Conservative lawmakers in Virginia's House and Senate are so eager to attack working Virginians, they're throwing smart business protections for taxpayer dollars out the window--and they're doing it with the help of the national, pro-corporate greed group ALEC. Legislation that has been approved by House and Senate committees seeks to prohibit Project Labor Agreements (PLAs), which are actually extremely beneficial to Virginia. Project labor agreements are a market-based tool that sets rules and expectations for management and workers and as a result, projects with PLAs come in on-time and on-budget.
"We're disappointed members of the General Assembly have disregarded an important tool to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely on construction projects," said Doris Crouse-Mays, President of the Virginia AFL-CIO. "Project Labor Agreements serve as a taxpayer protection and create accountability on megaprojects where millions of dollars are at stake. PLAs prevent companies from making money off of mistakes and delays and thus help avoid megaproject disasters."
PLAs neither require a unionized workforce nor do they require any worker to join a union. PLAs are good for local economies because they guarantee local workers are chosen for local projects, keeping construction dollars in our communities. They also set standards for training and safety protections, ensuring a skilled workforce that is less prone to accident and injury.
"Virginia's experiences with project labor agreements illustrate the facts," said Anna Scholl, Executive Director of ProgressVA. "Phase 1 of the Dulles Rail project has utilized a Project Labor Agreement. The project is on time, under budget, and boasts the best safety record of any project in the Commonwealth. The Springfield 95 Interchange was done without the benefit of a PLA. The project experienced significant delays and costs overruns. Five workers were killed on the project."
96% of Virginia's construction workforce is NOT in a union. Nearly all of the major projects in our state have been built without PLAs. Those projects have been built with union and non-union trades professionals working side-by-side.
Because of all of the federal work Virginians build, we are a highly trained and qualified workforce, regardless of labor affiliation. You can't build the multi-billion dollar NGA project or renovate the Pentagon after 9/11 with a sub-standard workforce. They didn't need PLAs to deliver those projects and countless other projects safely, under budget and ahead of schedule.
Also, the whole truth is that Phase 1 had a voluntary PLA that was issued by the prime contractor after the job was awarded. Non-union firms were NOT required to sign that PLA on Phase 1. Non-union firms make up 58% of the workforce on Phase 1. Not sure how the PLA gets credit for Phase 1 successes thus far. That doesn't really add up. I would say you have some great contractors on the team and give them and the actual men and women building the project the credit; not a PLA that was only required for the union folks on the job to sign. And by the way, the industry is not opposed to those voluntary PLAs such as Phase 1. The opposition is to mandated PLAs. Mandated PLAs absolutely dissuade non-union firms from bidding jobs, thus driving up the cost and sending jobs to out of state union workers. The increase in cost has nothing to do with wages or benefits of workers. It’s about having less competition. Remember, 96% of our workforce here in this state is not in a union. That’s a big chunk of the competition.
Let's be clear. PLAs discriminate against the majority of Virginia's workers. They are particularly damaging to minority and women owned businesses. It's important to put the whole truth on the table so that people can see that being AGAINST a PLA is about being FOR equal opportunity to bid work. Remember, without a PLA, you have both union and non-union workers getting a fair shot. With a PLA, you give a clear and distinct advantage to the union shops. That is discrimination, plain and simple.