Sen. Bob Dvorsky, D-Iowa, sent an e-mail to the state Board of Regents two days before its June 9 meeting, urging the board to require project labor agreements on all future construction projects of more than $25 million.
Regent President David Miles said the regents would not adopt any broad policy on the agreements, but they decided to try it on one project — the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics medical facility in Coralville.
The regents approved going forth in negotiating a project labor agreement on a split 5-4 vote.
Miles said it was not terribly common for regents to receive e-mails from senators, but they welcome input from anyone with concerns.
“I don’t think the e-mail did anything to impair the independence of the regents, but it was useful to know his perspective,” Miles said.
A project labor agreement is a pre-hiring bargaining agreement that defines the terms and conditions of employment. It is negotiated between the owner of the project and local unions before the bidding of the project and hiring of labor.
The regents have seen some controversy after approving the method to be used on the $73 million UIHC project, because many people are opposed to the use of project labor agreements for the university projects.
“Project labor agreements are inherently discriminatory against nonunion workers,” said Greg Spenner, the president and CEO of the Iowa Associated Builders and Contractors.
Following the June regents’ meeting, the association issued a statement arguing against the use of a project labor agreement.
Eighty-five percent of Iowa’s construction workforce chooses to be nonunion, according to the association.
“When the Board of Regents, on a very partisan vote, voted to establish a project labor agreement, they basically said to 85 percent of construction workers, ‘You don’t have the right to work on this job,’ ” Spenner said.
During the regents’ meeting, Regent Craig Lang said he believed a project labor agreement would drive Iowa’s good general contractors away from contracts. Regents Robert Downer and Jack Evans also spoke against the agreement.
The Iowa River Landing project will be the first project labor agreement used by the UI, and such agreements are also new to Iowa. Gov. Chet Culver issued an executive order on Feb. 3 encouraging state departments and agencies to use project labor agreements in future projects.
The first, a new state penitentiary in Fort Madison, broke ground on April 22.
“Using a project labor agreement has been effective,” said Iowa Board of Corrections Director John Baldwin. “There were very good, intense negotiations and we are pleased with the results.”
Only two of three contracts for Fort Madison are completed, Baldwin said, and he expects the project labor agreement will have more of an effect during the larger third contract with a general contractor.
Project labor agreements have also been used at other universities — the University of Massachusetts Building Authority Board recently voted to use one on a campuswide renovation project.
“The board felt it was beneficial for this type of project,” said Frank Callahan, a member of the Building Authority Board and President of Massachusetts Building Trades Council.
“Opponents of project labor agreements have gone to great lengths to make statements that confuse the public,” Callahan said. “To put it simply, project labor agreements set up standard working conditions for union and nonunion laborers to live by.”
The issue will go to regents for approval at their next meeting, on Aug. 5.