Governing Board President Tim Nader’s recent statement that there is
little chance he would sign a union-favoring Project Labor Agreement
(PLA) for the first phase of Proposition R construction has pro-labor
activists crying foul. But pro-business advocates said they are also
feeling unsatisfied with the process.
With Phase I construction on the $389 million Prop R project planned
for early next year and no signed labor contracts in place, union
representatives and workers tried recently to convince Nader and the
rest of the board that there is still time to sign a PLA that would go
into effect immediately. Union members said the agreement would benefit
the college, community and construction workers of the district.
But none of that may matter. Governing board members insist that
construction management contracts already in place would make agreeing
to a new PLA difficult, at least for Phase I of the five-phase project.
Management contracts oversee money, while construction contracts
oversee the hiring of subcontractors and workers. Former Vice President
of Fiscal Services Nicholas Alioto signed management contracts with
Seville Construction Services for project management. The former
governing board approved. Echo Pacific Construction was hired by Alioto
to handle construction contracts, but the current board terminated Echo
Pacific’s contract this fall. Balfour Beatty has been approached by the
college about assuming Echo Pacific’s terminated contract and assuming
responsibility for construction and labor. No contract has been
approved.
