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Realizing that a construction industry is essential to the vibrant future of New York
City, its activities are dedicated to a building environment meeting the highest of
environmental standards, integrity, cost efficiency, productivity and value that
contributes to improving the quality of life in New York City.
2
A BLUEPRINT FOR
ACHIEVING MINORITY
& WOMEN-OWNED
BUSINESS 30% GOALS
PUBLISHER Kristine Di Napoli
Louis J. Coletti President
President KND Licensed Electrical Contracting
Building Trades Employers Association
Anne Rascon
Principal
Rascon Associates, LLC
Denise Richardson
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Executive Director
Richard Armellino
General Contractors Association of NY
CFO & COO
Megrant Corporation Arthur Rubenstein
President
Dr. Thomas Boston Skyline Steel Corporation
CEO Subcontractors Trade Association
EuQuant Analytics
Bruce Ruinsky
Cesar Cardenas Executive Director
ESQ Association of Master Painters & Decorators
Pitta & Giblin, LLP
William Shuzman
Steven M. Charney, Esq. Executive Director
Chairman Allied Building & Metal Industries
Peckar & Abramson, PC
General Counsel Sylvia Strauss Figueroa
Building Trades Employers Association Law Offices of William Rothberg
Roofing & Waterproofing
Felice Farber Contractors Association
Director
General Contractors Charles Williams
Association of NY Partner
Peckar & Abramson, PC
R.G. McGuire General Counsel
Kauff, McGuire & Margolis LLP BTEA Minority & Women-Owned Business
Contractors Association of Leadership Council
Greater New York, Inc.
Aislinn McGuire
Kauff, McGuire & Margolis LLP
Contractors Association of
Greater New York, Inc.
3
BUILDING TRADES
EMPLOYERS
ASSOCIATION
MINORITY &
WOMEN BUSINESS
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
4
THE BTEA MINORITY & WOMEN-OWNED
BUSINESS LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
CO-CHAIRPERSONS MEMBERS
Stephanie Burns Gina Addeo Prakash Kapadia
Turner Construction Company ADCO Electric Kanta Electric
Lisa Howlett
Hunter Roberts Construction Group
Bernadette Jeronimo
JCF Electric
5
WHEN GOALS CANT BE
REACHED, DONT ADJUST
THE GOALS, ADJUST THE
ACTION STEPS.
-Confucius (500 B.C.)
6
INTRODUCTION
When the Building Trades Employers Association looks at New York Citys growing
skyline and infrastructure- it sees more than just concrete, steel glass and bricks. It
sees business opportunities, tax revenues, jobs and an improved quality of life.
The Building Trades Employers Association has long supported efforts to grow
Minority/Women Owned businesses. A 2007 BTEA report "A Blueprint For The
Successful Growth of Minority & Women-Owned Construction Companies", identified
many of the obstacles M/WBE companies face including recommendations for
change. Ten years later, many of those same obstacles exist, and too few of those
recommendations were adopted.
Construction is a high-risk business. According to data from Dun & Bradstreet, since
1988, construction businesses failed at a higher rate than any other business enterprise
in any sector of the U.S. economy. US Census Bureau data shows that six (6) of every
ten (10) construction companies fail within five years of their establishment.
Public Policies that were developed to increase business opportunities for minority
and womenowned businesses have been in place for over 30 years. Despite decades
of well-intentioned programs, too few M/WBE businesses have benefited.
1 A Groundbreaking, and first of its kind in the Nation M/WBE Capacity Study
based on NYC contract award data from 2012-2015, conducted by Dr. Thomas
Boston, President, EuQuant Economic Research;
2 T his Public Policy paper, which includes recommendations to expand the capacity
of M/WBE Contractors to compete for contracts and grow their businesses;
The BTEA commissioned these 2 reports in the hope they will serve as a catalyst to
bring together NYC and NYS public policy leaders, M/WBE Advocates and contractors
and BTEA Contractors to affect the changes, necessary in order to achieve a 30% goal.
7
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
MAJOR CONCLUSIONS
8
CORE PRINCIPALS OF STUDY:
PRINCIPAL 1
TO OFFER EFFECTIVE, CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMS TO
OVERCOME HISTORICAL OBSTACLES TO BUILDING
M/WBE CAPACITY.
PRINCIPAL 2
TO CREATE A STREAMLINED AND FUNCTIONAL M/WBE
CERTIFICATION PROCESS THAT PROVIDES THE INFORMATION
RELEVANT TO THE M/WBE FIRMS ABILITY TO PERFORM SPECIFIC
TYPES AND SIZE OF CONTRACTS
RECOMMENDATIONS
4 E stablish a New York State General Liability Insurance fund for small and
M/WBE Companies.
5 E liminate The Threshold of Personal Financial Net Worth and Other Financial
Limitations of M/WBEs.
11 N ew York City And New York State Agencies Should Work With The BTEA
To Establish Project Labor Agreement (PLA) Educational Programs, and To
Develop Technical Support for M/WBEs Working On PLA Projects.
9
CORE PRINCIPLES
PRINCIPLE 1
TO OFFER EFFECTIVE, CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMS TO
OVERCOME HISTORICAL OBSTACLES TO BUILDING
M/WBE CAPACITY.
Both NYC and NYS should be applauded for establishing financial assistance programs
that provides M/WBE companies with low interest loan opportunities to assist them
with the cash flow needed to build capacity and grow their firms.
The NYS Bridge To Success program currently invests $20 million to expand access
to short-term bridge loans for M/WBE companies who have been awarded a City or
State contract which are used as collateral for the loan.
NYC has created a City Contract Financing Loan Program which offers funds capped
at 3% APR to eligible M/WBEs for loans of up to $500,000.
While commendable, these programs are only a start. For M/WBEs to grow and
thrive, the need for capital cannot be emphasized enough and funding availability
must be greatly increased to a minimum of $100 million for each fund.
10
BONDING AND GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE
The construction industry relies heavily on the support of the general liability
insurance and surety industries given the elevated risk of injury, property damage
and potential defaults. Insurance carriers and insurers, particularly in the state of
New York are reluctant to write policies for new companies. Emerging contractors,
including M/WBEs, are among the most vulnerable in this regard, often left without
the ability to meet surety and insurance requirements required to secure contracts.
Only after sustained performance and success are insurers willing to accept greater
exposure. As a result, the inability to secure insurance and bonding limits the contract
opportunities that M/WBEs can pursue.
Access to general liability insurance is an especially acute concern in New York State
due to the effects of Labor Law 240 (known as the Scaffold Law). That law imposes
an absolute liability standard on construction contractors. New York is the only state
in the nation that has such a standard and insurance companies continue to withdraw
from the New York market as result. Efforts to reform Labor Law 240 have been
unsuccessful for over 30 years. Consequently, it is virtually impossible for small and
M/WBE contractors 1) to obtain general liability insurance at an affordable cost or
2) to obtain it at all.
Absent a solution that facilitates insurance and bonding for M/WBEs will only
continue to place a ceiling on the growth and success of M/WBEs. Access to insurance
and bonding must be made available to M/WBEs in order to successfully deal with this
constraint.
11
The NYC School Construction Authority (SCA) and, more recently, the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (MTA) and the Port Authority of NY and NJ, are models of
successful technical assistance programs that should be expanded and offered by
every city and state agency.
The SCA and MTA maintain (and pay for) construction service companies and
industry-related professionals, such as construction managers, construction lawyers
and construction accountants, to assist M/WBEs when it is necessary to ensure the
successful completion of a project they are building.
12
The Port Authoritys Mentor Program establishes three tiers of contract thresholds
based on their capacity to do work. M/WBEs then proceed through a series of ten
construction courses taught by volunteers from the construction industry and related
professions.
The Port Authority Mentor also provides a live project on which M/WBEs work, but
not under the direct supervision of the prime contractor that is building the project
for the agency. Mentors then review the M/WBEs progress in the field over a period
of time that could take up to four years to complete. This program has a high success
rate of M/WBE firms in both completing the Mentorship Program and increasing the
size of contracts firms can perform as a result of this training.
Beyond agency sponsored contractors' training and mentorship programs, the most
timely and effective support for M/WBE contractors could come from the prime
contractor that hired the M/WBE for a project they are preforming. Prime contractors
are precluded from providing technical assistance to a M/WBE contractor on a project
where there is a direct contractual relationship.
Under applicable city and state law an M/WBE must be able to perform a
Commercially Useful Function. Law enforcement officials have interpreted the
Commercially Useful Function standard to mean any assistance, even such as a
prime contractor's on-site mechanic fixing an M/WBEs equipment as a violation of
that standard.
Consequently, M/WBEs not only face the substantial, yet common, challenges of
developing a construction business, but face the deficit of essentially being precluded
from receiving any technical assistance from prime contractors. M/WBEs do not benefit
from the support and assistance of the prime contractor that is in the best position
to understand the needs of the M/WBE and provide timely and effective support and
assistance. Alternative technical assistance and mentoring programs, or a means of
permitting prime contractor assistance, are essential to address this critical deficit
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PRINCIPLE 2
CREATE A STREAMLINED AND FUNCTIONAL M/WBE
CERTIFICATION PROCESS THAT PROVIDES THE INFORMATION
RELEVANT TO THE M/WBE FIRMS ABILITY TO PERFORM
SPECIFIC TYPES AND SIZE OF CONTRACTS
Central to advancing the interests of M/WBEs is the ability to identify certified and
qualified M/WBEs, including the specific type and the capacity of work that the M/
WBE can perform. Existing certification databases, however, offer little information
that aids in advancing that effort. Far too often existing certification databases
provide incomplete, inaccurate or otherwise misleading information.
Therefore, City and State M/WBE Certification agencies struggle to carry out their
legally mandated due diligence responsibilities to:
The best NYC and NYS agencies can do under existing programs and with the financial
resources they now have is to spot check or audit M/WBE firms to determine if
they meet the legal requirements for being able to provide a Commercially Useful
Function.
As a result, the Certification process does not serve the needs of any of its
constituencies:
2
Prime
Contractors cannot rely upon the accuracy of the information on
certification lists to identify new qualified M/WBEs and
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3
M/WBEs expectation that the certification process will open the door to new
contract opportunities that too often fail to materialize.
Contractors are forced to conduct their own independent verification, often revealing
that the M/WBE cannot perform the specific scope of work despite having been
certified. In turn, agency lists or databases of certified M/WBEs are of limited value
to the contract community. Certification must be linked to the Commercially Useful
Function standard to ensure an M/WBE can perform the work if the public sector M/
WBE certification lists are to be an effective resource for prime contractors.
The result has been no shortage of frustration and disappointment for public agencies,
M/WBE contractors and prime contractors alike when aspirational goals for M/WBE
participation on a project fails to be achieved.
Increased funding for the full certification process would provide the following benefits:
1
Increase the accuracy of information about M/WBE contractors;
A related problem is the fact that various City and State Certification processes use
different industry coding systems. The consequence is a system that is unreliable with
information as fundamental as the specific trade or type of work and the volume of
work that the M/WBE is capable of performing. All agencies should use a common
industry coding system that clearly identifies this fundamental information in a manner
that will be useful to the prime contractors.
15
16
The coding is too broad to capture important operational nuances, such as whether
the applicant has performed single family housing construction or interior
improvements for small retailers, in contrast to performing more complex work
found on public sector work projects such as the construction of public schools,
water filtration plants, roads, bridges or mass transportation infrastructure, (p.4)
1
The City and State use very broad industry classifications categories, rather
than more detailed categories;
2 When applying for certification, firms often check multiple industry categories,
even if they have never performed work in those categories, presumably under
the misconception that in doing so it will increase contract opportunities (for
example, an M/WBE applicant may choose from broadly descriptive codes
such as general contractor; or specialized trades described generally as
carpentry, electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilating and air conditioning;
and/or a company can provide multiple construction services);
6 As a result, prime contractors often send solicitations to firms only to learn,
after vetting, that the M/WBE does not or cannot actually perform the required
work in a particular trade.
17
Current Certifications Do Not Provide Basic Information such as Licenses and
Registration. Existing certification procedures do not verify even basic information and
credentials provided by the M/WBE contractor, such as relevant licenses or registrations
required by the NYC Building Code. The recent Minority and Woman-Owned Business
Capacity Analysis Firms Certified By the City of New York, conducted by Dr. Thomas
Boston of Euquant shows:
Overall only 14.3% of the NYC certified M/WBE contractors have the
licenses/registrations that are required to obtain building permits.
Electrical Contractors
75 413 18%
Plumbing Contractors
9 184 5%
General Contractors 262 1,247 21%
Concrete Contractors
15 508 3%
Fire Suppression Contractors
5 231 2.1%
Only 3.2% of M/WBE contractors on the New York State list of certified M/WBE
contractors in 5 major construction trades have the required licensing/registration
required by the NYC Building Code:
Additionally, without a clear and accurate list of available and capable M/WBE firms
that can provide a Commercially Useful Function in various disciplines and capacity
levels, realistic M/WBE aspirational goals cannot be established.
18
The result has been a cycle of agencies setting increasingly unrealistic M/WBE goals
based on databases that create nothing more than the illusion that M/WBEs exist in
sufficient numbers. Public counts of certified M/WBEs are essentially codifying goals
based on inaccurate and incomplete data.
Ms. Rascons report also addresses the problems in the existing coding and classification
systems that have led to confusion and contribute to an overall process that:
The failure to increase policy and resource coordination among City and State
programs and the development of a uniform commodity code system will
continue to hinder the establishment and achievement of participation goals
by city and state agencies and prime contractors over the long term. Without
a clear and accurate picture of the actual pipeline of available and capable M/
WBE firms, government agencies will face additional challenges in forecasting
agency needs and M/WBE development costs, (p.6).
The Measure of Success for Certification Agencies. The goal and measure of success
for NYC and NYS Certification agencies is currently defined by how many companies
each certifies in a given year, without regard to the accuracy or benefits afforded by
that certification. In other words, certifying more M/WBEs with incorrect or incomplete
information is regarded as a success, despite the fact that such certification does not assist
either the M/WBE in seeking contract awards or serve as an effective resource for prime
contractors looking to identify M/WBEs for potential contract awards.
A more effective measure of success would be how many of the city and state certified
M/WBE firms on their respective lists actually responded to solicitations and were
awarded contracts. It would also be valuable in determining why M/WBE firms did not
respond to solicitations or were not awarded a contract.
19
The Manhattan District Attorney Has Reached the Same Conclusions on M/WBE
Certification. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. empaneled a Grand Jury
to examine the vulnerability of M/WBE programs to fraud and abuse. On November
14, 2014, the Grand Jury released its report with recommendations proposing
administrative, executive and legislative steps to deter M/WBE fraud and improve
enforcement and prosecution efforts to those who abuse M/WBE programs and bring
them to justice.
The Grand Jury report outlined the basic scrutiny that public agencies should have the
financial resources to provide in order to reduce M/WBE fraud:
The first tier of scrutiny should be through vetting of each M/WBE application
at both the certification and re-certification stages. Agencies should be given
ample personnel to conduct onsite inspection of the M/WBEs place of business,
warehouse, or storage facility to confirm the existence of a workforce, equipment
and supplies.
These measures would ensure that M/WBEs have the capacity to perform the
type of work for which they have been certified, providing prime contractors
with the confidence in the list of certified qualified M/WBEs. (p. 11)
Public agencies do not have the financial resources necessary to ensure every M/WBE
contractor on their certification list has the physical plant, experience, licensing or other
requirements that would support the performance of a Commercially Useful Function
in the industry/commodity classifications in which the firm is listed. As a result, the
certification process is limited to ownership validation, without an evaluation or the
wherewithal to perform specific types of work.
The purpose of this section is not to advocate, condone or recommend any legal
conclusions be drawn from this case law. Rather, it is to provide information on how
legal precedent influences the analysis of M/WBE programs at the federal, state and
local level.
20
The changes being advocated by the BTEA are to ensure that time, effort and resources
are focused on how to successfully implement provisions that will successfully lead to
achieving a 30% goal.
There have been far too many successful challenges when the legality and
constitutionality of M/WBE programs have gone beyond the framework of the law
such as in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago and Philadelphia.
Recently in New York State, the Association of General Contractors of New York State
has filed an Article 78 action against seven New York State agencies with regards to
how those agencies establish their M/WBE goals. The BTEA wants to ensure that this
does not happen and cannot jeopardize efforts to build capacity and grow M/WBE
construction companies in New York.
The landmark U.S Supreme Court decision in the City of Richmond v. J.A. Crosson, 488
U.S. 469, 493 (1989) case established that strict scrutiny will be applied to local or
state government programs that are race or gender conscious.
21
RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR ACHIEVING 30%
MINORITY &
WOMEN-OWNED
BUSINESS GOALS
22
RECOMMENDATION 1
INCREASE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AND WORKING CAPITAL FOR
M/WBES
NYC and NYS Loan programs should be expanded by: 1) increasing the number of
private financial institutions that participate in funding the program and 2) increasing the
available funds by a minimum investment of $100 million in each of the respective loan
programs. The lack of access to capital has long been an obstacle to growing M/WBE
companies and these funds need to be increased.
Additional capital could be raised either with City pension funds and/or from private
financial institutions with which the City and State have financial accounts. Private
financial institutions should be required to invest some minimum amount in these
programs, as has been done in the Federal Community Bank Investment Fund for
Home Mortgages.
RECOMMENDATION 2
IMPROVE PUBLIC AGENCY CHANGE ORDER AND PAYMENT
PROCESSES
Among the most important reforms the City and State can adopt which would dramatically
improve the business environment for all construction companies, and in particular for
M/WBE contractors, is to improve public agency change order and payment processes.
In general, both the City and State change order approval and payment processes are
major impediments to all contractors that work for City and State public agencies, but
the challenge is especially problematic for M/WBE contractors.
Inadequate cash flow means workers do not get paid, health and welfare and pension
funds are underfunded, and suppliers and vendors needed for present and future
projects choose to no longer work for that M/WBE contractor.
Improving the business climate by addressing the delays in approving change orders
and payments to contractors would be a major step forward.
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RECOMMENDATION 3
ADOPT LEGISLATION TO REQUIRE ALL NYC AND NYS PUBLIC
AGENCIES AND AUTHORITIES TO ESTABLISH SMALL BUSINESS
PROGRAMS FOR CONTRACTS UP TO $400,000 AND TO WAIVE
BONDING FOR THOSE PROJECTS.
All City and State agencies should be granted legislative authority to create a Small
Business Program for direct contracts, similar to what was done for the MTA in 2015 up
to a dollar amount of $400,000.
The MTA program, authorized by New York State law two years ago, established such
a program for small contractors, irrespective of race or gender, to compete and bid
for such contracts directly to the agency rather than through a prime contractor.
Essentially, this process allows those firms to in effect be their own prime contractor,
working directly for the agency. The MTA model can be an effective tool for increasing
and growing the capacity of M/WBEs.
The New York City School Construction Authoritys Mentoring Program is another
successful model which could be implemented in all City and State Agencies. In the
SCA Mentor Program the SCA identifies contract opportunities of $500,000 or less
in which small M/WBE contractors can bid directly to the agency, waives bonding
and offers to M/WBE firms the ability to avail themselves of independent technical
assistance paid for by the SCA when needed. The SCA also has a Graduate Mentor
program with contracts between $750,000-$1 million.
Under federal law, small business set-aside programs can be established if they are
race-neutral. All City and State agencies should establish such programs and be able
to pre-qualify the M/WBE construction companies to compete for projects in their
programs.
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RECOMMENDATION 4
ESTABLISH A NEW YORK STATE GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE
FUND FOR SMALL AND M/WBE COMPANIES
In order for small and M/WBE contractors to either obtain or be able to afford general
liability insurance policies they need to operate their businesses, NYS needs to establish
a General Liability Insurance Fund as the insurer of last resort.
The cost and availability of general liability insurance is and will remain a major
impediment to all contractors, but especially small and M/WBE contractors. Increasing
the availability and reducing the cost of general liability insurance would resolve a
significant obstacle to growing M/WBE companies.
Having NYS establish a General Liability Insurance Fund and offering General Liability
Insurance as the insurer of last resort for M/WBEs to obtain affordable general liability
insurance is the only option absent repeal of Labor Law 240.
RECOMMENDATION 5
ELIMINATE THE THRESHOLD OF PERSONAL FINANCIAL NET
WORTH AND OTHER FINANCIAL LIMITATIONS ON M/WBES
Net worth restrictions limit the ability of M/WBE contractors to secure bonding and
financial capital. Not only do net worth constraints effectively cap the size of the
prime contract that an M/WBE contractor can perform, M/WBEs are forced out
of relevant programs too soon in the companys evolution. In turn, an M/WBE that
is beginning to thrive is without support at perhaps the most pivotal point in the
enterprises history.
RECOMMENDATION 6
EXPAND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND MENTORSHIP FOR M/WBES
AND INCREASE FUNDING FOR M/WBE CAPACITY BUILDING
PROGRAMS.
25
The Building Trades Employers Association and its members fully agree with the
recommendation included in the Black Institutes recent report Not Good Enough: The
Myth of Good Faith and Best Efforts, which says:
New York State and New York City governments must include a larger
educational component in their M/WBE assistance programs to help new
companies reduce their learning curve, (p.47).
RECOMMENDATION 7
STREAMLINE AND REFORM THE M/WBE CERTIFICATION PROCESS
AND INCREASE FUNDING FOR THIS PURPOSE.
The resulting system should be monitored relative to the utility it provides those who
seek to contract with M/WBEs. Additionally, the measure of success of the effort should
be tied to the results that it yields (not merely volume entered in the system). Doing so
would serve the public agencies, prime contractors and, most importantly, M/WBEs, by
offering a genuine resource.
At present, disparate agencies and the City and State act independently in vetting
and preparing certifications of M/WBEs, using differing codes and approaches that
offer limited utility. M/WBEs prepare volumes of paperwork for each agency and
26
27
prime contractors have no efficient means of identifying capable M/WBEs for discrete
opportunities. This recommendation envisions centralizing the process and developing
a master database that yields efficiency and valuable information for all concerned
City and State agencies and Authorities should work with prime contractors to
identify the information commonly required from subcontractors as part of the
pre-qualification process that individual companies generally perform. That information
should be included as part of the expanded and centralized database discussed in prior
recommendations in this report. Specific information should be included regarding the
volume of work that each M/WBE has the capacity to perform, both in the aggregate
and each project. Additionally, the database should be regularly updated to identify
changes and work then under contract by each M/WBE.
RECOMMENDATION 8
ADOPT LEGISLATION TO REQUIRE ALL CITY AND STATE PUBLIC
AGENCIES TO PRE-QUALIFY M/WBE CONTRACTORS.
The NYC School Construction Authority and the Port Authority of New York and
New Jersey have successfully used a pre-qualification system to ensure that all
potential contractors, including M/WBE contractors, have the experience, knowledge
and meet licensing requirements necessary to perform Commercially Useful
Function services on their projects. All City and State Agencies and Authorities
should be granted the legislative authority to establish pre-qualified lists of M/WBE
firms which then should be provided to prime contractors for contract opportunities.
The advantages of establishing such a centralized pre-qualification process for M/WBEs
include:
Reducing the time and cost to prime contractors when searching for M/WBE
firms, thus reducing the project cost to the City and State;
A bidding process that is more transparent to all parties and saves
tax payer dollars;
Establishing project goals that more accurately reflect the actual availability and
capacity of firms within the marketplace for the particular project;
28
RECOMMENDATION 9
REFORM THE M/WBE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK.
The use of administrative policies such as liquidated damage clauses and poor
performance evaluations of prime contractors for their inability to achieve aspirational
M/WBE goals must be eliminated in order to protect M/WBE programs from any
potential legal challenge by anyone.
When prime contractors meet the due diligence requirements established by public
agencies in seeking to attain M/WBE aspirational goals on any project, waivers should
be automatically granted.
RECOMMENDATION 10
EXPAND PRIVATE SECTOR CONTRACTOR PARTICIPATION
TO STRENGTHEN M/WBE PROGRAMS
While many city and state agencies may have established M/WBE Advisory Councils,
they have not effectively engaged private sector prime contractors as true partners in
this effort.
New York City and New York State, if they have M/WBE forums, should expand the
participation of private sector contractor representation in efforts to assist building
M/WBE Capacity and provide technical assistance where appropriate.
RECOMMENDATION 11
NEW YORK CITY AND NEW YORK STATE AGENCIES SHOULD WORK
WITH THE BTEA TO ESTABLISH PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENT
(PLA) EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND TO DEVELOP TECHNICAL
SUPPORT FOR M/WBES WORKING ON PLA PROJECTS.
The BTEA recommends that all City and State Agencies and Authorities partner
with the BTEA to provide informational programs to review their respective Project
Labor Agreements in an effort to encourage M/WBEs to compete for Project Labor
Agreement contract opportunities.
29
New York City and New York State have some $15 20 billion of current and future
projects and contract awards with Project Labor Agreements. They include
hundreds of projects in NYCs Capital Program including a new $2.5 billion retrofit
of all NYC public buildings to become energy efficient and meet new environmental
standards, the NYC School Construction Authority, NYC Housing Authority, NYC
Build It Back, NYS Dormitory Authority, La Guardia Airport Redevelopment, Penn
Station redevelopment and Moynihan Station, Javits Center Renovation, JFK Airport
Redevelopment and most likely a new projected Delta Airlines Terminal.
10
0
Delta Airline Terminal
Reconstruction
Project Labor Agreements are utilized by these Agencies because 1) they reduce
costs and save taxpayer dollars, 2) accelerate project completion schedules,
3) preserve construction quality, and 4) in NYC PLA's provisions that require the
30
recruitment of NYC residents to be enrolled into NYC Building and Construction Trades
Council Apprentice Programs creating new jobs for city residents.
Yet, according to a recent survey of NYC certified M/WBEs conducted by the General
Contractors Association:
52.6% said they would not consider working under a Project Labor Agreement.
Many cited their unwillingness to pay prevailing wages, as required by law, as
a primary reason.
These are lost opportunities for M/WBE contractors to compete for the new construction
contracts they need to grow their business.
New York State Law requires that all contractors, union and non-union alike, be
afforded the opportunity to compete and bid for construction contracts under
Project Labor Agreements.
Any contractor can be awarded a contract even though they may not be signed to a
collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with organized labor. Under a Project Labor
Agreement, a contractor has only to sign a CBA for that project and that project only,
if they are the successful bidder.
The Building Trades Employers Association feels strongly that the reason M/WBEs
do not compete for PLA contracts is a lack of understanding about the terms and
conditions in performing the work in question for PLA projects.
For any firm, especially an M/WBE company, signing a lengthy contract with terms and
conditions that are unfamiliar can be an intimidating experience.
The BTEA, its member contractor associations and individual contractors have been
and are prepared to work with City and State Agencies working under Project Labor
Agreements to create a Technical Support Program for those M/WBE contractors to
assist them in understanding and addressing Project Labor Agreements with issues
that they may face in performing on a project.
31
BTEA OFFICERS
CO-CHAIRMAN VICE CHAIRMAN
Richard Kennedy Ralph Esposito
Skanska USA Lend Lease LMB, Inc.
Building Contractors Association Contractors Association of
Greater New York
CO-CHAIRMAN VICE CHAIRMAN
Joe Leo Victor Gany
Atlantic Contracting Center Sheet Metal, Inc.
& Specialties Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning
Insulation Contractors Contractors Assn.
Association
VICE CHAIRMAN
TREASURER Stephen Gianotti
Charles Murphy Arcadia Electrical Co., Inc.
Turner Construction Company NYC Chapter, NECA
Contractors Association of
Greater New York VICE CHAIRMAN
Arthur Rubinstein
GENERAL COUNSEL Skyline Steel Corp.
Steve M. Charney, Esq. Allied Building Metal Industries
Peckar & Abramson
Building Trades VICE CHAIRMAN
Employers Association Michael Russo
Fresh Meadow Mechanical Corp.
VICE CHAIRMAN Mechanical Contractors
Steven Alessio Association
Sweet Construction Corp.
Building Contractors Association VICE CHAIRMAN
Paul Vieira
VICE CHAIRMAN IDL Communications & Electric
Jay Badame NECA, NY Chapter
Tishman Construction Corp.
Building Contractors Association VICE CHAIRMAN
Lee Zaretzky
VICE CHAIRMAN Ronsco, Inc.
Scott Corneby Assn. of Wall-Ceiling &
Structure Tone, Inc Carpentry Industries
Building Contractors Association
PRESIDENT
VICE CHAIRMAN Louis J. Coletti
Don DeNardo Building Trades
Lend Lease LMB, Inc. Employers Association
Contractors Association of
Greater New York
VICE CHAIRMAN
Pat A. DiFilippo
Turner Construction Co.
Contractors Association of
Greater New York
32
BTEA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Patrick Barrett Allan Paull
Jantile, Inc, Tishman Construction Corp.
Greater NY & NJ Tile Building Contractors Association
Contractors Association
Robert Perricone
Jake Bidosky Component Assembly Systems
Keystone Management Assn. of Wall-Ceiling &
Associates, LLC Carpentry Industries
Allied Building Metal Industries
Bert Rahm
Joseph Fitzpatrick Turner Construction Company
TDX Construction Corp. Contractors Association of
Building Contractors Association Greater New York
Christopher Mills
Plaza Construction Corp.
Contractors Association of
Greater New York
33
BTEA BOARD OF GOVERNORS
ALLIED BUILDING METAL ASSOCIATION OF
INDUSTRIES WALL-CEILING &
CARPENTRY
BOARD REPRESENTATIVES INDUSTRIES OF
Jake Bidosky NEW YORK
Keystone Management
Associates, LLC BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
Phil Bonadonna
Herbert Koenig Pabco Construction Corp.
Allied Development Corporation
Robert Perricone
Arthur Rubinstein Component Assembly Systems
Skyline Steel Corp. Michael Weber
Robert Samela Island Acoustics LLC
AC Associates Lee Zaretzky
Ronsco, Inc.
ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR
William Shuzman ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR
John DeLollis
ASSOCIATION
OF ELECTRICAL BOILERMAKERS
CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION OF
GREATER NEW YORK,
BOARD REPRESENTATIVES INC.
Carol Kleinberg
Kleinberg Electric, Inc. BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
Sam M. Mirian
John Mannino
Megrant Corp.
Up Town Electric, Inc.
Alex Samilenko ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR
Fred Gellar Electrical Inc. William Rothberg
ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR
BUILDING CONTRACTORS
Jeff Elmer ASSOCIATION
ASSOCIATION OF BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
MASTER PAINTERS & Steven Alessio
DECORATORS OF Sweet Construction Corp.
NEW YORK, INC. Jay Badame
Tishman Construction Corp.
BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
Scott Corneby
Peter Cafiero
Structure Tone, Inc.
Island Painting, Inc.
Joseph Fitzpatrick
Rad Jelcic TDX Construction Corp.
Target Painting Company
Richard A. Kennedy
ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR Skanska USA Building
Bruce Ruinsky Allan Paull
AECOM Tishman Construction
Corp.
Ralph Thompson
Sciame Construction
ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR
John OHare
34
BUILDING RESTORATION Pat Di Filippo
CONTRACTORS Turner Construction Company
ASSOCIATION, INC. Ralph Esposito
Lend Lease LMB, Inc.
BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
Steven Jureller
Roger Ennis
Cauldwell Wingate Company, LLC
Deerpath Construction Corp.
Ark Latt
Tom Hussey Plaza Construction Corp.
AM & G Waterproofing, LLC
Christopher Mills
ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR Plaza Construction Corp.
William Rothberg Charles Murphy
Turner Construction Company
BUILDING STONE AND Bert Rahm
PRECAST CONTRACTORS Turner Construction Company
ASSOCIATION
ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR
BOARD REPRESENTATIVES Raymond McGuire
Hans Lechner
Sky-Lift Corp. ELEVATOR
Lawrence Weiss MANUFACTURERS
A.J. McNulty & Company, Inc. ASSOCIATION OF
NEW YORK
THE CEMENT LEAGUE
BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
Andy Werkoven
BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
Schindler Elevator Corp.
Ron Ferrari
SBF Construction Justin Tomasino
KONE New York Metropolitan
Eric Haynberg
District
Regal USA Concrete
Eric Lee ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR
RCC Concrete Rick Amarosa
Ernesto Tersigni
Park Avenue Concrete GENERAL CONTRACTORS
Contracting Stone Setters ASSOCIATION
Association, Inc.
BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR
Rick DiLouie
Michael Salgo Urban Foundation and
Engineering
CONTRACTING Larry Gillman
STONE SETTERS Skanska USA Civil Northeast, Inc.
ASSOCIATION, INC.
ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR
CONTRACTORS Denise Richardson
ASSOCIATION OF
GREATER NEW YORK
BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
Don DeNardo
Lend Lease LMB, Inc.
35
GREATER NEW YORK William McMorrow, Jr.
& NEW JERSEY TILE Phoenix Mechanical Piping, LLC
CONTRACTORS Michael Russo
ASSOCIATION Fresh Meadow Mechanical Corp.
Peter C. Vrankovic, PE
BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
KSW Mechanical, LLC
Scott Erath
Wm. Erath & Son, Inc. ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR
Patrick Barrett Tony Saporito
Jantile, Inc.
NATIONAL ELECTRICAL
GREATER NEW YORK CONTRACTORS
FLOOR COVERERS ASSOCIATION (NECA),
ASSOCIATION, INC. NEW YORK CHAPTER
BOARD REPRESENTATIVES BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
David Meberg Stephen Gianotti
Consolidated Carpet Trade Arcadia Electrical Co., Inc.
Workroom, Inc.
Anthony Mann
E-J Electric Installation
INSULATION Company
CONTRACTORS
David Pinter
ASSOCIATION OF
Zwicker Electric Co., Inc.
NEW YORK
ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR
BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
Edwin Lopez
Donald A. Donnelly, Jr.
Thomas J. Donnelly, Inc.
NEW YORK CITY
Joe Leo DEMOLITION
Atlantic Contracting Specialties, CONTRACTORS
LLC. ASSOCIATION
ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR
BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
John DeLillo Alex Concanon & Kenny
Frohlick
MECHANICAL Gateway Demo/Civil Corp.
CONTRACTORS
ASSOCIATION OF Sal Russo, Jr.
GREATER NEW YORK, Russo Development Enterprises,
INC. Inc.
ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR
BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
David Etkind
Salvatore Barbera
A.D. Winston Corp.
Anthony Bell
Martin Associates, Inc.
Timothy Bowe
ABCO Peerless Sprinkler Corp.
Kenneth Durr
Durr Mechanical Construction,
Inc.
36
PLASTERING AND SUBCONTRACTORS
SPRAY FIREPROOFING TRADE ASSOCIATION
CONTRACTORS OF
GREATER NEW YORK, BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
INC. Robert Ansbro
The New York Roofing Company
BOARD REPRESENTATIVES Patrick Gallagher
Sal Di Lorenzo Cannon Mechanical
P.A.L. Environmental Safety
Robert Weiss
Michael Patti A.J. McNulty & Co., Inc.
E. Patti & Sons
ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR
ROOFING AND Henry Kita
WATERPROOFING
CONTRACTORS THE HOISTING AND
ASSOCIATION SCAFFOLDING TRADE
ASSOCIATION, INC.
BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
Robert Ansbro BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
The New York Roofing Company
Kenneth Buettner
Scott Wolkowitz York Scaffold Equipment Corp.
Wolkow-Braker Roofing Corp.
Kevin M. OCallaghan
ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR Universal Builders Supply, Inc.
William Rothberg
WINDOW & PLATE GLASS
SHEET METAL AND ASSOCIATION OF NEW
AIR CONDITIONING YORK
CONTRACTORS
ASSOCIATION BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
Jerome Haber
BOARD REPRESENTATIVES W&W Glass, LLC
Victor Gany Scott Haber
Center Sheet Metal, Inc. W&W Glass, LLC
James Orlando
JPR Mechanical Inc. PAST CHAIRMEN
David Pinter
Robert Ansbro
The New York Roofing Company Zwicker Electric Co., Inc.
NYC Chapter, NECA
ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR
William Rothberg Michael Russo
Fresh Meadow Mechanical Corp.
STRUCTURAL STEEL Mechanical Contractors
PAINTING CONTRACTORS Association
ASSOCIATION OF NEW
YORK, INC.
BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
Kieran Ahern
Ahern Painting Contractors, Inc.
Daniel F. OConnell
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR
Jed Coldon
37
38