News for Labor Issues
AGC Talks Taxes, PLAs, Card Check with Members of Congress
As part of the AGC National & Chapter Leadership Conference in Washington D.C. AGC of Washington leaders Tom Zamzow (Granite Construction) Pat McGarry (Manson Construction) and Steve Isenhart (Tiger Construction) joined AGC’s Executive Vice President David D’Hondt Government Affairs Director ...
Posted on: 10/05/2010
Labor Update: Negotiations with Laborers and Teamsters Continue
By Doug Peterson AGC’s Director of Labor Relations
The 2010 labor negotiations continue into October. The labor contracts for the five basic crafts Carpenters Cement Masons Laborers Operating Engineers and Teamsters were up for negotiations this year. The anniversary date for the labor agreeme...
Posted on: 10/04/2010
National AGC Persuades Corps of Engineers to Withdraw PLA Requirement
By Marco Giamberardino Senior Director Federal and Heavy Construction Division AGC of America
Solicitations requiring bidders on certain U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) construction projects to submit an executed project labor agreement (PLA) prompted AGC of America to write and call agency...
Posted on: 08/24/2010
Carpenters and Cement Masons Ratify Two-Year Agreement
The negotiations between AGC of Washington and the Carpenters and Cement Mason Unions have been successfully completed. The Carpenters extended the current wages and fringes with no increase for the final two years until May 31 2012.
The Cement Masons agreement will freeze the total wage fringe...
Posted on: 07/13/2010
Operating Engineers Ratify Two-Year Agreement
The negotiations between AGC of Washington and the Operating Engineers union have been successfully completed with the ratification of an agreement by Local 302 and Local 612 membership. Recognizing the current economic conditions the Union and AGC representing its contractor members have agreed...
Posted on: 06/29/2010
Tentative Agreements Reached with OE and Carpenters
By Doug Peterson AGC’s Director of Labor Relations
The Negotiating Committees for the Operating Engineers and Carpenters report that they have reached tentative agreements with their respective unions.
Operating Engineers
The Operating Engineers completed the final year of a three year agreeme...
Posted on: 06/15/2010
New PLA for Port of Seattle Escalator Project
The Port of Seattle negotiated a new PLA agreement with Labor for the upcoming $40 million Escalator Modernization Contract at SeaTac Airport. Despite substantial discussions with the AGC/POS Best Practices committee the new agreement is little improved over the previous document and unfortunatel...
Posted on: 05/25/2010
Members Invited to Labor Negotiation Meetings
Mike Tucci of Tucci and Sons Chair of AGC Labor Committee has announced a series of meetings to discuss the upcoming 2010 Labor Negotiations with the five basic crafts. The purpose of the meetings is to update signatory contractors on strategies and schedules for negotiations and to provide an op...
Posted on: 02/02/2010
Members Invited to Labor Negotiation Meetings
Mike Tucci of Tucci and Sons Chair of the AGC of Washington Labor Committee has announced a series of meetings to discuss the upcoming 2010 Labor Negotiations with the five basic crafts. The purpose of the meetings is to update signatory contractors on strategies and schedules for negotiations an...
Posted on: 01/26/2010
New Prevailing Wage Rates Effective Sept. 2
The Department of Labor and Industries has announced new prevailing wages rates. For a county-by-county breakdown of the new rates click prevailing wage rates.
Posted on: 08/17/2009
Unfunded Family Leave Insurance Kept Alive by Bill
The Senate Ways and Means Committee passed SB 6158 which delays the implementation of the family leave program. The Legislature has not been able to find a funding source to support the family leave program since the original legislation was passed in 2007.
AGC maintains that the program should...
Posted on: 04/16/2009
Senate Passes Bill to Expand Apprenticeship Quotas to Higher Ed
The State Senate passed legislation opposed by AGC which extends apprenticeship quota requirements to higher education projects and adds violations of apprentice regulations as elements in both determining bidder responsibility as well as a possible Prevailing Wage strike for bidding eligibility ...
Posted on: 03/17/2009
Card Check Bill Mandates Binding Arbitration after 120 Days
With the election of President Barak Obama and the House and Senate moving to the control of the Democrats many of the legislative initiatives of organized labor will come to the forefront in 2009. Of President Obamas first actions two were issues pushed by the Unions - the Fair Pay Act (Lilly L...
Posted on: 03/10/2009
Apprentice Bill Improved but Still Problematic
Legislation regarding apprentices has been improved but is still being opposed by AGC.
The original Bill SB 5873 would have required that apprentices be used for at least 15 percent of the labor hours of each trade or craft on public works projects with apprentice utilization requirements instea...
Posted on: 03/03/2009
Sound Transit to Reinstate Mandatory PLA Requirement on U Link Project
As reported previously in AGC Works (see article here) President Obama rescinded the Bush Administration Executive order prohibiting mandatory Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) on projects with federal funds. Last Thursday Sound Transit announced its intention to require a PLA on the U-Link projec...
Posted on: 03/03/2009
Apprentice Quota Bill Requires 15 Percent of Hours for Each Trade or Craft
Bill SB 5873 requires among other things that apprentices must be used for at least 15 percent of the labor hours of each trade or craft on public works projects with apprentice utilization requirements instead of 15 percent of the total labor hours. Plus contracts awarded by state four-year inst...
Posted on: 02/18/2009
Obama Signs Executive Orders Undoing Bush's Support for Open Shop
By Judd Lees Williams Kastner
During his two terms in office President Bush did not make many friends of organized labor when he passed several Executive Orders which appeared to open up federally-funded projects to open shop contractors. One in particular did away with project labor agreements...
Posted on: 02/18/2009
Three Specialty Trades Reach Contract Agreement
The Ironworkers ratified a three year agreement by a four to one margin. This concluded the construction industry contract negotiation season for this year. Earlier this summer the plumbers and pipefitters and the sprinkler fitters reached agreement.
The only negotiation which resulted in a st...
Posted on: 08/20/2008
Pension Plans for Five Basic Crafts Appear in Good Shape
By Doug Peterson AGCs Director of Labor Relations
Construction professionals and craftsmen work hard for many years and deserve a decent retirement benefit. So given the volatility of the stock market over the last few years its prudent to ask: How are the pension plans co-sponsored by AGC far...
Posted on: 07/08/2008
US Supreme Court Decision May Kill WA State Union Neutrality Proposal
The US Supreme Court struck down 7-2 a California law imposing union neutrality requirements on employers doing business with the state.
As reported by the Association of Washington Business this long awaited decision Chamber of Commerce v. Brown ought to tamp down the top legislative priority o...
Posted on: 06/24/2008
Court Upholds Protection Against Liens if Subs Do Not Pay Trust Funds
By Jesse Miller Stanislaw Ashbaugh
Washington law continues to protect prime contractors from claims by employee benefit trust funds against general contractors payment bonds or retainage funds when subcontractors fail to pay their trust fund contributions.
In 1994 in Puget Sound Electrical Wor...