Union leaders and the New York State Thruway Authority agreed to a Project Labor Agreement for the upcoming Tappan Zee Bridge project that officials estimate will save more than $450 million.
Fourteen labor organizations signed onto the PLA, which will serve as a contract between union workers, the eventual contractor and the Thruway Authority, which owns the Tappan Zee, for the duration of the new bridge”™s construction.
“Replacing the Tappan Zee Bridge represents one of the largest public infrastructure projects in the nation, and the agreement reached today will allow thousands of New York”™s working men and women to secure good jobs building a new, safer bridge,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a June 18 statement.
While a PLA is not standard or required for all capital projects, state transportation officials deemed it a significant step toward preventing labor disputes on what will be the most expensive contract ever awarded by the state.
Key provisions include a standard 40-hour work week for all trades, a higher ratio of apprentices to journeypersons than typically allowed in collective bargaining agreements, and a provision under which workers who arrive one hour prior to their shift will be paid $25 a day rather than an hour of overtime, among other items.
The PLA also guarantees payments of fringe benefits, acts as a mechanism to settle disputes through a documented grievance process and prohibits lock-outs or other work disruptions.
Under the agreement, a memorandum of understanding will be signed between the Building Trades Council of Westchester and Putnam, the Rockland County Building Trades Council, the New York State Buildings Trade Council, and the Thruway Authority. The PLA is subject to final approval from the Federal Highway Administration and the Thruway Authority Board of Directors.
Ross J. Pepe, president of the Construction Industry Council of Westchester and Hudson Valley Inc., applauded the agreement.
“The PLA provides for continuity of the workforce, cost efficiencies, flexibility and productivities saving millions of dollars while at the same time assuring local workers the opportunity to participate in public works,” Pepe said in a statement.
