EVERETT — Many city construction projects will be required to utilize more apprentice labor after the City Council approved an ordinance Wednesday expanding Everett’s apprenticeship requirements.
The city already had mandates for certain city construction or renovation projects to use apprentices for at least 15% of a project’s labor hours. Those requirements were in place for all projects on city buildings with a cost exceeding $1 million, or any other public construction or renovation project with a cost exceeding $5 million.
But in 2023, the state Legislature passed a law bringing that threshold down to $2 million. Under the law, that threshold will drop to $1.5 million by July 2026 and $1 million by July 2028.
The new ordinance, approved unanimously by the council, accelerates that timeline set by state law. It will implement the $1 million threshold by July 2027 rather than 2028.
Council members were enthusiastic in their support of the ordinance.
“It is a major step forward for our workforce and long-term strength of our local economy,” council member Paula Rhyne said Wednesday. “By ensuring that public projects invest in apprenticeship opportunities, we’re creating vital pathways for the next generation of our skilled workers and promoting upward mobility in the trades. Thank you all who have worked on this. It’s more than just building infrastructure, it’s building futures.”
The ordinance will likely have to be amended at a later date, council member Mary Fosse said Wednesday, to align with a new law the state Legislature approved in April that will require some bidders to submit plans showing how they will utilize apprentices on public projects.
“We’ll have language for that later, but I’m really excited for this to finally pass,” Fosse said.
Supporters of the ordinance previously said it would provide meaningful opportunities to apprentices working on city projects.
The ordinance will also require city administration to provide annual reports to the City Council showing the number of apprentices, organized by trade, used on city projects. Those reports will also include the number of percentages of minorities, women, veterans and Everett residents used as apprentices on each project.
It also gives the city leeway to approve certain contracts with companies who are unable to comply with the requirements due to a lack of apprentice availability or high material costs, as long as the contractors “demonstrated a good faith effort to comply with the requirements” of the ordinance, it reads.
“Thank you for labor’s representation and your participation in this process,” council president Don Schwab said Wednesday. “It’s been really good to see the two can work together to come up with some good legislation.”
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
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