
projects.
JUSTIFICATION
The policy directive established PLA decision criteria, established procedures for applying labor
standards to different categories of construction contracts on Port property, and directed the
following:
The Projects and Procurements Committee is hereby chartered to work with staff and
stakeholders to develop standard language to be included in Port PLAs unless otherwise
authorized by the Commission.
During the period of March - August 2025, Port staff from Labor Relations and Engineering
negotiated the PLA language with leaders from SBT, Carpenters, and member unions.
Negotiations were simple as the majority of the PLA language was rolled over from the previous
agreement.
In general, in return for commitment to no work stoppages or slowdowns, the PLA requires that
except for named exceptions, all craft labor will be dispatched from union halls and employers
will pay into the benefit funds of the respective trade unions. The PLA document is incorporated
into the contract between the Port and the general contractor and by extension to
subcontractors. Highlights of the current agreement include:
• Reference to the Construction Labor Practices policy directive.
• Conflicts with Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) have been minimized and the
precedence of the CBAs affirmed.
• Unions and contractors commit to outreach to Small Business Enterprises with training
and assistance and to facilitate entry into the building and construction trades of
military veterans.
• Reduced risk to operations impacts and construction schedule delays caused by
potential labor disputes.
• Dispute and grievance resolution procedures remain in place.
• Jurisdictional trade assignment dispute resolution process remains in place.
• Consistent with State law, the apprenticeship utilization goal remains at 15 percent,
but the aspirational goals for the share of minority and women apprentices are 21
percent and 12 percent, respectively.
• Subcontractors who are not party to CBAs may request by name the referral of up to 5
“core” workers.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8e Page 3 of 3
Meeting Date: December 9, 2025
Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting).
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS REQUEST
(1) Proposed PLA Standard Language for FAA-funded covered projects
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS
None.
