Virginia legislators delivered a rebuke to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) yesterday when both the House and Senate passed bills that would prohibit government-mandated Public Labor Agreements (PLA) on state and state-assisted projects in Virginia. The MWAA board had previously declared its intention to mandate a PLA requiring a union workforce for Phase 2 of the Rail-to-Dulles heavy rail project.
HB 33, sponsored by Del. Barbara Comstock, R-McLean, passed on a mostly party-line vote 69 to 27, while SB 242, sponsored by Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, passed the bill in a 20-20 vote in which Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling broke the tie.
MWAA now faces a tough decision. It can maintain its support for a mandated PLA as the time grows nigh to solicit bids for Phase 2, or it can risk losing the $150 million in supplemental funding promised by the state late last year in a restructuring of the project’s financing.
Foes argued that the PLA would discourage many non-union construction firms from bidding on the METRO extension, which is estimated to cost $2.8 billion. Fewer bidders increases the likelihood of a higher price by the winning contractor. Additionally, legislators argued that because the vast majority of Virginia’s construction workers are non-union, any agreement requiring the prime contractor to hire from a union work hall would mean that many workers would end up coming from Maryland.
The McDonnell administration had previously publicized a Memorandum of Agreement with MWAA that upheld the rights of non-union workers under the Virginia right to work law. But there was confusion as to what that MOA meant for the mandatory PLA. In the lead-up to the House and Senate votes, however, administration officials made it clear that they opposed mandatory PLAs.
Now the ball’s in MWAA’s court. The board has refused to seat two new board members appointed by Gov. Bob McDonnell until Virginia and Washington, D.C., ratify changes to the bistate compact governing MWAA. That means the existing MWAA board will have a free hand until the necessary ratification goes into effect July 1. There is a high probability that MWAA will issue its guidelines for the Phase 2 bids before then. According to a recent “presolicitation paper,” MWAA expects to issue its RFP in May.
The MWAA board meets again Feb. 15, but it has to be careful not to antagonize McDonnell and the Republican-dominated General Assembly — MWAA still needs that $150 million in supplemental state funds to make the Phase 2 project financing work. If cooler heads prevail, MWAA may keep mum on its intentions until after the General Assembly session, giving legislators no cause to deny the extra money. I’m not enough of a parliamentarian to know what happens if the General Assembly approprites the funds but MWAA subsequently includes a mandatory PLA in its RFP. Is there a way for McDonnell to withhold the funds?
Whatever the answer, this drama is far from over.
— JAB