GET THE FACTS

Key Messages – Open Competition

1. The Syracuse City School District (SCSD) is preparing to spend more than $225 million in the first phase of a major school renovation project.  The total cost of the entire project will be nearly $925 million.
   
   
2. The state-approved funding includes a provision that requires a local Construction Board (comprised of City and School District officials) to decide whether to implement a Project Labor Agreement (PLA).
   
   
3. PLAs typically favor – or even mandate – that all work is done by union workers.
   
   
4. PLAs which mandate that workers on the job come from the union hall do NOT allow for competitive bidding by qualified contractors in our local community.
   
   
5. Union-only PLAs discriminate against 75% of the local construction workforce because they do not belong to a construction union.  ALL local workers, whether union or non-union, should have the opportunity to work on this project.
   
   
6. In other communities where school projects have mandated union labor, this has driven costs up by 20% or more.  In Syracuse, that would mean that up to $45 million of the $225 million would be wasted.
   
   
7. We are not anti-union.  We believe a competitively bid project – open to both union and non-union contractors – will provide the best use of public tax money.
   
   
8. The Joint School Construction Board should allow a true competitive bidding process to ensure that ALL local working families have an opportunity to benefit from this project.  Keep Syracuse competitive.