PRO-UNION BALLOT MEASURE PROPOSED

Council eyes vote to end ban on project labor agreements

SAN DIEGO

San Diego voters may get a chance this November to end the city’s 8-year-old partial ban on project labor agreements, which are special labor deals for major projects that are supported by construction unions and typically opposed by developers.

The City Council is scheduled to consider today a proposed November ballot measure that would allow San Diego to resume considering such agreements for all city projects.

The measure would reverse a city policy that has prohibited project labor agreements since 2012 unless the state requires such agreements as a condition of the state financially contributing to the project. The partial ban on project labor agreements was approved by nearly 60 percent of city voters as part of Proposition A. Supporters said Proposition A would help workers by creating an even playing field for union and nonunion contractors.

Nonunion contractors and developers typically oppose project labor agreements because the deals usually require union workers on projects, increasing costs for developers and putting nonunion contractors at a disadvantage.

Construction unions strongly support project labor agreements, contending they boost local wages, reduce the likelihood of labor disputes, often include “local hire” requirements and boost career training through apprenticeships.

The new ballot measure is being spearheaded by the San Diego Building & Construction Trades Council, a powerful local labor union. Opponents include local

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developers, some Black contractors and Black community leaders. They say the measure would eliminate thousands of Black construction jobs by killing inner-city apprentice programs that have been successful.

The City Council’s Rules Committee endorsed the measure twice this spring, both times by a 3-2 vote. Democrats Georgette Gómez, Chris Ward and Monica Montgomery voted yes both times, with Democrat Barbara Bry and Independent Mark Kersey opposed both times.

The Building & Construction Trades Council says the new measure would safeguard state infrastructure funding, which the city’s partial ban on project labor agreements has been jeopardizing.

“As San Diego struggles to recover from this economic crisis, we can’t afford to lose millions in state funding for essential neighborhood infrastructure and local jobs,” said Tom Lemmon, the union’s business manager.

Lemmon also touts additional elements of the ballot measure, including anti-discrimination protections for city public works contracts, greater public disclosure of construction bids and creating a Citizen’s Construction Project Oversight Board to guard against fraud, waste and abuse.

Lemmon says big construction contractors and downtown developers pushed for Proposition A because they want to pay employees less, use out-of-state workers and avoid taxpayer oversight.

Doug Barnhart, past president of the National Associated General Contractors, says Lemmon’s concerns about state money don’t make sense, because Proposition A allows exceptions when state money is in jeopardy.

Barnhart also says reversing Proposition A would hurt hard-working men and women in apprenticeship programs, such as those offered by the Black Contractors Association of San Diego.

At a joint news conference Monday with the Black Contractors Association, the Rev. Shane Harris of the People’s Alliance for Justice said the ballot measure would “line the pockets of the unions” instead of putting money into the households of San Diego’s construction workers.

He also said the timing of the measure seems particularly inappropriate.

“In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and during this time of national crisis with racial bias and injustices, how can such a proposal even be considered?” Harris said. “The voters agreed that taxpayer-funded construction projects should be procured through a fair and open process. Reversing this practice will be devastating to the Black community.”

If the measure makes it onto the November ballot, it would need a simple majority to pass.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com