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The Dulles Metrorail system extension in Northern Virginia is the focus of a proposed bill to thwart union interests. |
BY CHELYEN DAVIS
Some state legislators want to bar the state from mandating union contracts in public projects.
A bill filed for the upcoming 2012 legislative session would specify that a union contract cannot be a required part of any project labor agreement on public works. Another bill, from Del. Bob Marshall, would bar use of state funding for the Dulles Metrorail project if a labor agreement is mandatory.
The bills don't bar contractors from voluntarily using union labor.
But opponents say the bills are merely ideological anti-union statements that unfairly malign project labor agreements.
Del. Tim Hugo, R-Fairfax, one of the sponsors of the broader bill, said it arose from a concern that union agreements could be required on the next phase of the Dulles Metrorail project.
The first phase of the project, Hugo said, had a labor agreement in which union agreements were voluntary. But if a project labor agreement is mandatory on the next phase, Hugo said, that could drive up the cost so much that it wouldn't be economically feasible to even finish the project, which would extend Metro service to Dulles airport. He and others are also concerned it could prevent smaller contractors from bidding on the project.
"Mandated project labor agreements have been estimated to raise costs by 10 percent to 20 percent or more, with the most egregious example being Boston's 'Big Dig' debacle," said Hugo and Del. Barbara Comstock in a statement about their bill. "This measure will help protect our taxpayers and our constituents.
Several Northern Virginia Democratic legislators disagree.
In an article posted on a blog called OxRoadSouth, Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, said project labor agreements just specify training and safety standards for workers.
That doesn't require union labor, Petersen wrote. It just benefits it.
"Those standards benefit contractors with experienced labor forces," Petersen wrote. "They hurt those contractors who use illegal or untrained labor. The former tend to be unionized. The latter are not."
Writing specifically on Marshall's bill, Petersen said the bill targets organized labor.
"It's about discrimination, i.e., making sure that union-based firms are not permitted to bid on a Virginia project," he wrote.
In a statement posted on his website, Del. David Englin, D-Alexandria, agreed, calling Marshall's bill "nothing but a labor-baiting political move that stands to harm taxpayers, businesses, commuters, and workers alike."
Like Petersen, Englin said
"They protect taxpayers by containing costs and ensuring that workers are properly trained and certified and complete major projects like Metrorail to Dulles on time and on budget," Englin wrote. "They protect workers--including non-union workers--by ensuring they receive proper training, health care, and retirement benefits. In fact, Project Labor Agreements are especially good for non-union workers, who receive union-level benefits under these arrangements without having to join unions or pay union dues."
But business and contractor groups support the bills from Hugo, Comstock and Marshall, saying they'll help level the playing field for non-union Virginia contractors.
In a written release, the state Chamber of Commerce said mandatory labor agreements on the Dulles rail project would result in the project's construction work largely being done by out-of-state union workers, since about 96 percent of Virginia's construction workers are not in a union.
"The spirit of Virginia's Right to Work law is violated whenever mandated union agreements, such as project labor agreements, are imposed on Virginia businesses," said state Chamber president Barry DuVal in the statement. "Unfortunately, these agreements typically discourage competition and exclude qualified Virginia businesses and their local construction workforce from working on taxpayer-funded construction projects."
Eleven other states have barred union requirements for public projects to varying degrees.
The Associated Builders and Contractors of Virginia also voiced support for the bills in a press release that was critical of union labor agreements.
"Unfortunately, unaccountable political appointees controlled by special interests have been steering taxpayer-funded construction contracts to their political supporters by mandating union-favoring PLAs on projects funded by the state," said ABC-Va. president Patrick Dean in the statement. "This special interest favoritism has no place in Virginia."
The General Assembly convenes next month.
Chelyen Davis: 540/368-5028
Email: cdavis@freelancestar.com
