MASON – By a 13-2 margin, the Ingham County Board of Commissioners on June 23 adopted a resolution approving the use of project labor agreements (PLAs) on construction work sponsored by the county.

For months the PLA proposal has been a contentious issue in the county, with the anti-union Associated Builders and Contractors leading the charge with a postcard mailing to the community, letters to the editor and in television and radio interviews, calling for the commission to reject project labor agreement language.

“We’re very happy, we’re thrilled with the vote,” said IBEW Local 665 President Ray Michaels, while thanking the commissioners who voted for the PLA language. “You could tell by the comments of some of the commissioners that the ABC’s arguments just weren’t credible, that they were making things up.”

The language approved by the Board of Commissioners allows, but doesn’t require, the use of project labor agreements on taxpayer-funded construction work that exceeds $100,000 in labor costs. Michaels, who has been leading the effort to get the PLA language adopted along with Local 665 Business Manager Scott Clark and Assistant Business Manager Tom Eastwood, said “there were some concerns expressed by commissioners about whether the PLA language should apply automatically, or whether commissioners should decide on a project-by-project basis. They went with the project-by-project basis. And we’re fine with that, we think that’s the right way to do it.”

Befitting the construction industry, which varies from one jobsite to another – there is not a one-size-fits-all project labor agreement.  PLAs generally set rules and standards governing worker training, wages, working conditions, and drug and alcohol testing. Basically PLAs give an employer or purchaser of construction services a set of standards for the contractors they hire, and they give the buyer a reasonable assurance of a quality workforce that will add value to their job by doing it on time and on budget – the first time.

In return, workers are generally assured a prevailing wage and contractually approved working conditions, usually with no-strike language.

“PLAs are something I really believe in,” said Ingham County Board of Commissioners Chairperson Debbie DeLeon. “I think the presence of a project labor agreement will save the county money in the long run. We’re going to see better quality work in the end, and we’re going to have workers and contractors who are qualified and meet state and federal regulations.”

The fight to initiate a PLA was initiated in good part by shoddy electrical work performed last year at the Ingham County Fairgrounds. DeLeon said the PLA rule will be employed soon on anticipated construction of a new $2 million to $3 million 911 county call center. 

Groups like the ABC usually howl loudly whenever the subject of a PLA comes up, claiming that they discriminate against nonunion contractors and increase costs. However, they conveniently ignore the benefits to contractors and owners who employ the agreements: PLAs assure a trained, licensed, drug-tested workforce with proven skills and a track record of getting work done on time and on budget.

The Ingham County Board of Commissioners’s vote was along party lines, with all Democrats supporting the issue. “In the end, I don’t think the bulk of the commissioners think the ABC’s argument carried much weight,” DeLeon said.