Tensions ran high at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting as council members debated over the logistics of a possible Project Labor Agreement (PLA) in Long Beach. Council members Lena Gonzalez, Robert Uranga and Al Austin recommended that the city council approve the city manager to negotiate a citywide PLA for various construction projects. After nearly an hour of discussion, the council approved the recommendation with two dissenting votes from 5th District Councilmember Stacy Mungo and 3rd District Councilmember Suzie Price; 6th District Councilmember Dee Andrews absent. 

The PLA would implement apprenticeships and training programs, as well as recruit local workers to build various construction projects throughout the city of Long Beach. The goal of this PLA is to put together a workforce with at least 30 percent of workers residing in Long Beach zip codes. If enough workers in those zip codes cannot be found, then the search will be expanded first to people living within a 15-mile radius of Long Beach and then to those in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

The proposal’s wording spiked discussion, especially over the hiring of a community workforce coordinator. Third District councilwoman Suzie Price requested that the position be eliminated, but First District councilwoman Lena Gonzalez—one of the instigators of the PLA movement—did not allow the change.

Mungo stated that the recommendation needed to be ironed out further before she would make any final decisions. She suggested the council tweak the recommendation by lowering the PLA period from five years to three, as well as add a stipulation that would require the council to annually review the costs and values of the PLA projects.

“I don’t want to approve an item that I don’t know the fiscal impact of,” Mungo said.

This is not the first time Long Beach has used a PLA. In 2010, the City Council approved a project-specific workforce to build the new concourse at the Long Beach Airport. The council also authorized the city manager to conduct a study this past July to review the possibility of using PLAs in future building projects.

The city manager will report back to the City Council in 30 days on the progress of the PLA negotiations.

Editor’s note: this article originally reported that the PLA was unanimously passed; Mungo and Price actually dissented.