A regional building trade association is alleging that a local school district and a local ambulance district broke state law by requiring unionized laborers on recent building projects.

The Kansas and Missouri chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors sued the Bayless School District and the St. Charles County Ambulance District in Cole County court today, demanding the state stop current construction projects, invalidate contracts and force board members to repay any state funds illegally spent.

School district officials said they have not yet seen the suit, but that they followed state law and school board policy on their $565,000 flooring, plumbing and rehab job.

But Jim Kistler, ABC president and CEO, said so-called “project labor agreements” on public contracts are discriminatory, non-economical, inefficient and illegal in Missouri.

Kistler initially requested the state to investigate after an ABC inquiry raised questions about whether the school and ambulance boards complied with the law, he said.

“When projects are bid using criteria designed to eliminate non-union bidders, taxpayers get taken for a ride,” Kistler said in a statement released today. “The kind of cronyism that steers construction contracts to union-only contractors is discriminatory and wasteful. The Bayless School Project is a perfect example - taxpayers paid an additional $20,000 just for the union label.”

For the rest of Kistler’s release, read on:

The “Fairness in Public Construction Act,” passed in 2007, is designed to maintain and promote the economical, nondiscriminatory and efficient expenditures of public funds in connection with publicly funded or assisted construction projects. Missouri prohibited so-called “project labor agreements” on state funded projects, and restricted their use on projects using local tax resources.

A project labor agreement is generally an agreement mandating the use of only union labor as a condition of working on the construction project. The 2007 law requires local governmental bodies to hold public hearings and justify the rational basis for banning non-union workers before they impose such a mandate on a publicly funded project.

Industry studies have conclusively shown that limiting competition by banning non-union companies and non-union workers increases the cost of public projects by as much as 25 percent. The increased costs are paid for by taxpayers. This scheme, usually promoted by organized labor, discriminates against the 8 out of 10 Missouri workers who have voluntarily chosen not to join a union.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) initially requested the state to investigate after an intensive inquiry raised questions about whether the school and ambulance boards complied with Missouri law.

“When projects are bid using criteria designed to eliminate non-union bidders, taxpayers get taken for a ride,” stated Jim Kistler, President and CEO of Associated Builders and Contractors. “The kind of cronyism that steers construction contracts to union-only contractors is discriminatory and wasteful. The Bayless School Project is a perfect example - taxpayers paid an additional $20,000 just for the union label.”

In the Bayless Schools case, the school district issued a project labor agreement just before the bid closing date. The late timing of this requirement prevented the public and bidders from understanding the full ramifications of the PLA. When the low bidder refused to sign the PLA, the school district concocted a scheme to disqualify the low bid and gave the project to a union firm.

“Imposing a PLA by ambush - in the eleventh hour of bidding - denies everyone their right to know how tax money is being spent,” stated Kistler. “The school district’s actions limited competition and avoided public scrutiny. The result violated both the state’s public contracting law and the public trust.”

The case involving the St. Charles County Ambulance District takes a different approach with the same discriminatory result. The ambulance district clearly indicated their desire for a PLA in the bid documents, and then forced companies to certify they were either already union or were willing to become union. The ambulance district did not permit bidders to certify their qualifications as a non-union contractor.

“The effect of the bid process used by the ambulance district was to scare off non-union bidders. The ambulance district clearly intended to force the construction to be performed only by union workers - creating a de facto PLA,” continued Kistler.

The lawsuit asserts that, in both cases, the bid process illegally excluded consideration of non-union contractors. ABC contends the Bayless School District and the St. Charles County Ambulance District violated Missouri’s statute on public procurement because no public hearings were held, no justification was provided for excluding non-union workers, and the statutory requirements which mandate a transparent public process before imposing a union-only agreement were not followed.

Violations of the laws governing the bid process and awarding of government contracts can result in a contract deemed illegal being declared null and void, and of no effect. In addition, the law is written to hold public officials involved in such a decision personally liable for the cost of the contract.

“ABC is committed to insuring that all public governmental bodies follow the law when it comes to spending taxpayer money,” stated Kistler. “We also intend to protect taxpayers by seeking to recover any state moneys spent in violation of the law.”

For a copy of the lawsuit, please use the contact information provided.

Associated Builders and Contractors is a trade association representing 25,000 construction industry businesses and nearly 2 million employees across the nation. The Heart of America Chapter represents ABC members and their employees in the states of Missouri and Kansas.