If a proposed $210 million school capital construction bond measure in the Gresham-Barlow School District is successful, none of the work will be done under a project labor agreement (PLA).
The measure will be on the Nov. 5 ballot.
Backers of the bond measure came before the executive board of the Northwest Oregon Labor Council Aug 26 seeking an endorsement and financial contribution. During the interview process a question was asked about project labor agreements. Specifically, will there be one if the levy passes. [A PLA is a comprehensive pre-hire collective bargaining agreement that establishes basic terms and conditions for labor, including apprenticeship training, in advance for everyone involved in a project.]
“We’ve had some discussions, and we’re not going to do a PLA,” John Hartsock, co-finance chair of the Citizens for Schools Committee, answered without hesitation. “The amount of work they take could have an impact on those bidding on projects from the Gresham area.”
“It will all be prevailing wage work,” emphasized campaign manager Daniel Lewkow.
Building trades unions have been burned on prevailing wage jobs in the past, supporting tax increases to fund public projects, only to have their signatory union contractors left out of the bidding process or undercut by low-ball bids from nonunion subcontractors that don’t employ registered apprentices or pay area standard fringe benefits.
NOLC executive board members told Hartsock and Lewkow that it would be difficult for them to ask their members to support a tax increase knowing that a PLA won’t even be considered.
The $210 million school capital construction bond measure would cost homeowners $1.56 for every $1,000 of assessed value. Property taxes would increase by $22 a month for a home with a median assessed value of $167,350.
Some of the projects planned for the bond include renovations to replace roofs and electrical and plumbing systems, as well as expanding classroom space to allow for increased enrollment. None of the money from the bond measure can be used for operating schools.
NOLC’s executive board did not endorse the bond measure. Instead, board members directed Executive Secretary Bob Tackett to send a letter to the Gresham-Barlow school board, and to a half-dozen political allies in the school distict who have endorsed the bond measure, informing them that the AFL-CIO will not support the levy without a PLA, and request that they reconsider their position. Among those on the list are Reps. Shemia Fagan, Chris Gorsek, and Greg Mathews; state Sen. Laurie Monnes-Anderson;Multnomah County Commissioner Diane McKeel; and Metro Councilor Shirley Craddick.
(Editor’s Note: NOLC passed a resolution last year pledging not to support any bond levies that didn’t at least consider a project labor agreement.)
