Under the PLA, the union will oversee the hiring of up to 3,500 construction workers on the arena project. At least 60% of construction workers and 70% of apprentices will come from the city of Sacramento and the surrounding region, according to the agreement.

At a news conference on Sept. 4, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson said the agreement "is about creating jobs and putting people to work, and that, to me, is a commitment that we’ve made and that we are going to stand by. If other folks have a different opinion and don’t like how it’s going down, they are certainly free to exercise whatever opportunities they want."

"Nobody’s going to rain on this parade," he added.

However, immediately after the press conference ended, Kevin Dayton, founder of Roseville, Calif.-based Labor Issues Solutions, grabbed the still-live microphone and pledged to fight the agreement. "This is a union scheme," he says. "They are getting full control of the project. It’s all politics behind the scenes, discriminating against non-union workers and contractors."

Labor Agreement To Prevent Strikes

While the entire agreement was not made available to the public, supporters say it will provide highly skilled and highly trained personnel for the project, which, ultimately, will make the project run smoothly.

"The real impetus is to promote efficiency of construction operations, promote participation of local workers in the project, provide for peaceful settlement of any labor disputes and ensure there will be no strikes or work stoppage during the project," says Dale Koger, vice president of Turner’s sports division. The agreement also will "increase the construction skills training" of workers in the area, he adds.

A provision allows merit-shop trade contractors to bid on the project, but each company can use only four core non-union employees, says Toby Cummings, executive director with the Associated Builders and Contractors, Northern California. "That is minimal for a project this size," he adds.

Based in Livermore, Calif., the association represents both union and merit-shop contractors. Cummings says the agreement is "a disadvantage to merit-shop workers” who represent “thousands of people in the Sacramento and northern California area that will not get an opportunity to work on this project."