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The 2-to-1 vote, guaranteeing hundreds of union jobs on the project, came only after commissioners were assured by staff that not only was it possible to add the project labor agreement now, after contracts for the plant have been advertised for bid, but also that by doing so they weren’t jeopardizing a tight timeline.
The deal is backed by the Pioneer Valley Building Trades Council , which estimates 300 to 500 workers from all the trades — equipment operators, carpenters, plumbers, pipefitters, electricians, sheet-metal workers — will work on the site.
The commission needs to begin construction in July, because regulators and government-backed funders demand it be completed by the end of June 2028 .
“This is a project of a generation,” commission Chairwoman Vanessa Otero said. “I so heartily believe that this is the best way forward.”
But the project labor agreement looked like a dead issue last month, after one of the signatory unions — the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters — failed to meet a deadline to have a signed deal back to the commission by the Friday before Presidents Day and ahead of the bids being advertised.
The agreement was returned the following week, but commissioners stood by their “no” decision, citing timing.
In response, national and local lawmakers, including the region’s Statehouse delegation, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey , both D- Massachusetts , and U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal , D- Springfield , all urged the commission to reconsider and move forward with the labor agreement.
Commissioner Daniel Rodriguez voted against on Wednesday, with Otero and Commissioner Matthew Donnellan voting in the affirmative. Rodriguez had been the dissenting vote against the project labor agreement in past votes. On Wednesday, he said his concerns were about cost and timing.
Non-union contractors lobbied against the agreement, saying $15.44 million will be added to the total cost and that construction time might be extended by as much as two months because of union involvement.
Jason Kauppi , president of the Merit Construction Alliance , which advocates for open competition in the trades, said after the vote that the commission “abandoned its fiduciary responsibility by imposing a union-only requirement on the project.” He criticized the commission for not publicly addressing the cost and timeline increases associated with a “union monopoly” on the project.
“This decision was dirty, raw politics that will enrich union coffers and campaign accounts, while soaking the beleaguered water ratepayers who have seen their bills increase again and again under Mayor Sarno and his appointees,” said Kauppi.
The unions, however, pointed to successful project labor agreements for the construction of MGM Springfield and, most recently, the $483 million Massachusetts Veterans Home at Holyoke .
Non-union contractors can still bid and would, under the agreement, be able to sign onto its terms and bring their core workforce with them to the job site. But the majority of their hiring would need to be through union halls, said Colton Andrews , president of the Pioneer Valley Building Trades Council , a union advocacy group.
Andrews said the agreement will boost local hiring in the commission’s service area.
“Think of it as a workforce development tool,” he said. “I think (commissioners) have really stepped up for the community and are going to deliver on the promises that they set forth.”
Otero on Wednesday cited her longtime work with nonprofit groups to help with hiring, and the project labor agreement’s promise of local hires and recruitment of women and minorities into apprenticeship training programs.
She said she’s prepared a list of organizations that can help unions recruit into their apprenticeships.
“No one must convince me union membership changes the trajectory of families,” she wrote in an op-ed. “I’ve seen it for myself.”
Separately, the project labor agreement has a carve-out for minority- and women-owned contractors, allowing them to avoid costs associated with the agreement for contracts under $1 million . Those contractors would still be able to bid on larger jobs, as well.
The filtration plant, to be sited at the commission’s facilities on Granville Road in Westfield near the reservoir, will help maintain water quality and avoid treatment byproducts.
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