Boston – The state authorities in the executive must weigh project employment agreements for all public construction work with a price of more than 35 million US dollars according to a order of governor Maura Healey issued on Tuesday.
According to a convention of Massachusetts Building Trades, Healey signed an executive regulation to promote the use of project employment agreements or plas in larger public work projects.
These business often only require only union workers to use and are sometimes controversial because the opponents claim that they could discourage the competition.
Healey's office said that her order “a framework” for compliance with the language in the economic development law, which she signed last year, complied with what enables the municipalities and government agencies to enter plas.
“There are so many critical construction projects across the state – the upgrading of our streets and bridges, the improvement of the infrastructure for small companies and much more,” said Healey in a statement. “We know that it is really important that these projects are set up for success. This means that the contractors have a trained and prepared workforce to which the deadlines adhere to, are in the budget and can protect everyone. In many cases, Plas can help to achieve this and at the same time promote good employment opportunities for employees with all areas, including veterans, women and minorities. “
In the arrangement of Healey, the authorities of the business department must check each project whose estimated costs exceed 35 million US dollars to determine whether the use of a project employment contract is in the best interest of the Commonwealth or the agency, based on factors such as the scope and complexity of the work, the necessary workforce and the effects of prices and effects.
The state could request the use of a PLA for a project, “if and only if” that civil servants who carry out the review determine that such a deal is in the best interest of the state or the executive authority, the order says.
While project employment agreements often require the use of trade union work, Healey's office said that the executive regulation does not exclude the use of Plas or that projects are only limited to union union workers.
Officials said plastic played an important role in several important construction projects, including public such as the New Holyoke Veterans Home and private developments such as Gillette Stadium.
The Healey office cited an analysis published this month, in which a similar policy in Illinois was increased and the total construction costs were not impaired and probably reduced the costs for taxpayers. This report was created by researchers with the Illinois Economic Policy Initiative and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaid project to renew the middle class.
The Healey Administration has introduced the executive regulation with the support of several organized workers' leaders, including the President of the AFL CIO presidents of Massachusetts AFL-CIO, Chrissy Lynch and Mass. Buile Trades Union President Frank Callahan, as well as representatives of community organizations, construction companies and contractor industry groups.
“By promoting the strategic use of project employment agreements for large, sophisticated building jobs in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the governor and their administration take measures to ensure that the most complex projects are created by a coherent, well -trained workforce with the knowledge and experience to improve the project overriding and the planning of cost were “, said the CEO CEO CEO CEO CEO from Subolk Conduction Company. “We welcome the efforts of governor Healey, security, workforce and tax responsibility to prioritize for construction projects that have the greatest effects on our industry and region.”
However, opponents claim that project employment agreements can restrict the competition and increase costs by demanding trade union work, which can reduce the area of potential bidders.
Greg Beeman, CEO of the associated builders and contractors of Massachusetts, described Healey's Executive Order as a “solution in search of a problem”.
“The premise is as if there is a problem that has to be solved and plas will solve it. But I believe that big projects are successfully carried out every day by a mix of trade union and non-union contracts, ”said Beeman in an interview.
BEEMAN, whose group represents hundreds of contractors, subcontractors and other companies who employ their own employees directly instead of union workers, argued that bidders already have to comply with several levels of certification, which is in the case of wage requirements and the safety regulations for public projects.
“If more than 80 percent of the workforce are not in unions but can only work unions on a PLA job, they have a big problem with the ability of most industries,” he said.