Baltimore City Council is introducing Project Labor Agreement Legislation at its meeting, Monday 1/27 at 5 p.m. at the City Council Building (100 N. Holiday Street, Suite 400, Baltimore, MD).
The Baltimore & D.C. Building Trades is asking all construction tradespeople, especially those who live in the city of Baltimore, to attend the City Council meeting to show support for this important legislation. Please plan to come out for the meeting TONIGHT!
This legislation would require a Project Labor Agreement on city funded projects over $25 million, or any long term project that covers multiple locations over $15 million.
Project Labor Agreements:
- Have been used for decades for public and private sector projects, including for significant projects in Maryland.
- Increase project efficiency by setting uniform ground rules that apply to all contractors working on the project.
- Help project owners ensure that all goals are met on the project and that the project is completed in a timely way.
- Help prevent wage theft from workers, which has become an epidemic in the Construction industry.
- Are competitive agreements that do not prevent any contractors from bidding.
- Are a great tool for encouraging local hiring and connecting multi-employer apprenticeship programs to projects that have guaranteed work force outcomes. Project Labor Agreements help create careers for people in construction, not just jobs.
Project Labor Agreements DO NOT:
- Discriminate against non-union workers. Anyone willing to work under the terms of the agreement is free to apply for work on the project. In fact, federal law prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on whether they are union members.
- Discriminate against non-union contractors. Any contractor is allowed to bid and be awarded work on the project. Non-union contractors are awarded work on projects covered by PLAs.
- Project labor agreements are not “UNION ONLY.”