PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS: AN ENVIRONMENT FOR CONSTRUCTION LABOR RELATIONS STABILITY AND EFFECTIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

摘要

The Emergency Storage Project (ESP) is a $827 million undertaking of the San Diego County Water Authority (Authority). The ESP is a system of reservoirs, pipelines, and other facilities that will work together to store and move water around the county in the event of a natural disaster. A major component of the ESP is the Olivenhain Dam, which is being constructed during the first phase of the ESP. The Olivenhain Dam follows a tight schedule, involving 24-hr Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) placement. It is critical for the project to be completed without delays, in order to protect the region's $117 billion economy, job base, and quality of life. Working with limited financial resources of the public, construction must also be done in an efficient and economical manner. In the planning stages, the Authority determined that a comprehensive system of labor-management governance on the ESP should be considered. The Authority concluded that such a system would enable it to: establish cost-effective terms and conditions of employment, create a system for control of disputes and their resolution, and include the most advanced and effective means available to ensure stability of the labor-management relationship. The ESP Project Labor Agreement (PLA) was developed to accomplish these goals and has become an integral part of Authority's management of the Olivenhain Dam and the ESP construction effort. The PLA is a collective bargaining agreement tailored specially for the ESP. Among the PLA benefits to the owner is the Unions' commitment not to engage in any strikes, slow downs, or interruption of work, and the Contractors' commitment not to engage in any lockout throughout the construction period. In turn, effective and binding methods for the settlement of all labor misunderstandings, disputes, and grievances must be established. The procedures of this PLA are more sophisticated and effective than exist in local collective bargaining agreements that would otherwise apply. Several disputes resolution procedures are part of the PLA: 1) Disputes and grievances related to employee and union disputes over terms and conditions of employment, 2) Jurisdictional disputes, 3) Resolution of work stoppages, strikes, picketing, and other forms of jobsite disruption under a special arbitration procedure expressly designed for such issues before a permanent neutral arbitrator, and 4) Cost-effective worker's compensation system that binds participants to a system of mediation and arbitration, rather than going to court, to settle all disputes and grievances related to on-the-job injuries. This paper provides a background of a PLA in general, the Authority's decision to implement the PLA on the ESP, the various dispute resolution procedures of the PLA currently used on Olivenhain Dam, as well as other aspects of the PLA such as the Apprentice and Alcohol/Drug Free Work Place Policy. All components of the PLA work together, which has led to a low number of disputes and arbitrations to date, and will continue to lead to a Project that is constructed efficiently, without delays, and ensure the regions economy, job base, and quality of life.