Bill would ban governments from mandating union labor

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- After numerous failed attempts to win public support for replacing their inadequate, century-old courthouse, Cass County officials finally discovered a way to build a constituency for the project in 1999.

Forging a partnership with organized labor, county officials publicly agreed that if voters approved a bond issue to fund a new $37 million courthouse, the county would insist on a project labor agreement with the contractor specifying that construction jobs thereby generated would go to union members.

In a county with as many as 12,000 union households, Cass County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Koster said that strategic move paid off.

"The project labor agreement was a political decision Cass County officials made that vested a significant portion of our population in a tremendous need that had little support," said Koster, a Republican.

Under a bill heard Wednesday by the House Workforce Development and Workplace Safety Committee, state and local governments would be prohibited from mandating union labor -- or forbidding it -- when bidding public works projects.

State Rep. Rob Mayer, R-Dexter, said his bill would generate competition in the bidding process and save taxpayers money.

"When bidding on public contracts financed by taxpayers, I don't think we should restrict who can work on that project," Mayer said.

Project labor agreements specify certain conditions a contractor must adhere to when undertaking a project. Mayer said that can increase a project's cost to taxpayers by 10 to 20 percent.

Jim Plunkett, a Platte City contractor, told the committee he doesn't bother seeking work on projects governed by such agreements.

"Project labor agreements would require me to hire from the union hall and not use my own longtime, skilled employees," Plunkett said. "It is really a pretty slick arrangement to avoid competition."

Carl Degen, president of the regional chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors, said his group's philosophy is that public entities should award contracts based on the merit of the bid, not union affiliation.

"If you have more bidders, you have the best chance of getting the lowest price for taxpayer dollars," Degen said.

State Rep. Thomas George, D-Florissant, noted no governmental body is obligated to require union labor. George, the president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local No. 1, said Mayer's bill would diminish local control.

"You are trying to take away their right to decide what they want to do," George said.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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