Union support for a proposed Portland street fund is pretty lukewarm so far.
Unions, particularly the building trades, often endorse public investment in jobs and infrastructure. In this case, Portland Mayor Charlie Hales and Commissioner Steve Novick are proposing a business fee and a progressive income tax that after administrative costs would net roughly $34 million a year to fund pavement maintenance and street safety improvements. But COPPEA, the independent union that represents city transportation engineers, has been the only union to testify in favor of it at City Hall. One other union, Laborers Local 483, approved a conditional resolution of support after some debate at its Nov. 18 general membership meeting. [Local 483 represents workers at the Portland Bureau of Transportation who’d actually do much of the maintenance work.] That’s it thus far. Neither the Columbia-Pacific Building and Construction Trades Council nor the Northwest Oregon Labor Council has taken a position on it.
Of course, the proposal isn’t currently headed for a ballot, and Portland City Council doesn’t need union say-so to move forward. But Paul Romain, lobbyist for Oregon Fuels Association, has pledged to refer it to voters by working to gather 21,000 signatures within 30 days of the ordinance’s passage. If that happens, City leaders are sure to come to labor asking for help defending the street fund.
As outlined by PBOT, Portland businesses would pay a fee of between $3 and $144 a month under the proposed ordinance, depending on square footage, number of employees, and gross revenue; non-profits would pay 50 percent of the for-profit rate. Residents, meanwhile, would pay based on income: $5 a month for a couple making $40,000 to $60,000 a year, $7.50 a month for a couple making $60,000-$75,000, and $10 a month between $75,000 and $100,000, all the way up to $75 a month for couples making more than $350,000.
The push for more street funding comes after the City Auditor published a pair of reports in 2013 that faulted the City of Portland for neglecting street maintenance. The audits found that funding for core services like maintaining streets has been displaced by new transportation commitments taken on by the City, including the Sellwood Bridge replacement, the Portland Milwaukie Light Rail line, and expansions of the Portland Street Car. The auditor recommended that the City spend an additional $75 million a year for 10 years on street maintenance — in order to avoid more expensive repairs later on. The proposed street fund wouldn’t even come close to that: It would spend about $15 million on street maintenance like sealing and repaving, and slightly less on safety improvements — like sidewalks around David Douglas High School, street medians, and flashing beacons at dangerous intersections.
At a Nov. 20 breakfast hosted by the Northwest Oregon Labor Council, Mayor Charlie Hales told labor leaders that the City tries to do most street maintenance work in-house, because it’s more efficient. But the street fund would also open up opportunities for private sector jobs: Projects valued at over $250,000 must be contracted to the private sector, under state law, and would be subject to a state requirement to pay the prevailing wage. PBOT has estimated that the maintenance work would add 59 City jobs, including 28 front-line jobs. The ordinance would also lead to the creation of 22 new positions in the Revenue Bureau. The City hasn’t produced an estimate of private sector jobs.
Portland City Council is scheduled to vote on the proposal Dec. 10.
12/15/14 UPDATE: Northwest Oregon Labor Council voted Dec. 8 to support it, but with conditions, and it was not unanimous. The conditions are that there be a labor seat on the fund’s oversight committee, and that the street projects be covered by the requirement to pay prevailing wage. And the Portland City Council is now expected to vote on the proposal Jan. 7.
