CARNEGIE — Sen. Devlin Robinson (R-37), chair of the Senate Labor and Industry Committee, hosted a hearing today to discuss his legislation to require contractors on public works projects to hire local labor. The hearing was held in Carnegie at the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 57, and featured testimony from representatives of the local building trades, local and statewide contractor associations, local economic development organizations, and the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.
Senate Bill 1076 is modeled after existing local hire programs in West Virginia, Montana and Illinois, and specifies that at least half of workers on state and local projects exceeding $500,000 must be residents of Pennsylvania or a neighboring county. A waiver process is included if a contractor is unable to secure local workers even after utilizing a local PA CareerLink® office for recruitment. If a waiver is granted, the contractor would be required to contribute to a fund to support the training of Pennsylvanians in the construction trades.
“Pennsylvania tax dollars should be used to support local workers,” said Robinson. “This initiative seeks to strengthen our workforce, keep jobs local, and promote cost containment and efficiency on taxpayer-funded projects by reducing the need for out-of-state workers to travel to Pennsylvania and be temporarily housed near the project site.”
Testifiers discussed how a local hire requirement could help address the skilled trade shortage, ensure only highly trained laborers are building Pennsylvania infrastructure, save taxpayer dollars, strengthen the pipeline from apprenticeship to skilled trade, promote accountability within the construction industry, and more.
“I can tell you about Trade Institute of Pittsburgh graduates who live just blocks away from large, publicly funded construction projects. They can see the cranes, they can hear the machinery, they know the work is happening in their communities – but they’re not on those jobsites,” said Donta Green, Trade Institute of Pittsburgh. “Not because they aren’t qualified, not because they aren’t trained, but because there’s no requirement to hire local first.”
Robinson outlined his legislative goals for 2026 earlier this month, highlighting the advancement of Senate Bill 1076 as a key initiative in his platform.
CONTACT: Stephanie Applegate