MACG leaders from religious, labor and community groups have been working for two years to pass a Community Health and Best Value Ordinance in Portland. The purpose of the ordinance is to link taxpayer funded development dollars to health care benefits for the workers employed on the projects.

After our success linking community benefits such as affordable housing and family wage jobs to development projects in the River District and South Waterfront, MACG leaders see this effort as another way to ensure our tax money is invested wisely.
 
According to our projections, incentivizing contractors working on taxpayer funded construction and development projects to pay for health care benefits for workers will provide insurance coverage for approximately 1,000 people currently working on publicly financed jobs without health insurance coverage.

MACG leaders are also interested in exploring models that give contractors a choice of either paying for health insurance while they are working on publicly funded jobs or contributing money into the public health system so that our tax dollars are invested in health care for the uninsured.
 
Currently, the City of Portland is choosing a health care consultant who will work with a diverse group of government, business and MACG leaders to make a recommendation to City Council on the best model for addressing this issue.
 
If you would like to learn more, please contact Cherry Harris at cherry@iuoe701.com