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News and Updates

San Francisco Prevailing Wage Requirements at City Venues

Written by mark@esca.org on . Posted in News and Updates

One of the reasons the Exhibition Services & Contractors Association (ESCA) exists is to make sure you have the information you need to operate successfully. This is one of those moments, and it starts with a simple reminder: if something is affecting your business, please tell us. We can only help with what we know.

An ESCA member working at a City-owned venue in San Francisco was recently approached by a City enforcement officer related to prevailing wage requirements. We brought it to Tommy Goodwin and the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance (ECA) right away. Together, we dug in, sent surveys and made inquiries, and found that not all companies working in San Francisco are aware that this requirement exists. We want to change that.

Here is what you need to know.

If your company performs work at any City-owned venue in San Francisco, including Moscone Center, the Palace of Fine Arts, Port of San Francisco properties, and SFO, San Francisco’s prevailing wage ordinance applies to you. It covers two types of work:

  • Exhibit, display, and trade show work: the on-site installation, setup, assembly, and dismantling of exhibits, displays, booths, and signage at Conventions, Trade Shows, and Expositions.
  • Loading, unloading, and driving: moving materials on City property and operating commercial vehicles on City property in connection with a Show or Special Event.

Workers performing this work must be paid the prevailing wage, which includes base pay plus fringe benefits or their cash equivalent. Current all-in rates for covered classifications range from $75 to $80 per hour. For union signatory companies, your CBAs generally cover you. For non-union and non-signatory companies, you will need to calculate your workers’ fully loaded rate and make up any difference.

One more thing worth knowing: this obligation is supposed to flow through every layer of the contracting chain, from the venue to the organizer to the GSC to the subcontractor. In practice, that language is often missing from contracts. If you are working at SF City-owned venues, it is worth reviewing your agreements.

We are sharing this so you can get ahead of it, not to alarm you. If you have questions about your specific situation, please consult with your company’s counsel.

Now for the bigger point.

This issue only came to our attention because one member spoke up. That member did the whole industry a favor. There are almost certainly other issues out there right now affecting your businesses that ESCA and ECA don’t yet know about. Regulatory changes, enforcement trends, contract disputes, labor issues, market shifts. We are not in your offices or on your job sites. You are.

Please do not assume we already know. If something is creating a problem for your business, reach out to Tommy Goodwin or me. That is what we are both here for. The sooner you bring something to us, the sooner we can figure out whether it is an isolated issue or something the whole industry needs to know about.

  Thank you to the member who brought this to our attention. That is the industry looking out for itself, and it is what this community is built on.