Construction Labor Agreement DOE Oak Ridge Reservation

The present Presidential Executive Order promotes the usage of project labor agreements which provide structure and stability to large-scale construction projects, thereby promoting the efficient and expeditious completion of Federal construction contracts. The order goes on to say that it is the policy of the Federal Government to encourage executive agencies to consider requiring the use of project labor agreements in connection with large scale construction projects in order to promote economy and efficiency in Federal procurement.

Project Agreements (or Site Stabilization Agreements) with building and construction trades unions have been successfully used to assure that construction work on complex, multi-program/project sites is performed in an efficient and cost-effective manner not only on the Oak Ridge Reservation but across the DOE enterprise.

• The Construction Labor Agreement (CLA) in place on the Department of Energy Reservation at Oak Ridge has been in effect since October 1, 1997.
• Prior to that date, construction Project Labor Agreements had been in effect on the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation since 1954.
• Specific Project Labor Agreements (PLA’s) were in effect for the BNFL Remediation Contract at ETTP and for the construction of the Spallation Neutron Source Project at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
• As the construction work on those projects was successfully completed, those PLA’s were allowed to expire, and continuing construction work associated with those sites has been and continues to be conducted under the CLA.

The first major contract on the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF), the Bear Creek Road Relocation Project, was also performed under a PLA, and all work on the UPF since has been performed under the terms and conditions of the CLA. Signatory DOE Contractors CNS, LLC, Facility Manager at the Y-12 National Security Complex; UCOR, Facility Manager at East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), and performing remediation work at ETTP, ORNL, and Y-12; and more than 250 other signatory employers have performed work under the CLA since 1997. UT-Battelle at ORNL is non-signatory, but has committed to DOE in letters dated 1997 and 2000 to use CLA signatory employers to perform Davis- Bacon Construction work at their facility.

Usage of CLA’s or PLA’s on Federally funded projects is the most efficient and productive way to assure our employers and customers that today’s work will be done properly, and that skilled, highly trained, security cleared, and qualified workers will be available in proper numbers for upcoming critical construction projects on the Oak Ridge Reservation.

Benefits of Utilizing a CLA:

• An extensive and beneficial Management Rights Clause.
• A contractually required monthly Union-Management Administrative Committee (UMAC) Meeting involving employers/subcontractors performing construction work on the reservation, all of the major construction Users, and all of the construction trades unions signatory to the CLA.
• Provisions for skilled workers to meet current and future workforce needs trained under stringent US Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship standards and certified Training programs for application on Construction and Construction-like work such as environmental remediation, demolition, decommissioning, etc.
• This “Skill-of-the-Craft” Training provides quality assurance that workers have the skills to successfully and safely perform the work.
• Substantive efforts to assure positive labor-management relations and the existence of a diverse workforce via employers and local unions involvement with the CALM Construction Labor- Management Program.
• Indoctrination (in addition to stringent training) of craft workers to perform work in a safe, cost- efficient manner.
• Facility Managers at Y-12 and ETTP have achieved more than 3 million work hours without a lost time accident; and the Spallation Neutron Source Project at ORNL recorded 3 million work hours without a lost time accident during the construction of that facility.
• Consistency of work rules and practices.
• Mechanism to efficiently resolve disputes.
• Assurances against work stoppages for any reason.
• Uniform terms and conditions of employment, including drug testing and security screenings to include background investigations.
• Mechanisms to conduct positive community outreach such as the CALM Hospitality House Project for Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge, renovation and upgrade work for Emory Valley Center, a major refurbishing of the Oak Ridge American Red Cross Center, involvement in many Habitat For Humanity Projects, and miscellaneous small projects for the needy as requested.

Construction is the original Temporary Worker System. All of the craft fringe benefits such as Pension, Health Care, and Apprenticeship are a part of their Gross Wage Rate Package, are portable to any signatory employer, and thereby 100% maintained by them and their signatory employers at levels they choose for themselves. Any increase in wages is allocated by the union body either to hourly wages or directed to fringe benefit funds if Fund Trustees and Administrators advise of that need. Craft workers, as needed and requested, report when the job begins and they leave when the job ends. And, when the craft workers leave your facility, the relationship ends or can remain in place if they may be needed in the future.

CALM Construction Labor-Management Program: calm.tenn@gmail.com

At the present time, all projections indicate a critical shortage of skilled craft workers over the next 10 years especially in the area of construction of major utility and security projects in the Southeastern Region of the United States. The labor and management representatives involved with the CLA, and the Executive Director of the CALM Construction Labor-Management Program, are interacting on a regular basis with regional groups such as the Southeast Manpower Tripartite Alliance (SEMTA), and single state entities such as the Tennessee Energy, Industry, and Construction Consortium (TEICC) to project the future needs of construction users, and bring qualified applicants into the respective craft apprenticeship programs to meet those needs with adequate numbers of skilled craft workers. However, the reality is that the craft apprenticeship programs can only admit numbers of workers that reflect the current or near-future need of the industry. If jobs are not available, the Apprenticeship Programs reflect that with less Apprentices brought into the union for training. Therefore, regular users of this critical resource can help themselves by closely tracking forecasted work and encouraging and maintaining a healthy-sized construction workforce.

CALM Construction Labor-Management Program: calm.tenn@gmail.com