During the 2016 presidential election season, union leadership made concerted efforts to educate their members. They listed the issues at hand, brought up the numerous reasons why elections on all levels matter and what some of the consequences for organized labor would be if the wrong candidate won. This effort came in the form of speeches and reports at membership meetings, union newspaper articles, op-eds and member-to-member outreach on the job sites. The reason for this effort was to cut through the “everyman” rhetoric spewed by Trump and his surrogates and bring attention to the anti-worker agenda that is at the heart of their plans for 2017 and beyond: passing Right-to-Work (for less) legislation, repealing prevailing wage, outlawing the use of Project Labor Agreements and limiting collective bargaining rights for public sector workers.
The focus this week is Project Labor Agreements. PLA’s have been used for nearly one hundred years in the construction industry. They are project or agency-specific contracts that spell out the terms for all trades for the length of the project, or for all work of the agency covered by the PLA. PLA’s have been used for both major large-scale projects and smaller residential and commercial projects. The use of Project Labor Agreements has been proven to provide a number of benefits to all parties involved in the construction industry and the taxpayers when used for public works.
Because the terms of the agreement are negotiated before the project begins and are inclusive of all the trades involved, alterations to the individual collective bargaining agreements can be made to maximize efficiency and productivity on the particular project, especially if there are unusual design aspects or challenges to getting the project done. The PLA process allows planning to accurately predict labor costs and schedules to avoid major cost-overruns and disruptions.
Because PLA’s are normally signed with local Building Trades Councils, safety and training are also major benefits. The owners, developers, various agencies and taxpayers can all rest assured that the workers on that project have completed or are participating in top-notch apprenticeship programs. Building Trades workers are the best-trained and safest workers in the industry, as proven by this unfortunate and deplorable statistic: 28 of the 30 construction deaths over the past two years have been non-union workers.
Labor peace is another benefit of signing a Project Labor Agreement. PLA’s ensure there will be no lockout, strike, or disruption to the completion of the project. Dispute resolution and jurisdictional issues are also spelled out beforehand.
Many public works PLA’s include local-hire provisions to ensure that the residents whose tax money funds these projects are reaping the rewards of good union careers that benefit them and the communities long after the project has reached completion.
PLA’s have proven successful time and time again for over 100 years in the construction industry. So successful, in fact, that organizations like the open-shop/non-union Association of Builders and Contractors and the National Right-to-Work Foundation have continued to lobby against the use of them. And unfortunately today’s political climate and right-wing anti-worker agenda has given these groups an opportunity to restrict the use of successful PLA’s.
Be sure to educate yourself on the issues. PLA’s work for everyone and they are now under attack. Call your local, state and federal representatives and let them know that you support PLA’s.
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