Public grievance: Billboard takes swipe at union-only construction projects
By JON CHESTO
The Patriot Ledger
BOSTON - At first glance, it might not be easy to see the link between the Big Dig and your town's latest school building project.
But a construction trade group is hoping that a billboard message will help commuters on the Southeast Expressway make that connection.
Associated Builders and Contractors, a group that represents many non-union construction firms, put up a billboard message in Dorchester yesterday aimed squarely at special agreements that some cities and towns make with labor unions.
The sign refers to the now-infamous leaks in the new Interstate 93 tunnel, asking drivers if they enjoy their ‘‘$15 billion car wash.''
ABC says the Big Dig project was built under a union-only ‘‘project labor agreement,'' and the group claims that similar deals that make it hard for non-union shops to bid for work could threaten the quality and cost of future school projects.
‘‘The most important thing is to ensure open competition among the entire industry,'' said Gregory Beeman, president of the Massachusetts ABC chapter. ‘‘The only thing that is a sure thing is that costs are going to increase because the pool of bidders is going to be restricted.''
Beeman said the billboard message targets South Shore commuters, in part, because of the amount of union activity in the area. He cited a series of recent school projects in Milton, as well as a pending high school project in Quincy, that he expects will be done with union workers.
The group is paying about $14,000 for the billboard near the South Bay shopping center above the southbound side of the Southeast Expressway through mid-February, Beeman said.
He said the group is ramping up its lobbying efforts because state and local officials are embarking on a long waiting list of school building projects.
The billboard is located near the Dorchester offices of Local 103 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.Local 103 business manager Michael Monahan criticized ABC's campaign, calling it misleading and inaccurate. He said project labor agreements help ensure a level of experience and training among the construction workers at a given site.
‘‘The schools that were done under project labor agreements, by far, come in on time, under budget and do not have delays in school openings,'' Monahan said.
Monahan, for one, wasn't buying the connection between the Big Dig and the state's school building program.
‘‘They're trying to sway public opinion on project labor agreements based on the biggest (public) engineering feat known to mankind,'' Monahan said. ‘‘To try and make an analogy that the project labor agreement on a school is going to have the same problems, I don't think is fair. ... You can't compare the two.''
Jon Chesto may be reached at jchesto@ledger.com.
Copyright 2005 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Wednesday, January 26, 2005
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