Overview

The Authority requires that all contractors and subcontractors* shall demonstrate a good faith effort to obtain the participation of Minority and Women Business Enterprises in workforce diversity to be performed for the Authority. It is the goal of the Authority that twenty-five percent (25%) of the contract amount be expended for participation by Minority Business Enterprises and ten percent (10%) of the contract amount be expended for participation by Women Business Enterprises. The Minority and Women Business Enterprise participation of the contract shall be subject to the review of the Equal Opportunity Review Commission of Pittsburgh.

“Minority Business Enterprise” (MBE) and “Women Business Enterprise” (WBE) means businesses certified as such by Pennsylvania Unified Certification (including Allegheny County, Port Authority of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation)or the U.S. Small Business Administration. The MBE/WBE must be certified for the specific type of work it will be responsible for in connection with the contract. The certification must be current throughout the time the MBE/WBE will be doing work under the contract.

The bidder/proposer must demonstrate to the Authority that it has made a diligent good faith effort to meet the Authority's goals for MBE and WBE participation in the contract work.

Key Facts

MBE and WBE participation goals may be achieved by any combination of the following:

• Direct (prime) contract with MBE or WBE.
  If the direct (prime) contractor is an MBE or WBE, participation shall be the full amount of the contract provided that the MBE/WBE itself performs a minimum of 50% of the work.
• Subcontract for work on the project.
  If work is subcontracted to Minority and/or Women Business Enterprises, participation for this element shall be the total amount of subcontracts with MBE/WBEs for work on the project.
• Supply contracts for the project.
  If materials are purchased from Minority and/or Women Business Enterprises, participation for this element shall be 2% of the amount of the purchase order unless evidence acceptable to the Authority is submitted that the broker or supplier is acting as a “full service supplier” on this job and in such case the credit shall be 60% of the dollar value of the purchase order. Evidence to be submitted to qualify as a “full service supplier” should include warehouse or storage capacity, inventory records, agreements with manufacturers, ownership of material handling or delivery equipment and demonstration of fiscal responsibility on previous sales.

Whether the contractor undertook the following actions, among others, is considered in determining if a good faith effort to obtain participation has been made:

• Attended pre-bid/pre-proposal meetings to inform MBE/WBEs of sub contracting opportunities,
• Advertised in general, trade, and minority focused media,
• Provided timely written notice to a reasonable number of MBE/WBEs,
• Followed up the initial solicitations by contracting MBE/WBEs to determine interest,
• Selected or reduced the size of specific contract parts to facilitate MBE/WBE participation,
• Provided interested MBE/WBEs with plans, specifications, and contract requirements,
• Negotiated in good faith with interested MBE/WBEs, made efforts to provide bonding, line of credit, or insurance assistance to interested MBE/WBEs,
• Utilized the services of available minority community organizations and other organizations that provide assistance in the recruitment and placement of MBE/WBEs,
• Utilized the services of the office of the Equal Opportunity Review Commission of Pittsburgh to provide assistance in the recruitment and placement of MBE/WBEs.

Documentation in the form of letters, meeting notes, copies of advertisements, etc. are required to confirm these efforts.

More Information

For more information on the Authority's MBE/WBE goals, please contact Alicia Matos, SEA's Senior Diversity Coordinator, at 412-393-7106 or amatos@pgh-sea.com

* Contractor refers to the contractor under a construction contract or service contract.