Introduction
A Project Labor Agreement is a collective bargaining agreement hat requires the workforce unionization. Before any employee is hired on the project, all terms and conditions should be discussed. Under the PLA the costs for labor are established before any work takes place, they include wages, compensations and other benefits. The unions neither lead nor dominate any proceedings. The Case Study involving the violation of the PLA by a contractor is a bright example of how contractors can ignore the rules of the agreement to save funds.
Case Study
Rocket Motor Corporation has made an agreement with local traders unions about a remodeling project at one of the plants. As the most important part of the agreement, the union should not engage in any strikes while the building process is on. In return, the Corporation promised to hire contractors that will employ workers to help with performing the construction. Bolton Engineering was one of the contractors hired by Rocket Motor, however; it was soon clear that the contractor hired non-union workers to work off-site that were paid less than the union workers ($20.73 per hour versus $9.00 paid to the non-union employees). The local leaders of Steel Fabrication union believed that such act by Bolton Engineering was a violation of the labor agreement between the company and the subcontractors (Holley, Jennings & Wolters, 2012, p. 378).
Project Labor Agreement
The main purpose of the project labor agreement is awarding the public construction contracts only to unionized companies. The process of unionization is conducted with the help pf a union collective bargaining agreement. In order to receive a contract, the contractor must sign the agreement and start the process of unionization.
The project labor agreement also requires hiring employees for the project specifically through union hiring halls, however, the hiring hall can employ non-union workers (What is a Project Labor Agreement and how does it affect workers par. 8).
Answers
In the Case Study that involved Bolton Engineering, the company did to sign the PLA directly, however it was bound by its terms when it comes to hiring union labor on the project site, as well as it was the duty of the company as a contractor to submit all labor disputes to arbitration for resolving any issues.
While a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) can require the unionization of the employees on one project, it does not mean that there should be forced union representation off-site. Thus, if there are no specifications about the exertion of the unions to other projects, PLA means to apply only on the job site (as contended by Bolton Engineering).
The question of whether it is legitimate for a labor organization to encourage contractors to perform the job on the work site is complicated. On one hand, employees that work on the job site are paid according to the PLA and have benefits; on the other, for the job to fit into the deadline, some of the work should be done off-site. Thus, the work preservation clauses aimed at performing the job on the work site are legitimate only in particular cases. Work preservation clauses limit subcontractors on projects to those companies that signed the PLA, thus, there is no actual business interest for the employer, as he cannot hire any additional workforce to work off-site.
References
Holley, W. H., Jennings. K. M., & Wolters, R. S. (2012). The Labor Relations Process (10th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
What is a Project Labor Agreement and how does it affect workers.(n.d.). Web.