I’m writing in response to John McCarron’s Column, “Give This to Rauner and Put People to Work”. It may seem like a fair compromise, but conceding to Gov. Rauner’s proposals on Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) and Prevailing Wage means handing workers a smaller paycheck while expecting the same caliber of skill and expertise. McCarron refers to “The Illinois Project Labor Agreement” – let’s be clear: PLAs are something that are or have been used in almost every state on projects of every size. They are not simply “union rules,” but they are binding work agreements between project owners, contractors and unions that provide project labor supply certainty, work schedules, provisions for equipment – things that keep projects safe, on time and on budget.
Why should workers be paid less on a smaller-dollar project than on a high-dollar project? Certainly an hour’s worth of work on a small project comes with an inherent need for skill and poses job site risks. And that hour’s worth of work must be of the same quality as that of a project of a larger size. Why is the value of work different? It’s not. This proposal is another cure in search of a problem. It’s just another attempt to whittle away at the voices of working people on the job.
—Joshua M. Collins, Chicago
