Contractors challenge union labor requirement
A construction trade group is challenging a Westmoreland County mandate that requires union labor in public works projects.
Hampton-based Associated Builders and Contractors of Western Pennsylvania on Monday filed a three-count civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania that seeks to stop Westmoreland County from requiring workers on public projects to be represented by a union that’s affiliated with the Pittsburgh Regional Building Trades Council. Since 2016, Westmoreland County has required companies that bid on larger taxpayer funded projects to be affiliated with the trades council, according to the lawsuit.
“The intent of the county’s project labor agreement is plain: to prevent the more than 70% of Pennsylvania’s construction workforce who don’t belong to a union from competing to build and work on projects funded by taxpayer dollars and to drive more dues revenue to one particular group of unions that are politically allied with Democratic county commissioners,” ABC President Pete Gum said in a prepared statement.
According to the lawsuit, 25 states ban project labor agreements.
Tom Melcher, business manager of the Pittsburgh Regional Building Trades Council, was unavailable late Monday. Commissioners Ted Kopas and Charles Anderson were unavailable. Commissioner Gina Cerilli said she could not comment on pending litigation.
Walter S. Zimolong, principal at the Villanova, Pa.-based firm of Zimolong LLC and one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said union work rules drive up construction costs.
ABC is “pro everybody, union and nonunion,” he said. “Everybody should have a chance to bid on a project.”
The lawsuit asks the court to declare the county in violation of plaintiffs’ rights under the National Labor Relations Board Act and Pennsylvania’s competitive bidding laws. The lawsuit also seeks costs and legal fees.
In addition to ABC, the plaintiffs include Westmoreland Electric Services LLC, East Huntingdon Township; Lawrence Plumbing LLC of Vandergrift; and Westmoreland County resident Andrew Cilia, who is employed by plaintiff Alex E. Paris Contracting Co. Inc., of Washington County.
Mr. Cilia is a member of the United Steelworkers union, which is not affiliated with the Pittsburgh Regional Building Trades Council, Mr. Zimolong said.
ABC, which is based in Washington, D.C., supports a federal ban on requiring union representation in companies that win taxpayer-funded contracts worth more than $150,000. The requirement can increase construction costs by 12% to 18% compared to ones without project labor agreements, according to ABC, while excluding non-union companies from bidding on publicly funded projects.