The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com
Stacey Morrison is the owner of Ganneston Construction Corp. and president of the Associated Building and Contractors of Maine’s government affairs committee.
While labor concerns remain in the infrastructure legislation currently working its way through the process in the U.S. Capitol, let’s look at what we can celebrate in the bipartisan infrastructure package.
Earlier this month, a group of bipartisan U.S. senators unveiled the legislative text of an infrastructure package that took weeks to negotiate while facing deadline pressure from their own parties and the White House. The work going into this once-in-a-generation investment in our infrastructure cannot be overstated, and we must applaud these senators for seeking to accomplish something that not only has eluded Congress for decades but also takes an important step forward in modernizing our nation’s most critical infrastructure.
This bipartisan package contains hard-fought provisions for both sides and is an example of the type of legislation that is possible when our lawmakers seek compromise over conflict. Besides the hundreds of billions of dollars that are paid for and invested in the nation’s infrastructure — such as roads, bridges, water infrastructure, public transport, railways and ports — the language contains common-sense provisions that will cut down on unnecessary delays in federal construction projects and support a workforce development approach that will help fill the workforce shortage in the construction industry.
A significant portion of this legislation includes a separate bipartisan effort from the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to reauthorize the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act. This bill would modernize the federal environmental review and permitting process under the National Environmental Protection Act and codify into law “One Federal Decision.” For years, construction projects have faced drawn-out delays due to sometimes frivolous environmental claims, and this legislation would help ensure that government-funded construction projects are completed on time and on budget.
The bill also includes an education component that would provide states with workforce development grants to create pre-apprenticeships, apprenticeships and career opportunities to “earn while you learn” and vocational school support. This supports an all-of-the-above strategy for skill development where states, local communities, workers and employers have the freedom to choose the best way to educate construction employees.
Importantly, the infrastructure bill does not include tax hikes or forced unionization requirements, as some Democrats have pushed for in separate legislative efforts.
However, concerns about labor provisions and the implementation of this law remain for many in the construction industry. Expansive language to push burdensome, unnecessary and often inaccurate prevailing wage provisions would continue to ratchet up the cost of government-funded construction projects, and so-called local hire preferences serve as a backdoor to give preference to unionized contracts for critical construction projects, which can result in unfair and costly requirements in federal contracting. Additionally, the Biden-Harris administration has made no qualms about its efforts to prioritize union contractors over the thousands of small construction companies whose workers make the choice not to unionize. It is hard to ignore these overtures made to organized labor when the Biden-led federal agencies will be implementing hundreds of billions in new spending.
While we are supportive of the important strides being made and the spirit of bipartisanship that has made this legislation possible, we encourage our senators to take a critical look at the impact these labor provisions can have on the merit-shop construction industry.
Our senators should work to ensure that, if this infrastructure package is enacted, the president and his administration implement the law in the same spirit of bipartisanship and refrain from partisan favoritism in the contracts awarded through this new investment that seeks to benefit our state and local communities. They should also ensure that all our small businesses representing 89 percent of the Maine construction industry can participate in rebuilding our nation.