February 22, 2008
Union Group Blasts Worcester Report
By Matthew L. Brown
The Boston-based Massachusetts Building Trades Council has blasted a Worcester Regional Research Bureau report that recommends that the city rescind its Responsible Employer Ordinance.
The report, which is dated Feb. 25, suggests that the reason very few construction companies have bid on public projects in Worcester is the city's REO. Specifically, the report finds fault with the ordinance's requirement that bidders participate in certain types of apprenticeship-training programs, which tend to be offered by unions.
Other requirements of the ordinance result in a restricted supply of contractors, thus raising the price of public projects, the bureau concludes.
However, the trades council seizes upon a passage from the report's conclusion, which notes that the bureau was not able to collect enough information to compare the cost of public projects in 14 cities with and without REOs.
In its statement, the council said the bureau has "a responsibility to back up recommendations with hard data and research." The council said the report is too general and "ideologically based" to recommend an end to the city's REO.
The bureau notes that the main reason for the lack of data on cities with REOs was "public officials were generally unresponsive to our requests."
The report, which is dated Feb. 25, suggests that the reason very few construction companies have bid on public projects in Worcester is the city's REO. Specifically, the report finds fault with the ordinance's requirement that bidders participate in certain types of apprenticeship-training programs, which tend to be offered by unions.
Other requirements of the ordinance result in a restricted supply of contractors, thus raising the price of public projects, the bureau concludes.
However, the trades council seizes upon a passage from the report's conclusion, which notes that the bureau was not able to collect enough information to compare the cost of public projects in 14 cities with and without REOs.
In its statement, the council said the bureau has "a responsibility to back up recommendations with hard data and research." The council said the report is too general and "ideologically based" to recommend an end to the city's REO.
The bureau notes that the main reason for the lack of data on cities with REOs was "public officials were generally unresponsive to our requests."
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