Sec. 10A-158.00.02. Legislative findings and policy

The County Council finds that the County manages and oversees a significant capital construction budget and is committed to ensuring that capital construction funding helps create high quality careers in construction for Prince George's County residents, including women, all ethnics groups within its population, veterans, returning citizens, and residents with social and economic disadvantages.

The County Council finds that the County is one of the nation's most economically affluent counties with a majority African American population, but that significant segments of its population face economic, educational and career development obstacles.

The County Council finds 8.8 percent of County residents were unemployed in 2021; that approximately 78,000 county residents currently live in poverty, two-thirds of whom are African-American; and that approximately 30 percent of County high school graduates do not attend college.

The County Council finds that the County has the highest unemployment rate in the Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area, demonstrating the need for the creation of economic opportunities and career pathways for historically disadvantaged and under-represented people as a foundation of the county's continued development.

The County Council finds that project labor agreements, as outlined in Sec. 10A-157 Declaration of findings and policy, are strategic vehicles for addressing the legitimate needs and interests of underserved populations that historically have been excluded from the benefits of economic and career path development.

The County Council finds that project labor agreements are an effective tool for promoting access to construction career opportunities for members of targeted communities and populations and help strengthen community-labor partnerships by establishing enforceable labor standards through collective bargaining that protect job quality.

The County Council recognizes that well-trained workers earning family-supporting wages with employer-sponsored health insurance and retirement plans contribute to the economic prosperity of the county and reduce the need for county-provided safety net services.

The County Council finds that local and state governments across the country have successfully leveraged tax dollars to uplift citizens in their respective districts through the use of project labor agreements.

The County Council finds that project labor agreements have been underused by the County, and that a pilot project labor agreement targeting on construction projects that create entry-level positions for residents is both necessary and desirable.