PRESS RELEASE: Associated Builders and Contractors New Jersey Chapter Issues Statement On Passing Of Bill S-3414

The New Jersey Senate voted today to add even more costs to “public work projects.” Associated Builders and Contractors New Jersey (ABC NJ) issued a statement on the matter today. Their statement follows:

Today, the New Jersey Senate voted to pass Bill S-3414, which revises the “public work projects” definition to permit government-mandated project labor agreements on additional categories of jobs, by a vote of 29-6. Under the existing Project Labor Agreement Act, if a public works contract is for the construction, reconstruction, demolition, or renovation of buildings over $5 million, it is subject to a government-mandated Project Labor Agreement (PLA). S-3414 legislation will extend the PLA requirement to any public works contract exceeding $5 million.

A PLA is a project-specific collective bargaining agreement unique to the construction industry. Typically, PLAs force contractors to recognize unions as the representatives of their employees on a given project, discouraging merit shop contractors from bidding on taxpayer-funded construction activities. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2019), only 17.8 % of New Jersey’s private construction workforce is represented by a union.

“The expansion of PLAs will directly and negatively impact our membership base which accounts for more than 450,000 workers in the state of New Jersey,” said Samantha DeAlmeida, Second Vice President and Government Affairs Liaison. “More pointedly, this legislation, that claims to promote diversity in public work projects, does just the opposite. It is exclusionary to 80% of the construction workforce, many of which are minority and female-owned businesses.”

“In fact, according to the National Black Chamber of Commerce, 98% of Black and Hispanic construction companies are non-union and this legislation will limit any possibility of these businesses competing on public projects,” DeAlmeida continued. “Furthermore, existing PLA-driven legislation has been in non-compliance since its inception. Elected officials decided to move forward with this legislation anyways even though we do not have a thorough understanding of the impact that this will have on our state.”

On July 25th, 2002, The Project Labor Agreement Act was signed into law. Section C:52:38 of the Act required an annual report be provided to the Governor and Legislature detailing the effectiveness of all PLAs entered pursuant to the act. Parameters of the required report were outlined including a requirement that the first report is prepared and submitted on December 31, 2003, and each year thereafter. Additionally, the Act requires that in the 2006 report an analysis should be included detailing the overall effectiveness of the Act. To date, the only study that has been conducted took place in 2010, based on data from 2008.

“We are at a point in time where job growth and workforce diversity should be the priority, not restricting who can bid on jobs,” said Sam Fiocchi, President of ABC-NJ. “We simply ask on behalf of our members, taxpayers in the State of New Jersey, and the entire construction workforce that the vast majority of the construction industry have an equitable opportunity to work on these public projects.”

“According to the State’s own study, enforcing PLAs on public school projects resulted in increased costs of 33%, and slowed project timelines by 6-8 weeks. This bill will simply cost taxpayers more, exclude the vast majority of construction workers from these jobs, and harm those it claims to help,” Fiocchi concluded.

About Associated Builders and Contractors: ABC is a national association representing 21,000 merit shop construction and construction-related firms in 69 Chapters across the United States. Our membership represents all specialties within the U.S. construction industry and is comprised primarily of firms that perform work in the industrial and commercial sectors of the industry. ABC NJ is the industry's liaison to federal, state, and local governments and the public at large. For more information, please visit our website atwww.abcnjc.org.