Gov. Maura Healey plans to sign an executive order Tuesday that would require executive branch agencies to review public construction projects with an estimated cost of over $35 million to determine if a project labor agreement is “in the best interest” of the project.
Healey argued the order would ensure construction projects are successfully completed on time and within budget while also increasing workers’ access to good-paying jobs. Union leaders cheered the move as one that could have a “huge impact” on the quality of life for construction workers.
“Every man and woman who labors in the construction industry deserves the opportunity to earn good wages and benefits under good and safe working conditions. By signing this executive order Gov. Healey has made that opportunity a reality for thousands of tradesmen and women all across Massachusetts,” Massachusetts Building Trades Union President Frank Callahan said in a statement provided by Healey’s office.
Healey said there are many critical construction projects underway across Massachusetts, including upgrades to roads and bridges and improving infrastructure for small businesses.
“We know that it’s really important that these projects are set up for success. This means ensuring that contractors have a trained and ready workforce to turn to and a plan for meeting deadlines, staying within budget and keeping everyone safe,” the Arlington Democrat said in a statement.
The order said project labor agreements can facilitate timely and efficient completion of large-scale public works projects “by making available a ready, reliable, and adequate supply of highly-trained and skilled craft workers, enabling more accurate determination of project labor costs at the outset.”
“In appropriate circumstances, the use of project labor agreements benefits the interests of the commonwealth from a cost-effectiveness, efficiency, quality, health, safety, access, opportunity, and timeliness standpoint,” the order said.
A project labor agreement is a collective bargaining agreement that is struck between contractors and labor organizations that establish the terms and conditions of employment for all contractors, subcontractors, and craft labor employees who are working on a specific project.
Healey said the executive order provides a framework for adhering to a section of an economic development bill she signed into law last year that allows state agencies to require project labor agreements on public works construction projects “when doing so is in the best interest of Massachusetts.”
The order does not require project labor agreements for any construction project and does not limit projects to only union labor, according to the Healey administration.
Bids would be solicited from union and non-union companies, “opening opportunities for contractors to partner with a wide network of subcontractors to meet workforce needs,” the administration said.
A state agency, when considering whether a project labor agreement is necessary, will need to determine the impacts an agreement would have on construction efficiency, cost, economic benefits to the agency, the availability of “skilled, qualified workers,” and the expansion of registered apprenticeship programs, according to the order.
In a statement provided by Healey’s office, Massachusetts ALF-CIO President Chrissy Lynch said project labor agreements guarantee good wages and benefits, safe working conditions, and “sustained investment in the local economy and workforce.”
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