|
 This
is a Q & A fact sheet about project labor agreements (PLAs).
1) What
is a PLA?
A
project labor agreement (PLA) is a contract that normally requires
all construction contracts or subcontracts on a particular job
to be awarded only to contractors who agree to recognize designated
unions as representatives of their employees on that job. These
deals require that all contractors use the union hiring hall
to obtain workers, pay union wages and benefits, and obey the
union's restrictive rules, job classifications and arbitration
procedures.
2) Isn't
a project labor agreement just another construction delivery
method?
No,
a project labor agreement is not just another construction delivery
method. A PLA is a deal between the owner on a construction project
and the unions that typically guarantee to not walk off the job,
picket or otherwise delay the project. There are other types
of work stabilization agreements that are used in the construction
industry. If an agreement is reached that does not exclude a
significant portion of the industry, it may not be objectionable
to ABC.
3) You
say that PLAs exclude a significant portion of the industry.
What
does this mean? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
1999 Current Population Survey, only 19.1% of construction workers
in the country are union. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly
Labor Review, June 1999 vol. 122, no. 6 in 1998 only 18.7% of
Wisconsin's nonagricultural wage-and-salary workers were union
members. A Bureau of National Affairs Study authored by Barry
Hirsch and David MacPherson determined that in 1997 only 18.8%
of workers in Wisconsin were union members. The issue is not
really if the percent of union members in Wisconsin is 18% or
25% of the workforce. The issue is that the vast majority of
workers, who have chosen to not belong to the union, will be
prohibited from working on a project that they are qualified
to perform. And on public projects, non union contractors are
being excluded from a project that they are forced to pay for.
4) Isn't
the Lambeau Field renovation a public project?
Yes.
Union-only project labor agreements on publicly funded projects
are bad public policy and bad for taxpayers. They discriminate
against a vast majority of construction workers (over 80%) and
drive up the cost of construction by limiting competition.
5) Wouldn't
excluding a significant portion of the bidders drive up the
cost of the project?
Yes. There are many examples out there that exemplify this. In March 1995,
a study analyzed the effects of project labor agreements on bids for the Roswell
Park Cancer Institute. Each contractor was asked to submit bids under a union-only
project labor agreement and without a union-only project labor agreement. The
study concluded that "union-only project labor agreements increased costs 26
percent and reduced the number of companies bidding the project." The study
concluded that projects that were not performed union-only had 21 percent more
bidders and were 10 percent under budget.
6) If
PLAs are discriminatory, then why are they legal?
Laws
throughout history have been tolerant of discrimination, but
that doesn't make it right or fair. In this country we believe
in freedom of association: the ability to belong to a particular
church, the Boy Scouts, or a particular club. By requiring a
worker to join a union in order to work on the publicly funded
project, you have interfered with that individual's freedom
of association. The question is not: What is legal? The question
is: Is it fair or morally correct?
7) The
union claims that non-union contractors pay substandard wages.
Is
this true? ABC believes in the Merit form of construction. Merit
shop means employees are compensated on different levels, based
on their skill and performance, union and non-union. It's not
a one-wage-fits-all system. Employees are encouraged to excel
and achieve. Merit contractors have to do a good job of taking
care of their employees. If they don't, they'll either lose them,
or the employees will choose to become unionized. Today, it's
very difficult to attract and retain skilled employees. On some
projects, such as the Lambeau Field renovation, wages are NOT
an issue. Everyone will be required to pay the prevailing wage.
The State of Wisconsin will set a wage for each trade employed
on the job and all contractors will be required to pay that wage.
Wages are NOT an issue with PLAs.
8) Proponents
of PLAs claim that union companies are safer than non-union
companies.
Is this true? No.
Union companies are not safer than non-union companies. Safety records
are not determined by labor affiliation; they are determined by a company's
commitment to safety. Associated Builders and Contractors is committed
to promoting safety, as proved by the recent agreement between ABC & OSHA.
The agreement recognizes the ABC STEP Program as a benchmark for safety
standards. A recent study by Charles Culbver, Former director, Office
of Construction and Engineering OSHA, found that over a nine-year period,
fatality rates for non-union contractors were significantly (20-57%)
lower than the fatality rates for union contractors.
9) Union
labor is necessary for large, complex construction jobs;
so union-only PLAs don't make a difference, right?
Since many of the largest and most successful projects are
completed every year on time and within budget, without resorting
to union-only requirements, the union label is not needed for
construction to be of top quality.
10) But
don't PLAs ensure labor peace?
NO.
Unions use the threat of labor problems to coerce construction
users into signing union-only PLAs. This is a particularly disingenuous
argument that is tantamount to blackmail, since unions themselves
cause many project delays through illegal organizing and jurisdictional
disputes on jobsites.
11) Can
merit shop contractors complete large construction projects?
Merit
shop contractors can and do successfully perform and manage big
construction projects. In fact, merit shop contractors comprise
14 of the top 20 revenue-generating companies in the country,
including the top five. Merit shop companies played important
roles in some of the biggest recent projects in the country,
including Atlanta's Olympic Stadium, the new Denver International
airport, the new Redskins football stadium, and much of the industrial
complex throughout the Midwest, South, and West.
12) What
is the answer?
Build merit shop. Projects built on merit can cost 20% less than those built
by PLAs. On a $40 million building, that's an $8 million difference. The savings
begin at the bidding process. When you open up the bidding to merit contractors,
you open up competition. And that drives down your overall project costs. If
you bid union-only, you are exlcluding the proposals, innovative thinking and
skilled work forces of the vast majority of the contractors in your area. That's
a lot of good ideas to turn your back on. Merit construction saves tax dollars
on public projects. It opens up good-paying jobs to local workers and job training
opportunities for young people.
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