Several union representatives are standing near Lane County Commission Chair Joe Berney. They’re at the July 14 tour of Lane Transit District with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Congressman Peter DeFazio, promoting a trillion dollar infrastructure bill being debated in Congress. It’s the first time that many of the union reps have seen one another since the start of COVID-19. While I’m introducing myself to them, one of the reps tells me that unions love Berney. That statement of adoration comes weeks after the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 420, which lays a framework for state and local government agencies to adopt a community benefits bidding protocol. That’s an agreement that a public agency will accept bids only from contractors and businesses that meet a certain criteria such as offering year-round family health benefits and apprenticeship programs for historically excluded populations.