Project Labor Agreement

Rocky Hill Reverses Course On Project Labor Agreement

Town Threatened With Legal Action

By DAVID DRURY, Special to The Courant The Hartford Courant

10:15 p.m. EDT, October 8, 2013

ROCKY HILL — Facing the threat of legal action, the town council reversed a controversial decision made earlier this year to use a project labor agreement to determine wages, benefits and working conditions for the $45 million high school project.

The vote by the council Monday was unanimous, and followed an executive session at which council members received copies of a letter from an attorney representing the Connecticut Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. The association represents independent contractors who oppose the use of project labor agreements, which are favored by trade associations and union workers.

In the letter, made public Tuesday, attorney Peter J. Martin of the Hartford firm of Hinckley, Allen & Snyder LLP stated that since the council authorized the project labor agreement March 18, the Associated Builders and Contractors have been completely shut out of participating in the negotiation of its terms and conditions.

The town had promised it would be allowed to participate. "CTABC will not stand idle while the town drafts and implements a PLA without its participation and input," Martin wrote, in the letter to Town Attorney Morris R. Borea dated Sept. 25.

Should that agreement be completed and put in force "CTABC will pursue legal action against the town," Martin warned.

Responding to the letter, Borea said Tuesday that the town had solicited and received written comments from the contractors' group and were preparing to invite it to participate in a meeting to finalize the document.

"It is difficult to understand the charge that we somehow stonewalled the process given the enormous challenges presented by trying to draft a PLA that met the requirements of the statute and which was acceptable to both sides,'' Borea wrote in an e-mail.

A divided council had voted 5-4 to approve the agreement. The decision followed a well-attended public hearing featured conflicting presentations from union and nonunion officials on the merits of project labor agreements. Then deputy mayor, now Mayor Timothy Moriarty cast the decisive vote. Moriarty serves as vice president and executive board member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, and is a full-time instructor for the union's apprenticeship and training program.

The March vote "was improper because of a clear conflict of interest" with Moriarty's ties to the carpenters union "and that the town should revote the PLA approval with Mr. Moriarty recusing himself from the vote. That issue will be addressed in due course, if necessary" Martin wrote.

"We were told off- the-record that he was absolutely advised not to vote and he chose to ignore that advice. If he had voted, it would not have passed,'' said Lelah M. Campo, president of the Connecticut Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors Inc.

Moriarty has said that he did not have a conflict of interest because he will not be working on, or receive any economic benefit from work on the high school project. He could not be reached Tuesday.

Council Democrat Bill MacDonald, who took office in May, said sticking with the project labor agreement would have brought litigation, added cost to the project and resulted in potentially multiyear delays.

"I voted to rescind it. I don't want our kids to wait any longer,'' he said.

Minority leader Nadine Bell, one of three Republicans, and one Democrat, Larrye deBear, who voted against the agreement in March, said Tuesday that "in my opinion not having a PLA gives us an opportunity to come in at a lower cost."

Even without a project labor agreement, the project will likely end up 50 percent union, 50 percent nonunion, Campo predicted.

The neighboring towns of Wethersfield and Berlin are also in the midst of high school renovations. Neither has a project labor agreement, Campo said

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