South Shore of Staten Island PLA for Interior Drainage Area E

THIS IS A PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENT (PLA) NOTICE TO BE USED FOR MARKET ANALYSIS ONLY. NO AWARDS WILL BE MADE FROM THE RESPONSES TO THIS SYNOPSIS. NO REIMBURSEMENT WILL BE MADE FOR ANY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH PROVIDING INFORMATION IN RESPONSE TO THIS SYNOPSIS OR ANY FOLLOW UP INFORMATION REQUESTS. NO SOLICITATION WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME; HOWEVER, RESPONSES WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE THE APPROPRIATE ACQUISITION STRATEGY FOR A FUTURE ACQUISITION. NO RESPONSES TO THIS PLA NOTICE WILL BE POSTED TO SAM.GOV. The purpose of this announcement is to gain knowledge of the use and benefits of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) on construction of drainage structures in Staten Island, New York. The NAICS Code is 237990 (Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction). Any potential competitive solicitation(s) that may proceed from this notice will be posted to sam.gov. All interested offerors will have the opportunity to respond to a solicitation announcement at a later time if and when a solicitation is issued. BACKGROUND AND INFORMATION FOR CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT Description of project: A. The New York District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (District) is preparing plans and specifications for construction of the South Shore of Staten Island (SSSI) Coastal Storm Risk Management Project in Richmond County, NY that will provide critical coastal storm risk management to the highly vulnerable communities of Staten Island. The project alignment spans 5.3 miles along the Raritan Bay from Fort Wadsworth to Oakwood Beach. The alignment generally consists of three typical structures: 3,400 feet of earthen levee, 1,800 feet of floodwall, and 22,700 feet of buried seawall/armored levee. These structures are supplemented by interior drainage improvements including excavated ponds, road raisings and new tide gates and other gate chamber and culvert structures. B. This contract is for the investigation, design, plans and specifications for Interior Drainage Area E. This scope includes the following: Construction of three (3) large interior drainage ponds (detention basins) connected with an open channel culvert; Construction of various stormwater drainage structures: box culverts, several junction chambers, sluice gates, weir chambers with flap gates, nine (9) inlets for future stormwater inlets; Relocation of two (2) existing sanitary sewers. The magnitude of this contract is between $100 million and $200 million. Duration of construction will be approximately 36 months after Notice to Proceed. Notice to Proceed is anticipated to occur approximately in January 2024. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 237990 (Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction). The Small Business Size standard is $36,500,000. Responses to this sources sought will be used by the Government to help determine whether the use of a PLA will achieve economy and efficiency in the completion of the subject project. All firms and labor unions should respond to this announcement if they are interested in performing the work of this project. PLA DEFINITION A PLA is defined as a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement with one or more labor organizations that establishes the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project and is an agreement described in 29 U.S.C. 158(f). FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) SUBPART 22.503 - POLICY Project labor agreements are a tool that agencies may use to promote economy and efficiency in Federal procurement. Pursuant to Executive Order 13502, agencies are encouraged to consider requiring the use of project labor agreements in connection with large-scale construction projects. An agency may, if appropriate, require that every contractor and subcontractor engaged in construction on the project agree, for that project, to negotiate or become a party to a project labor agreement with one or more labor organizations if the agency decides that the use of project labor agreements will Advance the Federal Government's interest in achieving economy and efficiency in Federal procurement, producing labor-management stability, and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations governing safety and health, equal employment opportunity, labor and employment standards, and other matters; and Be consistent with law. Agencies may also consider the following factors in deciding whether the use of a project labor agreement is appropriate for the construction project: The project will require multiple construction contractors and/or subcontractors employing workers in multiple crafts or trades. There is a shortage of skilled labor in the region in which the construction project will be sited. Completion of the project will require an extended period of time. Project labor agreements have been used on comparable projects undertaken by Federal, State, municipal, or private entities in the geographic area of the project. A project labor agreement will promote the agency's long term program interests, such as facilitating the training of a skilled workforce to meet the agency's future construction needs. Any other factors that the agency decides are appropriate. PLA COMMENT SOLICITATION In consideration of the above factors, and any others which may be deemed appropriate, the construction community is invited to comment on the use of PLAs. Of particular interest to the Government are responses to the following questions: a. How would you comply with a requirement to incorporate a PLA for the Interior Drainage Area E at Staten Island, NY? What benefits do you believe a PLA could achieve? What other factors should the Corps consider before deciding to include PLA provisions for the Interior Drainage Area E project? b. Would the use of a PLA on the Interior Drainage Area E project be effective in achieving economy and efficiency? If so, how? What is the estimated relative cost impact, or any other economies or efficiencies derived by the Federal Government, if using a PLA? Would a PLA impact the cost of submitting an offer? c. Are there any concerns regarding labor-management stability related to this project? Would the use of a PLA produce labor-management stability on this project? Have labor disputes or other labor issues contributed to project delays in the local area? Are you aware of examples of labor-management conflicts in the area which could impact the efficiency of this project, which a PLA could positively impact/resolve? What market share does union labor in construction trades have in the geographic area? Which existing Collective Bargaining Agreements will expire during construction of this project? d. Would use of a PLA be conducive to ensuring compliance with laws and regulations governing safety and health, equal employment opportunity, labor and employment standards, and other relevant matters on this project? Are there instances where these standards have not been met on Federal contracts in the local area? Were PLAs used for those specific contracts? e. This project will require construction contractors and/or subcontractors employing workers in multiple crafts or trades. Do you foresee any work on this project that may result in both the prime contractor and at least one subcontractor, or two or more subcontractors, employing the same trade? If so, which ones? f. Are there concerns by prime contractors on the availability of skilled construction labor? Are there large-scale construction projects in the area (over $25M, within 50 miles of Staten Island, NY) which could impact availability of skilled labor for this project? What is the anticipated volatility in the labor market for the trades required for the execution of the project? Are existing apprentice programs providing enough skilled workers for future requirements? g. How would a PLA impact the proposed schedule/completion time? h. Have comparable projects been undertaken by Federal, State, municipal, or private entities in the geographic area of this project? For each project, please indicate if a PLA was used, the initial and final cost, number of trades on the project, if the project was completed on time, and if there were any challenges such as labor shortages, labor related delays, safety issues, etc. i. How would the use of PLAs impact the ability of potential offerors and subcontractors to meet small-business utilization goals? j. How would the inclusion of a PLA effect your firm's ability of securing bid, performance, and payment bonds for the full amount of the Design-Bid-Build Construction contract as an individual company, through a Joint-Venture Agreement, or as part of a Teaming Agreement with another company? k. If you are a prime contractor, how much time do you estimate that it would take your firm to execute a project labor agreement for the Interior Drainage Area E project? The expectation is that if a PLA is needed that it would be required as part of the proposal package. Please note that this notice is not a commitment on the part of the Government to award a contract as a result of this notice or to pay for any information received. This synopsis neither constitutes a Request for Proposal or Invitation for Bid, nor does it restrict the Government to an ultimate acquisition approach. The Government should not construe this PLA Notice as a commitment for any purpose. The Government does not intend to rank submittals or provide any reply to interested firms. Responses are due no later than 2:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) August 8, 2023. Please submit written comments by mail or email to: Attn: Ivan V. Damaso US Army Corps of Engineers CENAN-CT 26 Federal Plaza New York, NY 10278 Email: ivan.d.damaso@usace.army.mil Cc: rito.p.sabanal@usace.army.mil Please send to BOTH emails above. Survey Questionnaires will not be accepted after 2:00 pm EST on the response date of 8 August 2023 shown in the advertisement on SAM.gov.