Cedar Rapids, Branstad at odds on labor agreement

CEDAR RAPIDS - A City Hall dispute with Gov. Terry Branstad broke out in public view last night as some on the City Council worried that Branstad's new executive order against project labor agreements could slow down or jeopardize funding for the city's $75.6-million Convention Complex project, which features such an agreement with local labor unions.

Mayor Ron Corbett led a council majority that agreed to ignore the governor's order and to seek bids on the first of the project's work contracts, one estimated at $2 million to demolish buildings to make way for the Convention Complex's new convention center.

Corbett has argued that the city signed its project labor agreement before Branstad issued his order upon taking office in January and so the order doesn't apply to the Convention Complex project.

However, Corbett noted that he has been in conversation with the governor's office in recent days without securing from the office an understanding that the governor does not intend to try to withhold the $15-million state I-JOBS grant from the Convention Complex project.

Council member Kris Gulick asked the council to include in its request for bids on the project demolition contract an alternative bid from contractors in which they would bid as if the city did not have a project labor agreement in place. Gulick argued that would let the city proceed with the project if the city learns that the governor's order will prevail in the matter.

The council, though, voted Gulick's idea down on a 5-4 vote.

Council member Tom Podzimek suggested that requiring two different bids, one with a project labor agreement and one without, could complicate the bidding and make it difficult to determine who the lower bidder was.

Corbett noted that the federal Economic Development Administration, the biggest funder of the project, might not agree to such a bidding idea.

Council member Don Karr said the city should “double check” to see if the city or the governor's office was going to get its way in the matter, which prompted Corbett to say that Karr and others were “speculating on rumors.”

“I don't trust politicians," Karr said.

Council members Chuck Swore said the council agreed to the Convention Complex project labor agreement and it didn't need the governor “to tell us how to do business.”

Project labor agreement or not, the city will pay union-scale wages on the project as dictated by federal law. The agreement, though, is the council's attempt to ensure that many of the workers on the project are local union workers. Branstad thinks such agreements drive up project costs.