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Aldermen are still demanding answers from the city of
Springfield more than a month after they approved an ordinance tacking on
an apprenticeship requirement to development projects that receive $500,000
or more in city, state, or federal funds. At Tuesday’s meeting of the finance committee,
Ward 2 Ald. Gail Simpson succeeded in passing on a repeal of the ordinance
for full council consideration next week. Simpson, along with Ward 4 Ald.
Frank Kunz, has been against the ordinance since its May 20 approval and
says the other aldermen don’t understand how the ordinance will
affect future city development. At a recent meeting hosted by the Greater Springfield
Chamber of Commerce, Simpson says, representatives from the Department of
Labor told her that Springfield already has “a reputation for
creating complications and levels of bureaucracy and that developers
don’t want to build here.”
“Springfield is growing, and people need
jobs,” Simpson says. “Why would we want to do anything to
prohibit that?”
Several of the aldermen, including those who
originally voted for the ordinance, have requested such additional
information as background on city-funded development projects and a list of
subcontractors hired for city-funded work. Ward 7 Ald. Debbie Cimarossa,
who was not present at the May 20 meeting, says it’s clear that the
issue needs further investigation. Laborers Local 477 business manager Brad Schaive, a
major proponent of the ordinance, says the stricter requirements will keep
taxpayer-funded projects on track and ensure that all developers follow the
same rules [see Amanda Robert, “Overseers,” May 29]. But others
have criticized the ordinance — the apprenticeship requirement in
particular — as a move to keep out nonunion workers. Rob Winchester, the president and CEO of Associated
Builders and Contractors, represents nonunion contractors trained in
apprenticeship programs, but, he says, the ordinance still poses a problem,
because ABC doesn’t train laborers. Instead, he explains, the trade
association cross-trains other workers to fulfill those job
responsibilities to cut costs and improve efficiency. Because of this “little technicality that
they’re failing to mention,” Winchester says, the ordinance
will only allow union companies to bid on $500,000-plus city development
projects. “What they’ll do, and what they’re
already doing at the state level, is, automatically the unions will file a
protest if their companies aren’t the lowest bidder,” he says.
“The city will say [the nonunion companies] don’t have anyone
in the Laborers, so their bid will be disqualified. The union company will
then get the bid.”
Schaive says he doesn’t know much about
ABC’s practices or certifications and contends that the issue is not
about stifling competition but instead about demanding accountability. “We go to the aldermen, say we found problems
with accountability of city money and of taxpayers’ money,” he
says. “They’re going to take that seriously and do whatever
they can to rectify it.”
Contact Amanda Robert at arobert@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Jun 19-25, 2008.
