Leading Practices

Leading Practices

• The US Department of Transportation incorporated job quality and equity requirements into the RAISE (Rebuilding America's Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) discretionary grant program. This program includes language urging applicants to (1) support the creation of good-paying jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union; (2) provide opportunities for all workers including workers underrepresented in construction jobs to be trained and placed in good-paying jobs directly related to the project; (3) use project labor agreements and/or local hire provisions, training and placement programs for underrepresented workers and (4) adopt an "equity and inclusion program/plan" focused on "procurement, material sourcing, construction, inspection and hiring.”

• The US Department of Energy incorporated requirements into the Battery Materials Processing Grants program to create good-paying clean energy jobs such as those at or above prevailing wage, recruiting and hiring "local workers especially from underserved communities, properly classifying workers as employees, providing permanent jobs and predictable schedules, and delivering skilled workforce training.”

• In 2020, Virginia passed a law lifting a previous ban on union organizing by municipal workers, thereby allowing localities to recognize and collectively bargain with unions by passing an ordinance. A number of Virginia localities have since passed collective bargaining ordinances, including the city of Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County and the Richmond School Board.

• The Board of County Commissioners in Miami-Dade County established a Living Wage Ordinance for employees paid through county service contracts to allow citizens to support themselves and their families above the poverty line and with dignity. The living wage applies to contracts valued at greater than $100,000 and all service contractors at Miami-Dade Aviation Department facilities regardless of contract value for various covered services as defined in the provisions of Miami-Dade County's Living Wage Ordinances. Effective October 1, 2022, the living wage is $15.03 per hour with qualifying health benefits valued at least $3.70 per hour or $18.73 per hour.

• New York City launched the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, a living wage law that includes wages and health benefits for workers. The law requires certain employers that receive at least $1 million of financial assistance from the city or a city economic development entity to pay no less than the living wage to their employees at the project site, unless the employer qualifies for certain exemptions. As of April 1, 2022, the living wage rate of $15.00 and health benefit supplement of $2.05 applies.