Cincinnati School Construction CBA

Perhaps taking a cue from the Syracuse Schools Reconstruction Project CBA, the Cincinnati School Board earlier this week approved a set of community benefits goals to be met on school construction projects, including:

• 40% of workers at a given school site should be residents of the school district;
• 40% should be residents of the Cincinnati metropolitan area outside the school district;;
• 20% of labor and trade personnel should be minorities and women; and
• provisions to encourage more apprenticeships for local workers.

Somewhat akin to an RFP, the "CBA" is expected to be signed by the Greater Cincinnati Building Trades Council and other nonunion employers that might work on school construction jobs. Community groups will also be invited to sign on.

The CBA follows revelations earlier this year that the Cincinnati Public Schools had awarded $12 million in contracts to white-owned firms improperly classified as minority contractors.