By Chris Lundy – January 31, 2019
TOMS RIVER – The Township Council passed a project labor agreement that would ensure that a majority of future contractors on large jobs would be local.
The point of a project labor agreement is to set some rules for a project before it even gets to the draft stage. The resolution authorizing them said that these agreements “lead to less disputes, delays,” as well as “fair and agreed to employment terms and more efficient project management.”
The resolution does not lay out all of the details of the agreement, but business administrator Don Guardian said that it will be similar to the one drafted by the school district in advance of the referendum to rebuild the schools, in that it would require 88 percent of workers to be local.
He said that the $5 million figure was chosen “since smaller projects may not require the expertise and professionalism that prevailing wage brings to the table.”