Deal giving edge to unions muddies midfield contracts

From the Indianapolis Business Journal this week (VOL. 26 NO. 22, AUGUST 15-21, 2005), from a business perspective:

Non-union contractors question whether bidding on project is worth the trouble

By Chris O'Malley
IBJ Reporter

Should union contractors have an advantage in bidding on midfield terminal jobs?
Click here to join IBJ's disussion forum.

A construction agreement that requires union wages, work rules--and union workers--at the midfield terminal project has big and small businesses alike concerned they'll be shut out of all but the tiniest contracts on the $300 million building.

Unless Janet South's painting firm Deco Group agrees to accept those terms, she'd only qualify for projects of $75,000 or less--the threshold at which the agreement kicks in.

That limitation, contained in the project labor agreement attached to the midfield terminal, contrasts with the rosy contracting opportunities presented at seminars for women- and minority-owned business.

South said she's recently been invited to attend a number of such meetings, encouraging her to bid on the midfield terminal and, later, on the new stadium where the Indianapolis Colts will play.

"Most of the minority owners are non-union ... It just seems to take away the opportunity for free enterprise in general," South said.

The PLA already has generated sparks with the Associated Builders & Contractors of Indiana. Earlier this month, the group representing non-union contractors asked the Indianapolis Airport Authority to cancel the agreement the authority signed with labor unions last May.

The ABC cites a 2001 executive order signed by President Bush that bans union-only PLAs on projects that receive federal funds.


Read the rest here.

RAS