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Dive brief:
- Union leaders have called on Hensel Phelps, general contractor for the $2 billion terminal project at John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Columbus, Ohio, to adopt a project labor agreement this would include payment workers a prevailing wage, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
- Dorsey Hager, executive secretary and treasurer of the Columbus Building Trades Council, said the Columbus Regional Airport Authority has included prevailing wage requirements in the contract. However, Hager stated that a community benefits agreement, a type of project labor agreement, would be more binding than a commitment.
- Both Hensel Phelps and the CRAA said in statements shared with Construction Dive that they are in “good faith” dialogue with the trades council about structuring a potential CBA and are committed to supporting a workforce diverse and to ensure that workers receive a current salary.
Diving knowledge:
Hager confirmed that the trades council is in talks with the general contractor and the project owner about a CBA, adding that such an agreement would provide a clearer path for workers to recover lost funds if they are not paid prevailing wages. Without one, he said, workers’ best recourse would be to go to court if the contractor or CRRA breached its commitments.
“We have had some conversations, but nothing that has really materialized”, he said, although he emphasized that budgets have started to be made to plan the phases of the project. The Columbus Building Trades Council represents workers in 22 local unions in the region.
Current wage agreements ensure that workers earn the average wages of similar workers in the surrounding region. Federally funded projects usually require current wage agreements. Construction of the Columbus terminal will use federal grant money, in addition to funds from airlines, passenger fees, parking and concessions.
The Central Ohio chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors, which represents construction employers, issued a statement opposing a settlement, saying it would hinder construction opportunities and inflate the cost of construction.
Both CRAA and Hensel Phelps also highlighted the project’s 25% Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Participation Program, which equates to $400 million in contracts targeting small, local, minority-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned businesses.
Columbus is the fastest growing metropolitan area in the Midwest, so the airport authority has planned to build a new terminal to serve the larger population. Construction of the terminal could begin in late 2024, with completion expected in late 2028 or early 2029, according to a project fact sheet. The project is currently in the design development phase.
When finished, the terminal will add a checkpoint, an atrium, 36 gates (two of which will serve international arrivals) and a 5,000-space parking garage.
