Among the longstanding myths about building trade unions, perhaps the most shocking is the misnomer that workers often “go on strike.”
For the past couple of decades, union ironworkers have worked under collective bargaining agreements, most of which include a “no-strike” provision. By collectively negotiating terms and conditions of employment before starting a project, employers ensure timely delivery of their projects. It leaves no room for labor disputes, lockouts and strikes. They simply can’t.
A Project Labor Agreement (PLA) is a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement that applies to all workers for the duration of the project. PLAs have long been used in the public and private sectors. Publicly or privately financed, PLAs guarantee the completion of large, complex projects without disruptions and save end users, investors and taxpayers billions of dollars.
A Cornell University study of 185 PLAs in 2011 concluded that they benefit everyone involved — the construction industry, end users, contractors, workers, local communities and taxpayers: “PLAs provide value for government and corporate purchasers of construction services, producing the best work for the money with on-time, on-budget performance,” it reads.
A 2010 Economic Policy Institute briefing paper stated, “PLAs can help projects meet deadlines by guaranteeing a steady supply of highly skilled labor and by reconciling various work routines of various trades.” They require high safety standards and include provisions for workforce development and apprenticeship programs with standardized curricula.
National Maintenance Agreements (NMAs) — a series of collective project agreements among more than 2,000 participating industrial contractors and 14 union crafts, including ironworkers — prohibit striking and lockouts under article 22: “There shall be no lockouts by the employer and no strikes, picketing, work stoppages, slowdowns or other disruptive activity for any reason by the union or by any employee,” the National Maintenance Agreements Policy Committee said.
Less than 0.005 percent of lost hours have been reported due to jobsite disruptions out of over 2.5 billion work hours recorded under the National Maintenance Agreements Policy Committee since its inception in 1971. That’s impressive!
NMA projects have access to a steady supply of skilled labor without disputes and project delays. They have set the bar high in safety, with millions of incident-free work hours. Collective bargaining agreements have changed the culture and increased efficiency on the jobsite. NMAs further guarantee quality, safety and timely delivery.
Top contractors based in the South — Bosworth Steel Erectors, Fluor, Skanska USA, Suffolk, AECOM Hunt and Turner Construction Co. — largely employ union ironworkers. They work consistently on high-profile projects for end users like the energy giant Southern Co.
Ironically, sometimes end users who employ those top contractors are not aware that union ironworkers are on their projects delivering safe, on-time and on-budget performance, which proves the reality is quite different from the obsolete negative perception. Skilled labor shortages are more prevalent in the South, where outdated notions about union crafts are widespread. Myths keep employers and customers from meeting their bottom lines.
For more information, visit www.iron workers.org or call (202) 383-4800.