Wonders never cease. The Washington Post editorial board and I agree on the propriety of mandating a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for Phase 2 construction of the $3 billion+ Rail-to-Dulles project. In a recent editorial, the WaPo said it was imperative to reign in costs on the heavy rail project, even if that meant constructing and above-ground station at Dulles airport and scrapping the mandatory PLA.

The airports board was pushed to adopt the “project labor agreement” by board member Dennis Martire, who, in his day job, is a senior official in the Laborers’ International Union of North America, which represents hundreds of thousands of construction workers. Mr. Martire had an obvious conflict of interest, as his union would be a direct and major beneficiary from a labor deal. He should have had the common sense to recuse himself from the decision, even if his vote did not technically violate the board’s narrowly drawn ethics policy.

There is serious debate about whether a labor pact would drive up expenses. The airports authority says a similar pact for the project’s first phase, under construction from Falls Church to Reston, has helped contain costs and enhance efficiency by ensuring a steady supply of workers and avoiding labor trouble. But that agreement was adopted voluntarily by the contractor. There are concerns that a mandatory labor agreement for the second phase could dampen competition and drive up costs by discouraging bids from some large contractors, and by imposing cumbersome union rules. In an era of belt-tightening, the airports authority must go the extra mile to ensure that the Silver Line’s construction is managed as frugally as possible.

Now, if we could get the WaPo editorial board to see the light on human settlement patterns, we’d be making real progress!