Construction council backs Westchester County IDA’s policy to promote local hiring

A policy that was approved by the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency to prioritize local labor has gained the support of the Construction Industry Council of Westchester and Hudson Valley, which said it will have a job-boosting effect for local taxpayers.

According to John Cooney, executive director of the CIC, “If development projects receive county subsidies in the form of incentive financing through the IDA, it should be the local taxpayers who also benefit from the jobs these building projects create.”

He also stated that the policy will benefit local building tradespeople, who were previously shut out of the bidding process on many new development projects.

The policy will require that 85% of workers on any development project that receives benefits or incentives from the IDA be local to the area (from Westchester, Rockland, Bronx, Orange, Putnam or Dutchess counties) and that 35% must be Westchester residents. It states that these projects “should employ local laborers, mechanics, craft persons, journey workers, equipment operators, truck drivers and apprentices, including those who have returned from military service, during the construction phase of projects.”

Board members voted unanimously to approve the measure at a Feb. 25 IDA meeting.

The policy was modeled from similar guidelines that were set forth by the Orange County IDA.

Discussions began in December 2020, between Cooney, Westchester County Director Of Operations Joan McDonald, County Executive George Latimer and representatives from the Buildings Trade Council.

In addition to the labor policy, the board also passed regulations regarding other workplace requirements for projects receiving IDA incentives. One policy regarding job site safety requires an OSHA 10-hour training course, which could be increased to a 30-hour requirement, and also mandates drug screening for employees.

Other policies will require that workers be certified to work in New York state and have insurance such as worker’s compensation. Regulations also passed regarding certified payrolls and the monitoring of records to ensure fair payment for workers.

Subcontractors for IDA-incentivized projects will now be required to be enrolled in apprenticeship programs, and the same policy allows 10% of the fees collected by the IDA  to be put into a fund for apprenticeship programs.

The measures will go into effect on April 26.