In a dispute that threatens to delay construction of the new $70 million Salt Palace, contractors are protesting terms they say requires them to hire union workers.
Led by County Commissioner Brent Overson, some of Utah's biggest commercial contractors gathered at the crumbling Salt Palace arena Thursday to protest the county's prequalification labor requirements, saying they violate Utah's Right to Work Law.One contractor, Mike Bodell, "guaranteed" that if the provisions are enforced, he and others would file lawsuits that could stall the project and cost the county millions of dollars in lost conventions that have been booked for the facility's scheduled 1996 opening.
Overson, the sole Republican county commissioner, accused his Democratic colleagues, Jim Bradley and Randy Horiuchi, of inserting the hiring provisions in the prequalification requirements as a "political payoff" in their upcoming re-election bids.
According to Overson, the "craftily drafted" project labor agreement would effectively force contractors to employ a 50 percent union work force. "Government has no business telling (contractors) who they can hire and who they can't," Overson said.
John Knaphus of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Utah said his organization's membership is "totally opposed to the use of any project labor agreement."
Jack Livingood, president of Big D Construction Co., one of the state's largest contractors, said, "We're not anti-union; we believe in free enterprise."
Jim Barlow, whose firm worked on the 1987 expansion of the Salt Palace and the recently completed Joseph Smith Memorial Building, said, "We're opposed to forced unionism."
Kevin Higgins, chairman of the Salt Palace Expansion and Renovation Committee, rejects the criticism, arguing that the prequalification provisions simply gives Utah workers "first crack" at the jobs and assures them fair pay and health benefits.
He said contractors can meet the requirements by employing workers through trade association hiring halls - which give first priority to Utah residents - or by demonstrating that they have a pre-existing Utah work force.
Because Utah law prohibits trade association hiring halls from discriminating against non-union workers, the agreement is "completely consistent with Right to Work," Higgins said.
A contractor with a pre-existing Utah work force would not be compelled to sign the agreement, but would still be required to make a "best faith effort" to offer equal opportunity to union and non-union members when hiring additional workers for the project.
Higgins said the standards were adopted by Bradley and Horiuchi because of the extensive out-of-state interest in the Salt Palace contract.
"This is the biggest construction project ever undertaken by Salt Lake County, and the commissioners want Utah workers to get the first crack at building it," Higgins said. "We've tried to be fair to workers who are union and non-union alike."
Higgins said the provisions ensure that the workers receive fair wages and health benefits. "We didn't want to give a competitive advantage to a contractor who doesn't pay health benefits."
Overson said if the policy is enforced, he will recommend that a plaque be placed at the main entrance of the new Salt Palace stating, "Salt Palace Renovation and Expansion - Overcost, underbuilt and delayed. Paid for by taxpayers to provide political payoffs for much needed re-election votes."