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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevention | ||||||
3 | District Council annually expends substantial sums in the | ||||||
4 | purchase of construction goods and services on projects that | ||||||
5 | are part of the regional levee system improvement project, | ||||||
6 | known as the Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevention Project; | ||||||
7 | and
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8 | WHEREAS, The Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevention | ||||||
9 | Project is primarily being built using public tax dollars, as | ||||||
10 | authorized by the Illinois General Assembly and the county | ||||||
11 | boards of Madison, St. Clair, and Monroe counties; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Those expenditures constitute a major investment | ||||||
13 | in the future of southwestern Illinois, and the Southwestern | ||||||
14 | Illinois Flood Prevention District Council will compete in the | ||||||
15 | private marketplace for these construction goods and services; | ||||||
16 | and
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17 | WHEREAS, The Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevention | ||||||
18 | Project is an urgent priority for the region because of the | ||||||
19 | impact on public safety and the area's economy; and
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20 | WHEREAS, Because of the urgent nature of the Southwestern | ||||||
21 | Illinois Flood Prevention Project, the Council desires to take |
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1 | all necessary steps to minimize any delay in the construction | ||||||
2 | of the project; and | ||||||
3 | WHEREAS, Time lost due to labor conflicts and | ||||||
4 | jurisdictional disputes can cause serious delays in the | ||||||
5 | completion of the project and consequently cause an increase in | ||||||
6 | the cost of the construction project; and
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7 | WHEREAS, There are trade unions that are recognized by the | ||||||
8 | National Labor Relations Board, and which have as their primary | ||||||
9 | duties the negotiation of wages and hours, no-strike | ||||||
10 | agreements, and other matters on behalf of their members; the | ||||||
11 | unions also have control of the apprenticeship of new members | ||||||
12 | and the continued training of current members; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, Project Labor Agreements can be of economic | ||||||
14 | benefit to property owners, including states and their | ||||||
15 | political subdivisions, for their major construction projects | ||||||
16 | (including a complex interrelated series of projects), | ||||||
17 | particularly those which extend for a substantial period of | ||||||
18 | time and involve a substantial number of construction | ||||||
19 | contractors and subcontractors or a substantial number of | ||||||
20 | construction trades and specialized craft workers; and
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21 | WHEREAS, Project Labor Agreements can facilitate the | ||||||
22 | timely and efficient completion of the regional levee system |
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1 | improvement project by making available a ready and adequate | ||||||
2 | supply of highly trained and skilled craft workers; permitting | ||||||
3 | public and private owners and contractors to more accurately | ||||||
4 | predict project labor costs at the bidding stage; establishing | ||||||
5 | working conditions for all construction crafts for the duration | ||||||
6 | of the project; and providing a legally enforceable means of | ||||||
7 | assuring labor stability and labor peace over the life of such | ||||||
8 | project, thereby reducing the possibility of interruptions and | ||||||
9 | delays resulting from labor disputes; and | ||||||
10 | WHEREAS, The generally short-term nature of employment in | ||||||
11 | the construction industry makes post-hire collective | ||||||
12 | bargaining difficult and unrealistic; and
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13 | WHEREAS, The Board of Directors of the Southwestern | ||||||
14 | Illinois Flood Prevention District Council has adopted a | ||||||
15 | resolution requiring contractors working on the Project and | ||||||
16 | paid with local tax dollars to enter into Project Labor | ||||||
17 | Agreements; and | ||||||
18 | WHEREAS, If work is to be done on the Project by the United | ||||||
19 | States Army Corps of Engineers, there is a substantial required | ||||||
20 | local cost-share that will be provided from the proceeds of the | ||||||
21 | local sales tax authorized by the Illinois General Assembly; | ||||||
22 | and |
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1 | WHEREAS, The President of the United States has issued | ||||||
2 | Executive Order 13502 to "encourage executive agencies to | ||||||
3 | consider requiring the use of project labor agreements in | ||||||
4 | connection with large-scale construction projects in order to | ||||||
5 | promote economy and efficiency in Federal procurement"; and | ||||||
6 | WHEREAS, The National Labor Relations Act allows for a | ||||||
7 | collective bargaining agreement between a labor organization | ||||||
8 | and an employer in the construction industry relating to the | ||||||
9 | contracting or subcontracting of work to be done at the site of | ||||||
10 | the construction, alteration, painting, or repair of a | ||||||
11 | building, structure, or other work; and | ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, The courts have upheld the right of states and | ||||||
13 | their subdivisions, as proprietors, to enter into construction | ||||||
14 | contracts, with project managers or general contractors, that | ||||||
15 | contain Project Labor Agreement provisions, and those courts | ||||||
16 | have found that Project Labor Agreement provisions are not | ||||||
17 | preempted by the National Labor Relations Act, the Employee | ||||||
18 | Retirement Income Security Act, or the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, | ||||||
19 | or by the Equal Protection or Due Process Clauses of the 14th | ||||||
20 | Amendment; therefore, be it
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21 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
22 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
23 | we urge organizations that are entering into construction |
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1 | contracts for work on the Southwestern Illinois Flood | ||||||
2 | Prevention Project, where that work is paid for wholly or | ||||||
3 | partially with public tax dollars, to require contractors to | ||||||
4 | sign and use Project Labor Agreements for those projects; and | ||||||
5 | be it further
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6 | RESOLVED, That this resolution is to apply to work done by | ||||||
7 | the United States Army Corps of Engineers on the Southwestern | ||||||
8 | Illinois Flood Prevention Project.
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