Stadium Project Falling Short Of City's Ambitious Hiring Goals

Workers build a restaurant and bar at Nationals Park. Contractors have not used as many D.C. journeymen as a project labor agreement envisioned. (By Bill O'leary -- The Washington Post)
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The outcome of this debate is important because PLAs are proposed for virtually all city-financed construction projects. Washington's labor leaders call the ballpark agreement a model for the future. Joslyn N. Williams, who heads the Metropolitan AFL-CIO, said he will push to have a similar agreement if a District-backed hotel is built near the convention center.

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Since inheriting the agreement when he took office, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), who opposed the ballpark while on the council, has had little to say about the performance in meeting hiring goals. In a statement, he said, "We will always push to make sure as many District residents are hired for city projects as possible whether a project labor agreement is in place or not."

Thus far, no one has been penalized for failing to meet the targets for the ballpark. A task force made up primarily of construction executives and union officials reviews hiring monthly. And the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission, which owns the ballpark, is overseeing the progress of hiring as well. Businesses that fail to meet goals face financial penalties, but the agreement caps the amount at 5 percent of the value of the contract.

Dozens of contractors have received letters asking them to explain why they have fallen short on hiring District residents. Courtland Cox, a sports commission official working on labor issues at the ballpark, said that the overseers are examining whether the contractors made a "good faith effort," as called for in the agreement, before considering taking them to arbitration.

One of the central goals was to win high-paying journeyman jobs for residents. But, Cox said, journeymen "tend to live in Maryland and Virginia."

Labor leaders said the agreement has helped D.C. residents in two key ways. They go to the head of the line in hiring priority when contractors call union halls. And, union officials said, the agreement's focus on apprentices will help with job training and provide a foundation for a city workforce and building a stronger middle class in the District.

Williams acknowledged those successes and rejected the complaints of nonunion contractors, saying that there was enough construction work in the region for everyone. The former mayor, who left office in January 2007, attributed the failure to meet the majority of hiring goals to a combination of factors: Many journeymen were tied up on other projects, the city's workforce was unprepared to qualify for apprenticeship programs, and the agreement wasn't adequately enforced.

But he offered no apologies for the high goals.

"You want to be honest with people," Williams said. "Shoot for high goals and take the consequences."