By Brian Krieg, FocusPoint Communications
For the past six months, your SMACNA Oregon & Southwest Washington Government Affairs Committee has been actively engaged in the recent elections and preparing for the 2025 session of the Oregon Legislature. The 2025 session will be what is commonly referred to as a “long session” lasting almost six months. Long sessions occur in odd numbered years, starting in mid-January and ending by the last day in June. In even numbered years, the Legislature meets for only about six weeks, kicking off at the start of February. Long sessions are where the bulk of legislation occurs and Oregon’s biennial budget is passed.
On January 13, 2025, the Oregon Legislature convened in Salem and many recently elected new members were sworn in. Additionally, 2,284 legislative Bills were released for consideration. The session really kicks off on January 21 when committee hearings begin. The Capitol building is still under reconstruction, which makes logistics challenging for everyone involved in the process. Key issues for the Legislature in 2025 will be very similar to those presented over the past two years—homelessness and housing, education funding, and dealing with drug use and mental health problems. A new eight-year transportation plan and funding for it will also be a priority. A balanced two-year budget must also be passed, which occurs at the end of the session.
The foremost issue for SMACNA will be working with Local 16 to pass legislation clarifying and requiring routine testing of safety dampers by certified contractors and workforce in public buildings. The requirements should result in significant new and recurring work for SMACNA contractors and the skilled Local 16 workforce. Both organizations have been laying the groundwork for this push for the past six years, and this includes the creation of a damper demonstration module at the training center, which many legislators have seen in action. Our lead legislative sponsor is Rep. Dacia Grayber (D – Tigard) who is a union firefighter. The firefighters will be supporting our efforts along with the AFL-CIO and the State Building Trades Council.
SMACNA Oregon & SW Washington’s Government Affairs Committee worked hard during the recent election to select and support legislators and key state leaders who are supportive of this public safety issue. The committee provided contributions from the chapter’s Political Action Fund (PAC) to help. All of the legislators and statewide officials SMACNA supported won their elections. Our PAC is primarily funded through the purchase of tickets to our annual Crab Feed, which will be held February 28 this year. We hope to see you there.
Lastly, in a significant executive branch move in support of organized labor and union contractors, Governor Tina Kotek signed an executive order on December 18, 2024, establishing the required use of Project Labor Agreements on state construction and remodeling projects. In brief, Executive Order 31-24 directs state agencies to require that contractors and subcontractors negotiate and be party to a Project Labor Agreement with one or more appropriate labor organizations on projects where labor costs constitute at least 15% of the project costs.
The order additionally directs state agencies to set targets for the Certification Office for Business Inclusion & Diversity (COBID), track COBID and DBE firm use, and use a payroll system to track data on project labor. The executive order does allow an agency director to petition the governor to exempt a specific project.
This move from the governor comes as Associated General Contractors (AGC) is actively pursuing lawsuits against the use of Project Labor Agreements at the Oregon Department of Transportation. It remains to be seen how the current lawsuits will impact the executive order, or vice versa.
As agencies begin to work on compliance with the Executive Order, there will likely be conversations with the Governor’s office around a model Project Labor Agreement that can be used as a starting point for future agreements. Many details will need to be worked out. We expect the non-union side of the industry will push back against this order, and we will see how that impacts coming legislation in the 2025 Legislative session. ■
