"We don't know what the impact will be," Sean O'Neill, spokesperson for the Big Dig, tells GlobeSt.com. "But it's kind of obvious that it can have an impact."
The project labor agreement on the Big Dig has specified that only union workers would be used on the project. In exchange, unions promised not to strike. "We have had an excellent quality of work and no work stoppages for ten years," notes O'Neill. "We're at peak construction and peak expenditures daily now. It's been a huge benefit that there have been no strikes. That sort of situation could cause a huge problem."
Worker's wages on the Big Dig will probably not be affected by this latest directive. Legally, the prevailing wage in this state is equal to the union wage. The difference will be when projects go out to bid--reportedly, the project still has $800 million in work left to bid--bidders will no longer have to be union bidders. If union members do not like certain outcomes, a strike delay on a project this large would be extremely damaging.
Its unclear if the Big Dig's project labor agreement will manage to be grandfathered in. "The situation is in flux now," says O'Neill. "We're waiting to see how this will impact the project." The Big Dig is nearly 75% completed.
Sources tell GlobeSt.com that the impetus for the directive on project labor agreements is the Woodrow Wilson Bridge rehabilitation project, which connects Virginia and Maryland. "The Bush administration wanted to deal with that directly," says the source, "but it has a broad implication for the country."
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