Telecommunications Weekly, May 27, 2009, Wednesday

Copyright 2009 Telecommunications Weekly via VerticalNews.com
Telecommunications Weekly

May 27, 2009, Wednesday

HEADLINE: Union Ironworkers Support Project Labor Agreement Study

BODY:
The skilled tradesmen who do more than you can imagine Union Ironworkers are in full support of the recently released study titled Project Labor Agreements in New York State: In the Public Interest by Fred B. Kotler, the Associate Director of the Construction Industry Program at the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Union Ironworkers support the results of the independent study affirming that a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) is an effective construction management tool for quality construction.

The use of PLAs on construction projects has successfully ensured work for ironworkers who are well-trained and capable of completing projects in a timely manner. Our proud union fully supports the use of PLA s and will con-tinue to do our part with other building trades as we coordinate our work and fulfill our requirements based on these agreements, said Joseph Hunt, general president of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers.

According to Kotler s study, PLAs provide job stability and prevent costly delays by providing a uniform contract expiration date guaranteeing no-strikes and no-lockouts, providing alternative dispute resolution proce-dures and assuring that contractors get immediate access to a pool of well-trained and highly-skilled workers through union referral procedures.

According to the National Building Trades, Ironworkers and other building trade unions successfully completed 34 documented PLA projects in 2008. Between 2004 and 2008 103 PLA projects were completed. Additional PLA pro-jects are and have been negotiated on the state and local level. These agreements may include various owner require-ments and are not typically reported on the national level due to variances within the resolution dispute procedures. About Union Ironworkers Members of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers are part of the construction trades. It is their job to unload, erect and connect steel beams that form the skeleton of a structure in addition to working in precast concrete, metal buildings, reinforcing steel, ornamental iron and metal curtain wall construction. Throughout the United States and Canada there are over 120,000 union Ironworkers in local hiring halls and fabrication shops. More information can be found at www.Ironworkers.org or www.IMPACT-net.org.

Keywords: AT & T, Telecommunications, Union Ironworkers.
This article was prepared by Telecommunications Weekly editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Telecommunications Weekly via VerticalNews.com.

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