Project labor agreements, requiring collective bargaining agreements for contractors working on county projects, would only give the county a leg up on winning some especially large federal grants, Loudoun supervisors heard at their meeting Thursday, Oct. 6.
County supervisors have begun debating making project labor agreements a regular part of county construction projects. Those agreements would set forth a collective bargaining agreement governing terms of employment for a specific county contract, enforcing collective bargaining on contractors who seek to work on Loudoun County projects. On Thursday, county staff members briefed supervisors on when those requirements might help Loudoun win more federal grant money for those projects—and when, more often, they won’t.
To win American Rescue Plan Act funding for projects with a total cost over $10 million, applicants must show they are including a project labor agreement or similar workforce protections. Currently, according to a county staff report, Loudoun only has one such ongoing project: the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative Broadband project to expand fiber optic internet connections to all of Loudoun in partnership with All Points Broadband. In that case, All Points Broadband is putting forth an alternative to a project labor agreement called a “project workforce continuity plan.”
County consultant, The Ferguson Group analyzed 78 competitive federal grants programs funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, finding that only some mention project labor agreements, and in most cases do not require them but may offer additional points in scoring applications for including them.
“To read the tea leaves, a little bit, I think some members of the board certainly want a PLA and I think they were hoping that there would be a clear advantage in the federal process to having one, and that would be a reason why we should adopt them,” said Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles), who with his two Republican colleagues on the county board voted against moving toward project labor agreements. “And I think what you’re coming back and telling us is we can choose to adopt one if we choose to after we have the whole discussion in January about the pros and cons, but as far as obtaining from grants, it doesn’t really buy a huge benefit.”
Another change supervisors have already made does allow the county to win funding from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the prevailing wage rule. That requires contractors to pay employees at least the prevailing wage for their skill and trade in the region, as measured and set forth by the U.S. Department of Labor.
And, county staff reported, contractor rules like that mean the county can already meet many of the requirements of federal grants looking for project labor agreements or similar worker protections.
More study of project labor agreements is on its way. County staff members are expected back by January with a report including the types of projects best suited for a county project labor agreement; information for the timeline and process to implement a project labor agreement; options for tailoring a Loudoun County agreement such as hiring locally, contracting with minority-owned businesses; or guaranteeing timely project completion.
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October 08, 2022 at 12:59AM
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Contractor Union Rules Not Necessary for Most Federal Grants, Loudoun Supervisors Hear - Loudoun Now
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