Building Trades News

Agreement to Benefit Local Residents, Says Slawson

Members of the Los Angeles and Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council attended meetings of the Palmdale Water District over the past several months to outline the benefits of a district-wide project labor agreement (PLA) for the area and to counter the misinformation by the anti-union Associated Building Contractors about the project agreements.

Building Trades Representatives stressed the benefits of using the highly skilled craftsmen and women of the Building Trades, the importance of using the Palmdale areas local workforce, and the apprenticeship and training opportunities that would be provided to area residents looking to start a well paying career in the construction trades.

"Palmdale Water District projects in the past have been done by labor from outside the area, said Daniel Villao, Business Representative for the LA/OC BCTC. "We have a solid concentration of members in the Palmdale area but many of them have to commute to Los Angeles for work. A PLA for the Water District would enable our members from the area to work near their homes and would also create new, well-paying jobs for Palmdale residents."

"A PLA will enable the crafts to hire local people, to hire kids off the street who might not necessarily be college bound and give them the opportunity for a good career. It will also keep our citizens who are currently in the construction trades working close to home," said Mitch Klein, Business Representative of IBEW Local 11 in Palmdale. "A PLA will also provide quality craftsmanship and a safe work environment."

The PLA would cover Palmdale Water District’s major projects over the next two years, including the building of a new water treatment facility, facility maintenance and improvements and expansion of existing facilities. Over the next few years, construction projects in the Palmdale Water District are expected to top several million dollars. The PLA would cover all crafts across the board. Members of the Water Board have expressed an interest in pursuing the possibility of a Project Labor Agreement

Villao said there are few opportunities for Palmdale residents looking for careers that pay a family wage. "There are not a lot of long-term employment opportunities in that area outside of aerospace industry or ‘Wal-Mart’ type jobs," he said.

The key to create those career opportunities are the Apprenticeship and Training programs in the construction trades. "Apprenticeship becomes an important tool in that community for job growth. Our member unions are the best people to provide solid long term employment there. Our Union crafts have state certified Apprenticeship programs," said Villao. "The non-union companies do not."

The anti-union Associated Building Contractors attended the Water District Board meeting in January of this year and spoke against the PLA, claiming the PLA would lock the District into a Union-only contract, reduce competition, and raise costs. Richard Slawson, Executive Secretary of the Building-Trades Council was on hand to counter the ABC’s claims.

According to Joe Pivovaroff, Business Representative, Operating Engineers Local 12, "The ABC didn’t have any facts to support their allegations that PLAs are bad."

"The ABC, made a lot of claims about project labor agreements, but they were short on facts," said Slawson. "PLA’s never restrict bidding solely to union contractors, nor do they require union-only labor. PLA’s do not limit competition; in fact they do just the opposite by creating a level playing field for all contractors." In his presentation to the Board, Slawson listed several successful PLA’s that have benefited the local governments, tax payers, the community and the workers, including Los Angeles Unified School District and the Pasadena power plant. "California law already requires that the prevailing wage be paid on all public works projects, so they claim that PLA’s are more costly is also untrue." He said reports and complaints against project labor agreements come from "anti-union, right-wing (groups), bought and paid for by industry."

At an earlier Board meeitng representatives from the Associated General Contractors of California, which has both union and non-union members and describes itself as neither "pro-union nor anti-union" spoke in favor of the PLA.

The intervention by ABC is expected to delay, but not necessarily hinder the process of establsing a dialogue on the PLA. "Whenever there is disagreement it makes the process longer," said Villao. "We will have to educate people in the community and the board. But it is important that we continue the process and that we bring jobs into the area as well as training programs that will allow youth with long term careers that will provide well paying jobs to the community."

Board President Dick Wells ordered the formation of an ad hoc committee to research labor agreements and report back at a future meeting.