Each day, PennDOT oversees the design, construction, and maintenance of transportation projects throughout the Commonwealth, which are essential for keeping our roads, highways and bridges safe and accessible. Many of PennDOT’s large-scale transportation construction projects are completed through partnerships with private entities, where PennDOT will solicit and award contracts to bidding contractors in the construction industry. In these cases, contractors will typically outsource their labor to cut costs, excluding local Pennsylvania businesses and workers from participating in state construction contracts. As such, I believe that Pennsylvania tax dollars should be used to support local workers, and in doing so, we can create new opportunities for Pennsylvania’s workers and improve the quality of our state transportation projects.
                                                                                             
For these reasons, I will be introducing legislation to require PennDOT to include a project labor agreement (PLA) on all eligible large-scale transportation construction projects, which will guarantee that awarded contractors hire at least 10% of their workforce from labor unions or local workers within the area of a project’s location. Moreover, this PLA will contain no-strike provisions and labor dispute procedures to ensure that projects are not interrupted by labor unrest and completed in a timely manner. This legislation will not require bidding contractors to be members of any labor organization, nor will it favor union contractors in the procurement process.
 
A PLA is simply a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement that outlines the terms for employment on a construction project, which is negotiated between a contractor and labor organizations. Construction industries have found that projects with PLAs experience lower turnover, fewer labor shortages, and reduction in overall project costs by almost 5% compared to those without PLAs. Therefore, I believe it is crucial that we utilize PLAs to guarantee skilled labor on our transportation projects, support Pennsylvania workers in the construction trade, and ensure that public funds are benefiting hardworking families in the Commonwealth.
 
I hope that you will join me in co-sponsoring this legislation to prioritize Pennsylvania’s construction workers in state contracts and safeguard our public investments in transportation.