Our view: School district shouldn't sign labor agreement

When voters approved a $25 million bond levy last November, they presumably did so because they supported the notion of upgrading and adequately maintaining our schools.

Since the election, however, much of the focus has been on who will do the work. Measure A has become Del Norte County’s version of an economic stimulus package in a time of rapidly rising unemployment.

Everybody wants a piece of the action.

Petitions have been presented to the School Board asking for a commitment that Measure A contracts will go to local architects and builders. And on Monday, the board will hold a public forum on a proposed agreement that would require bidders to train student pre-apprentices while establishing union-friendly conditions for who could work on the projects.

The petitions ask for something the board probably cannot legally do, since state law generally requires that contracts be awarded to the lowest qualified bidder, regardless of zip code. As for the labor agreement, well, that’s simply something the board shouldn’t do.

Following state law is one thing, but adopting an agreement that requires anyone working on a Measure A project to join a trade union is another. Many of our local construction companies are non-union, and they shouldn’t be required to fundamentally change simply to bid on projects in their own back yard.

Supporters of the agreement argue that it allows for the hiring of non-union workers. That’s rather disingenuous, however, since once hired those workers would be required to join a union and their employers would be required to pay union benefits. Beyond that, the agreement would require companies doing Measure A work to hire many of its workers from a trade association “hiring hall,” rather than simply using all of the people it already employs.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with the notion of providing workplace training opportunities for local students, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of creating an uneven playing field for potential bidders on Measure A projects.

There’s also nothing wrong with the concept of trade unions that help ensure workers are treated fairly and compensated adequately. But the fact is that any company doing Measure A work is required by state law to pay prevailing wages, whether or not its employees belong to a union.

Let every company that is capable of doing the work bid on that work.

Ultimately, Measure A projects will probably be done by a mix of local and out-of-town companies. The locals have the economic advantage of proximity, but bigger general contractors might benefit from the economy of scale.

Remember, too, that some of those out-of-town general contractors might still hire local sub-contractors. And, some workers coming in from out of town still stay at local motels, eat at local restaurants and buy local supplies.

The school district’s job is to get the work done right, and for the lowest possible cost. If it wants to insist that bidders agree to provide student pre-apprenticeships, fine. But it shouldn’t sign an agreement that presumes to tell companies who they can hire to do the work.