A Union-Only Key Bridge Rebuild Discriminates Against Local Workers

Do Baltimoreans want to delay the rebuilding of the Key Bridge? Do they want 90% of local Maryland construction workers forbidden from getting jobs to rebuild it?

What if they learned the bridge delays and discrimination against Maryland workers were caused by politicians scheming to pay off their campaign contributors?

If the answer is no to delay and discrimination in service to politics, then the citizens of Charm City won’t be happy to hear what Gov. Wes Moore and President Joe Biden have cooked up.

Recall how Biden, in the aftermath of the Dali cargo ship’s crash into the Key Bridge on March 26, stated, “We’re going to move heaven and earth to rebuild this bridge as rapidly as humanly possible.” That promise sounded great, but the president put a big condition on it: “We’re going to do so with union labor.”

But in Maryland, only 1 in 10 construction workers (10.6% to be precise) are in a union. The president’s ban will likely result in the need to import workers from outside Maryland, depriving nearly 90% of local construction jobs from rebuilding the bridge. And they’re not the only ones who’ll be hurt. This bad policy won’t just sideline the overwhelming majority of the local workforce who can do the job, it will also burden taxpayers as the bridge project’s expenses rise thanks to reduced competition.

Worse, this discriminatory policy will almost certainly burden everyone traveling in Maryland by delaying the rebuild completion.

These claims aren’t inflammatory, and they aren’t guesses. We’ve seen the same favoritism toward political friends produce these same results in the past.

Last year, Moore signed an executive order promoting Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) in the state. The law favors hiring union labor on state-procured construction projects that cost $20 million or more, even though PLAs have a notorious track record for eliminating opportunities for local, qualified workers and escalating construction costs.

PLAs have resulted in significant cost increases in states like California, New York and Massachusetts. The construction of a new fire station in Brandywine, Maryland, under a PLA delayed the building’s completion by more than a year, while costs ended up 41% over budget. Similar issues plagued the construction of the Washington Nationals ballpark and the New York subway’s renovations and expansions.

Given this track record, the Biden and Moore policy forbidding non-union workers and private developers from helping to rebuild Key Bridge will almost certainly lead to delays and budget overruns. Without this policy of favoritism, non-union workers and private developers could harness local talent, foster competition and ensure the project is completed on time and within budget.

Union favoritism doesn’t just harm everyone who wants the Key Bridge opened quickly, or local workers who aren’t in a union. Even workers in unions can be harmed, because while union bosses like to claim they represent the best interests of workers, they very frequently align with broader elitist agendas that harm their members and go against the members’ views.

Financial disclosures under the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act reveal that unions like the Service Employees International Union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and others funnel significant resources into political causes unrelated to labor rights, such as environmental activism and identity politics. This diversion of resources underscores how unions often pursue an ideological agenda that doesn’t help workers and downplays the real economic issues affecting them.

If there’s no logical reason to insist on forbidding most Maryland workers from getting jobs with the bridge rebuild, what’s driving a bad policy that would baffle the average Marylander? Unfortunately, money often trumps logic. Maryland labor unions are among Moore’s largest donors, and Biden has a long history of relying on union support to gain office.

At the end of the day, money talks, while Baltimore and her skilled labor force suffer.

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This article first appeared in the Baltimore Sun on September 22, 2024.

Source: https://capitalresearch.org/article/a-union-only-key-bridge-rebuild-discriminates-against-local-workers/