SLATE Forms New Department to Assist Project Developers

SLATE has assigned three full-time professional staff to the new Developers’ and Contractors’ Support Services (DCSS) department. DCSS will assist any developer or contractor meet the workforce diversity goals required by St. Louis City Ordinance 69427.

All developers and contractors seeking to bid on City of St. Louis public work contracts, Tax Increment Financed (TIF) projects and City bonded projects valued at over $1 million must agree to abide by Ordinance 69427’s labor hour requirements: Apprentices (15%); Minorities (25%); Women (5%); and City Residents (20%). Those developers working on wholly private funded projects in St. Louis City redevelopment areas are also asked to voluntarily make a good faith effort towards compliance with these goals.
 
Bob Petrich, the DCSS Project Lead, describes his new role: “I meet with contractors and sub-contractors to explain the goals and offer assistance. I also review workforce diversity reports from contractors and coordinate meetings to periodically address compliance and assistance issues.” Bob is aided by Armand Paulet, SLATE’s Labor Resource Specialist, who coordinates with construction trade unions to refer apprentices, women, minorities and city residents needed by contractors to meet their workforce diversity goals and Earl Strauther, who prepares administrative, quality control, and procedural documents.

City Ordinance 69427 gives SLATE the ability to enforce the workforce diversity goals, up to and including barring parties from participation in public works projects. Petrich explains, “We will make multiple efforts to assist contractors in complying with the Ordinance including visits, meetings and referral of individual workers needed to achieve their diversity goals. However, failure to submit required documentation and reports, failure to meet to resolve issues or failure to use good faith efforts to comply, may constitute a material breach of the Ordinance.” The DCSS team also helps arrange information sessions to encourage women and minorities to enter into apprenticeship programs in the building trades.