Mayor: Union labor requirement is holding up Easton projects

Eleven contractors sought information about a playground project at Easton's Hugh Moore Park but none of them bid on it.

The few scattered bids on the fit-out for Farmers Insurance in the new Easton city hall came in way higher than expected.

The reason? Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. said contractors are put off by a Project Labor Agreement approved by the city six years ago.

The agreement requires contractors of jobs $250,000 or higher to seek out union labor. If they can't find any, they need the union to sign off on non-union labor.

Council agreed to raise the limit to $1 million for the Farmers Insurance and Billy's Downtown Diner fit-outs in city hall as well as Hugh Moore Park. But they balked at setting the limit at $1 million for future projects before sitting down with labor leaders to discuss it.

"It's going to destroy the PLA," said councilman James Edinger. "It will be virtually unusable at that threshold."

Panto said small contractors looking for jobs under $1 million are confused about how to follow the rules, so they don't bother to pursue the work. He said landscaping contractors looking to bid on the Hugh Moore Park job didn't know where to find any landscaping unions.

The mayor said the city only got one HVAC bid for the Farmers Insurance office looking to move into city hall. That bid was way above what he expected. The lowest bids on electrical, plumbing, HVAC and general construction came in at a combined $780,000.

The initial estimate for the work was $450,000, although that figure was quickly scrapped as unrealistic. The mayor got permission from city council to award contracts for the Farmers Insurance space if he can get the total cost under $750,000.

Farmers was supposed to move in by June 1.

"I'm not sure we're going to get them in by July 1," the mayor said.

Edinger warned council that watering down the labor agreement will give contractors leeway to short-change workers. They'll cut corners to avoid paying prevailing wage when given a chance, he said.

"If they're offering you a discount, it's always on the backs of the workers," Edinger said.

Panto said he supports the labor agreement for most projects, including the multi-million-dollar parking garages in the city's near future. He noted city hall was built entirely with union labor. But the agreement is hampering the city's ability to move ahead with smaller projects, he said.

For the city hall projects, the city as landlord pays for drywall, basic plumbing and electrical systems, as well as HVAC. Any frills or amenities beyond that are paid for by the tenants.

Billy's Downtown Diner hopes to be in by Aug. 1, the mayor said. Hopefully the $1 million threshhold on the labor agreement will expedite that move in, he said.

On the decision to raise the limit for the three pending projects, the mayor said, "I think that's a good compromise."

Source: Lehigh Valley Live