Employment & Labor Law Professional Information... -
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Published on: 9/24/2003
Last Visited: 11/6/2003
The seven-member committee heard testimony Sept. 5 on the feasibility of the state requiring use of a project labor agreement on the new courthouse project, Gregory Mancini, executive director of the Rhode Island 21st Century Labor-Management Partnership, said.State officials are required by a state supreme court decision to exercise due diligence in evaluating whether applying a project agreement to a particular project is in the public interest, but no definition of due diligence has been established, he said.
The committee should issue its decision around Oct. 1, Mancini said, adding that "it's a moving deadline."
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ABC's testimony concerned projects in New York and elsewhere, but those projects are not relevant to any analysis in Rhode Island, Mancini said Sept. 23.Local building trades have a proven track record of success and the manpower capabilities of union contractors in Rhode Island are superior, he said.Since 1998 there have been 11 construction deaths in Rhode Island and not one occurred on a union project, he said.In addition, union contractors in the state spend a total of approximately $1.5 million to $2 million per year on training, he said.
"Our record is unmatched in terms of projects completed, safety, and investment in training," Mancini said.