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(Editor’s note: The聽 Metropolitan Alliance for Workforce Equity was misidentified in an earlier version of this story. The name has since been corrected.)

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler is waiting to present the City Council his minority contracting plan due to insufficient stakeholder buy-in.

The council was scheduled to consider on Wednesday whether to approve the final draft of the Community Equity and Inclusion Plan (CEIP), which aims to increase participation of women and minorities on city construction projects. But the plan has met resistance from a number of the groups at the table, including the Metropolitan Alliance for Workforce Equity and the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council.

The mayor’s spokesman, Michael Cox, said it’s not known when the City Council will vote whether to accept the CEIP, or if additional meetings with stakeholders will be held.

鈥淲e want to make sure the city and the relevant stakeholders reach a higher level of consensus,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat’s our goal.鈥�

The CEIP’s objective is a lofty one: to align all the equity plans of various city bureaus under one policy capable of withstanding legal scrutiny.

At the root of this issue is a discussion of the Community Benefits Agreement, a union-friendly policy tool. CBAs have been assailed by some stakeholders for excluding minority-owned nonunion companies. Opponents of CBAs say that owners of open-shop firms are better able to hire from within their own communities. They also point out that many nonunion companies are nonunion only because they’re small and/or starting out 鈥� and most companies partner with a union when they’re big enough.

Additionally, some city officials, as well as the city’s lawyers, have advised against using the language of pure CBAs in city contracts, because it could open the city to litigation.

Willy Myers, head of the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council, expressed opposition to the CEIP at stakeholder meetings. The plan, he said, lacks the 鈥渕echanics for delivering鈥� on the city’s expectations. CBAs are the best way for public agencies to meet both diverse contracting and workforce goals, he added, because unions have a proven record of getting results.

鈥淭he problem with the CEIP is the fact that it totally devalues union labor,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t takes out of the equation what the unions bring to the table when it comes to equity and inclusion.鈥�

Eliminating the signatory component of CBAs would mean crucial stakeholders would not be engaged in the process, Myers said. Additionally, nonunion firms are free to sign the same agreement with the city, but generally choose not to, he said.

But some professionals in the minority contracting community complain that unions only 鈥渉it the numbers鈥� by playing with their numbers. Many white male-owned businesses end up earning diversity points when their data isn’t 鈥渄isaggregated.鈥�

The city tested CBAs five years ago on two Water Bureau projects. Though the projects achieved equity and inclusion success, an independent audit found fault with how the CBAs were implemented 鈥� namely, that members of the committees that administered project contracts also received contracts.

The audit, by Washington-based Framework LLC, concluded that CBAs as applied under the pilot projects could create the appearance of conflict of interest.

CBA supporters counter that with such a small minority contracting community in Oregon, such an outcome is nearly inevitable. They also point out that everyone was acting properly under the CBAs, and no one has ever been formally accused of an actual conflict of interest.

Myers invoked the fight of African-Americans for civil rights.

鈥淒r. Martin Luther King had a dream,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e had a dream of equity and inclusion, and he knew that the way to accomplish that dream was to bring labor to the table. He valued union labor and what it could bring. It’s very unfortunate that the city of Portland’s own Office of Equity doesn’t share the same value.鈥�

The has played a prominent role in the development of the CEIP, though it’s been strictly one of public outreach, not policy drafting, according to Jeff Selby, an OEHR spokesman.

Versions of the draft CEIP were sent to 44 community groups; 26 provided feedback. OEHR Director Dante James visited personally with 23 groups to discuss the plan, according to a letter to stakeholders from the city’s work group.

The National Association of Minority Contractors-Oregon represents both union and nonunion shops. Executive Director Nate McCoy said it’s a misconception that nonunion companies choose it to skirt worker protections.

With some of NAMC Oregon‘s members boasting workforces upward of 90 percent minorities, McCoy said it’s important for both union and open shop firms to be involved in city contracting efforts. The city has exhibited transparency while drafting the CEIP, he said.

鈥淚t’s not like they just did what they wanted to do,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey took my comments and the union’s comments, and more or less found language that they felt was appropriate to address both concerns.鈥�

It’s not yet known if more public work sessions will be held or if the Equitable Contracting and Purchasing Commission (ECPC) will continue to meet, Cox said.

Under the draft CEIP, progress would be watched by the Equity and Inclusion Commission, a new body. An earlier version listed that that task would be administered by the ECPC, before the language was eliminated.

Maurice Rahming, an outspoken member of the ECPC, said he believes some city officials are still attempting to fold the ECPC into the city’s other equity-focused citizen committee, the Fair Contracting Forum.

鈥淭here are elements at the city that are either trying to: A, change out some of the commissioners, or B, dissolve it,鈥� he said.