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Labor representatives also outlined several policy tools available to municipalities, including <br />apprenticeship utilization requirements, responsible bidder policies, prevailing wage requirements, <br />project labor agreements, and community benefit agreements. <br /> <br />Councilmembers asked questions about prevailing wage calculations, the applicability of these <br />policies to union and non-union contractors, current City enforcement practices, and the potential <br />administrative costs of increased oversight. <br /> <br />The Council discussion ultimately reflected support for continuing the conversation and exploring <br />additional tools to combat unethical labor practices while also ensuring ethical non-union <br />contractors are not unfairly excluded from City projects. <br /> <br />The Council generally supported directing staff to research additional policy options and bring <br />information back for future discussion. <br /> <br />2.03: Project Labor Agreement Policy <br /> <br />Discussion of project labor agreements took place alongside the wage theft enforcement <br />presentation. It focused on how the City could incorporate additional labor standards and <br />contractor accountability measures into future public projects and development agreements. <br /> <br />Labor representatives explained that project labor agreements are pre-hire agreements that <br />establish standards related to labor sourcing, training, wages, benefits, apprenticeship <br />participation, and, in some cases, local hiring requirements. <br /> <br />The representatives emphasized that such agreements can apply to both union and non-union <br />contractors. They argued that these policies help ensure that taxpayer-supported projects are <br />completed by responsible contractors who operate lawfully and ethically. <br /> <br />The representatives also noted that research on prevailing wage and project labor agreement <br />policies generally shows little to no overall increase in project costs compared with similar projects <br />without such requirements. <br /> <br />Councilmembers discussed how Ramsey currently relies primarily on State responsible contractor <br />laws and prevailing wage compliance requirements for State or federally funded projects, but does <br />not actively audit payroll records or enforce additional contractor accountability standards for <br />locally funded projects. The conversation also focused on the possibility of adding contractor <br />disclosure requirements, claw back provisions tied to labor violations, and best-value bidding <br />criteria into future RFPs and development agreements. <br /> <br />Several councilmembers expressed support for exploring policies to prevent City funds from <br />supporting contractors connected to wage theft or labor trafficking, while maintaining a fair <br />process for ethical non-union contractors to compete for City work. <br /> <br />City Council Work Session / May 26, 2026 <br />Page 3 of 4 <br />