Alan M. Pollack and Felicia S. Ennis of Robinson Brog Leinwand Greene Genovese & Gluck P.C., on behalf of the Building Industry Electrical Contractors Association and the United Electrical Contractors Association, have filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against The City of New York (‘City”) and The Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York (“BCTC”).
The complaint challenges the City’s enactment of a series of Project Labor Agreements (“PLA”) intended to cover both new construction and the renovation, rehabilitation and repair of public works projects let before June 30, 2014, that the City has valued in the aggregate in excess of five billion dollars ($5,000,000,000). Based on their magnitude and scope, the virtual monopolistic power given to the BCTC to control the labor force employed on these PLA projects and the patent political favoritism that these PLAs represent, it is alleged that these PLAs constitute an impermissible attempt to regulate labor relations in violation of the National Labor Relations Act and New York State competitive bidding statutes.
The complaint specifically alleges that, contrary to the defendants’ claims, the PLAs in question offer no cost savings for taxpayers, will reduce competition among contractors bidding on public works contracts, are not narrowly tailored to meet the specific or unique circumstances of these projects, and unfairly prejudice certain unions and contractors who are not affiliated with the BCTC. See article in Crain’s New York Business.
The lawsuit is one of a growing number of cases around the country that are challenging the enactment of PLAs.
