San Diego labor groups have launched a campaign to defeat an initiative that will influence who gets jobs in major construction projects in Chula Vista. Proposition G on the June Ballot would ban so-called “project labor agreements.”
The initiative brings to Chula Vista a battle that is being waged up and down the state: whether to ban agreements on publicly funded projects that favor contracts with firms that hire workers with union scale wages and benefits.
Lorena Gonzales of San Diego’s Labor Council says one big benefit of project labor agreements is they guarantee that jobs go to local workers.
“A project labor agreement is the only way to ensure legally that workers from a certain community are hired,” said Gonzales.
Critics of the initiative say the campaign to ban project labor agreements is being mounted by contractors from out of town who want access to lucrative public works projects in San Diego.
Scott Crosby is with the Associated Builders and Contractors. He says 85 percent of workers are non-union workers and they should be allowed to compete on projects.
“Those that support fair and open competition want everyone to work on a construction project. We all simply want a level playing field,” said Crosby.
Congressman Bob Filner says the way that the initiative is worded could cause problems with federal and state contracts.
Chula Vista hopes to see major construction on their bay front in the near future.
