Saturday, January 25, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Project labor agreement at airport scrutinized

Officials at McCarran International Airport say they want "skilled craftsmen" working on their construction projects, and that's why they implemented a project labor agreement for expansion of the D-gate terminal and a consolidated car rental area.

The agreement, adopted by the airport in November, stipulates that union labor must be employed and that prevailing union wages be paid on public works projects.

Victor Fuchs, president of Helix Electric in Las Vegas, takes it as an insult to his nonunion crews who did much of the electrical work on the $200 million terminal when it was built in 1998.

He said his company is essentially being shut out from bidding on new airport projects.

"What do I tell my people?" Fuchs asked Friday. "They went to a (project labor agreement). My question is why? They had a successful project before."

One of the specifications of the project labor agreement is that a "merit" shop, or nonunion contractor, employ no more than seven workers on the job, and they must alternate with workers from the union hall, Fuchs said.

"If I can't use and rely on my proven labor force, chances are the project is going to be greatly inhibited," he said.

Warren Hardy, president of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Southern Nevada, said a project labor agreement drives up labor costs on public works projects by 40 percent, and that Gov. Kenny Guinn might want to think about following President Bush's lead to cut the expenditure side of Nevada's budget.

The Bush administration recently issued an executive order prohibiting the use of project labor agreements on projects utilizing federal funds.

Hilarie Grey, spokeswoman for McCarran, said the projects at McCarran are not federally funded.

Project labor agreements create a disadvantage for thousands of nonunion workers, and some will probably lose their jobs because of it, Hardy said.

"It is astonishing to think that we are utilizing a process whereby hundreds and potentially thousands of Nevada workers will be unable to work on a publicly funded project just because their employers are not affiliated with a union," he said.

Merit shops are not technically shut out from bidding, but there's a "variety of disincentives for merit shops to bid," Hardy said, including the seven-employee provision. Additional workers must be hired from the union hall.

"Think about it. You're the union steward, you want to make Helix look bad," he said. "Who do you think they're going to send out? So the quality of their work is subject to something beyond his (Fuchs') control."

Hardy, a Republican state senator, said it was union pressure on the Clark County Board of Commissioners, which oversees McCarran's operations, that resulted in the recent announcement of the project labor agreement.

Many ABC contractors have said they will not even bid on the projects, Hardy said.

McCarran has spent $1.1 billion on airport improvements since 1985, including the D gates, $60 million in runway and ramp improvements and $11 million for renovation of the C gates.

The airport postponed $220 million worth of construction projects after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but has since resumed the $120 million car rental center and $100 million D-gate expansion. The airport is also in the design process of a planned $300 million international terminal.