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Transit project guarantees good jobs, skilled workers in time for construction restart
Reston, Va. (August 22, 2022) – As construction resumes on the Purple Line, the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) has signed a project labor agreement (PLA) with the new Purple Line contractor Maryland Transit Solutions (MTS).
LIUNA is the first building trades union to execute an agreement with MTS. Both parties signed the PLA during the week of August 15.
A PLA is a collective bargaining agreement that serves as a project planning tool to coordinate construction contractors and subcontractors around common schedules, wage and benefit standards, and training requirements. Before construction stopped in 2020, the Purple Line was being built under a PLA with skilled union members from LIUNA and other building trades unions.
“Other projects in the area are suffering major workmanship issues without a PLA, and it speaks volumes that MTS and Purple Line Transit Partners are taking steps to prevent those issues on the Purple Line,” said Dennis L. Martire, LIUNA Vice President and Mid-Atlantic Regional Manager. “They recognize that a PLA is a good option for everyone involved.”
With the new PLA, workers who lost their jobs when construction stopped will have the opportunity to return to the Purple Line with a higher wage and benefits package. The PLA commits the union and employer to prioritize local hiring and training so that the new jobs go to the residents in proximity to the project. For MTS, the PLA requires the unions to meet their staffing needs, which protects MTS from labor shortages that construction contractors are reporting nationwide.
“We look forward to working with MTS and Purple Line Transit Partners to deliver this critical project in a safe and timely manner,” Martire said. “MTS and Purple Line Transit Partners are doing things the right way, and as a result, the entire community will benefit. We are committed to helping local workers and local residents who are depending on the project in more ways than one.”
