New York City’s march towards enhanced labor practices took a bold step forward with Mayor Eric Adams striking a significant deal with the Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York and Vicinity (BCTC). The agreement, as detailed in a recent announcement by the NYC Mayor’s Office, features two Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) influencing more than $7 billion in municipal capital projects, aspiring to firmly anchor fair wages, provide union benefits, and instate crucial safety protocols for workers.
These newly minted PLAs are not merely papers to file; they represent commitments ready to be actioned into the fabric of local infrastructure upgrades such as public schools, libraries, and water treatment facilities. Mayor Adams emphasized the administration’s push to invest “real dollars in real projects and delivered the good-paying jobs New Yorkers need.” Furthermore, the implications extend beyond economics to safety and local employment, with intentions to “get workers home safe at night,” according to statements obtained by the NYC Mayor’s Office news release.
The sentiment of collaboration and mutual benefit is echoed by Doug Lipari, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Talent and Workforce Development. City officials and the BCTC intend to harness these PLAs as tools for not only capital project efficiency but also as springboards for New Yorkers, especially those from underserved communities, to gain access to quality union careers and apprenticeships. The inclusion of community hiring prerequisites ties closely with the city’s resolve to employ its purchasing power to set workforce and hiring objectives on city contracts, tallying up investments to the tune of $7.5 billion with community hiring goals…