Northampton County Council must anticipate a lot of visitors tonight. Its regularly scheduled meeting will be conducted in Courtroom One instead of the Council chambers. I doubt people are coming to hear the annual presentation from the external auditor. I suspect they want to weigh in on proposed changes to the responsible contractor ordinance sponsored by Council member John Goffredo.
In 2018, County Council adopted what is known as a "responsible contract ordinance" for its own public works projects valued at over $250,000. Bidders on these projects were required to submit a "responsible contractor certificate" that included proof that it has participated in a Class A Apprenticeship program for the past five years. In 2020, this requirement was tightened to make it applicable to all public works projects over $100,000.
The argument for this ordinance is that it ensures that all public construction and maintenance projects are performed by responsible firms with the expertise to perform on time and under budget. The argument against it is that most nonunion contractors have no such apprenticeship program. But some do.
In the five years since this ordinance was originally adopted, Northampton County's biggest public works project was the design and construction of the forensic center on Gracedale's campus. According to Executive Lamont McClure, several nonunion contractors participated.
But it's also true that in the five years since this ordinance was adopted, the county has had numerous smaller public works projects with one or no bids at all.
In July, County Council was a proposed $340,000 contract with Wilmer R Schultz, Inc. a union general contractor located in Emmaus. The project was repairs to the courthouse steps as well as the retaining wall on 7th Street. According to Public Works Director Michael Emili, this proposal had gone out to bid at least twice. He received only one bid from Schultz, and after competitive negotiation with the sole bidder, he was able to knock down the price tag by $34,000.
Just a few months before this, the County received no bids at all for the plumbing of a bathroom replacement project at a county park. It was forced to seek out a union plumber located in Reading.
Council member Kevin Lott, himself a former union agent, dismissed concerns about the $340,000 contract with Schultz. "$340,000 on a commercial job is a small job," he said. "It's very busy in the LV right now."
If a $340,000 commercial job is considered small, then requiring prospective bidders to have Class A apprenticeship programs just limits the number of potential bidders. If a contractor can establish that his workers have technical school backgrounds or several years of on-the-job training, that should suffice for smaller jobs.
I understand the rationale for a responsible contractor ordinance, but it is actually irresponsible for a county to erect so many hurdles as to make it nearly impossible to secure competitive bids on its own projects? How does this serve the taxpayer who foots the bill?
Goffredo's proposal would exempt all Lehigh and Northampton County contractors from the responsible contractor ordinance. I doubt that will fly. What might get five votes is a responsible contractor ordinance that only applies to larger projects like the forensic center.
According to former union agent Lott, a $340,000 commercial job is small. A responsible county council should trigger a responsible contractor ordinance for major projects, not an outhouse at a county park.
I doubt very much that Goffredo will be successful. There may be a gift ban, but most Democratic Council members as well as Executive McClure rely heavily on union support to fund their campaigns.
I support unions. People like to say they gave us the 40-hour work week. That souns nice, but what unions really did is make working conditions safer. My grandfather lost two fingers in a cola mine where he worked as a little boy. Unions put a stop to this misuse of child labor. So yes, I support an ordinance designed to give them edge. But it should only apply to larger projects. If they were bidding on smaller projects, I'd want the ordinanceto remain in place as is. But we shouldn't need to go to reading to get a union plumber on a small job.
30 comments:
Lott should resign. He only represents unions and McClure, it is irresponsible. Somethings wrong. Either games are being played with the RFP's or there is another problem. You should get more bids. McClures lawyer double talk will not solve this problem. Everyone knows McClure has his sights on a higher office and needs union money, but he represents all county residens union and non-union. Time to fix whatever the problem is and not just stonewall and pretend there is no problem.
It is just a nice way to discriminate against small business, government projects are funneled to big union companies and they are always big contributors to politicians. They increase the costs to the taxpayers. The increased costs can be shared between the companies and the politicians. Just a way to make corruption look nice.
I'd rather have a sister in a house of ill repute than a brother in a union.
Goffredo is conflicted and needs to disqualify himself under the new county ethics ban.
We need more responsible contractors and less of Goffredos.
Bernie you’re not pro-union. All you ever do is criticize unions. You allow hateful anonymous comments about unions all the time. You’re anti-union.?
Union Yes !
"Give them an edge"?
Excluding over 80% percent of the competition isnt "an edge", its a clear power play for the administration to reward the people that pay for their campaigns. How much do unions give McClure in campaign contributions? Shouldnt that be something that is reported on?
This isnt 1936 and the role of the unions isnt what it used to be.
It has become a political arm of big government and is one of the most influential entities in the dirty world of politics.
Thank a Union for having weekends off.
The 40 hour week was fought for and won by Unions.
"Bernie you’re not pro-union. All you ever do is criticize unions. You allow hateful anonymous comments about unions all the time. You’re anti-union.?"
I do allow hateful anonymous comments about unions, not because I agree with them, but because I disagree with them. I like to hear what people think. This is not an echo chamber. I would give union an edge with larger contracts because there is a greater public need in those cases for worker safety and expertise. I'd want it for all contracts if I was satisfied that there would be multiple bids on smaller projects. But that has not been the case. We've actually had to go to Reading to get a union plumber on one small job, and that's just ridiculous. Moreover, a union agent himself has said unions aren't interested in small jobs.
8:28 and 8:37, Tell that to the union workers at the jail, 911, or Gracedale. They work all the time. They get mandated as well. It is more than that. I support unions because they ensure worker safety and stop ugly practices like the child labor under which my grandfather lost two fingers picking up pieces of coal to throw into rail cars inside the mines. On a massive public project, I want the workers to be safe and paid well. On the county level, I want unions to start doing their jobs.
8:23, This is not 1936, thank God, but it would be without unions. As I explained, I would give them an edge in larger contracts. Not smaller ones.
"Goffredo is conflicted and needs to disqualify himself under the new county ethics ban."
I see no conflict as a matter of law. He is part of a class that benefits from his legislation, but he himself does not individually benefit. Just as McClure had no conflict when he voted for payraises that included his wife. Or individual Council members had no conflict when they voted for payraises that included members of their family. That is a red herring.
Child labor laws are now too restrictive. We're OK with poor colored kids from dirty foreign countries digging uranium for our iPhone batteries. But we seem to be very protective of our own progeny.
You are off topic.
Uranium is not used in iPhone batteries. It's cobalt, and 50% of the world's cobalt comes from DRC. Yes, child labor might be involved, according to Amnesty International. This problem has been flagged and the government there has begun to crack down on the use of child labor. At this point, 28 mining companies have signed on to a "comply chain" to protect against the use of child labor. If course, this problem would not exist if there unions in DRC.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/01/child-labour-behind-smart-phone-and-electric-car-batteries/
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/combatting-child-labor-democratic-republic-congos-cobalt-industry-cotecco
McClure and Lott are both full of crap all they are worried about is votes and money. Both of them don’t care about union employees in the county. Wouldn’t go to bat of any of them. Give them pennies for raises and just say no money. What about that gentleman agreement you bragged about in your 2023 budget. No money to pay employees? Yeah ok. But money to pay outside union companies. One bid ,gotta take it. Then a nice campaign donation later. I believe something that should be added to home rule charter is if any company, employee of a company that has been awarded a contract from the county is exempt from making campaign donations for that year and 2 years after.
10:24, I agree that no one who does business with or works for the county should give donations to candidates. I have often made that suggestion. But a county council that kicked and screamed over a gift ban is unlikely to adopt such an ordinance. It would need to be carefully crafted to avoid first amendment problems. Another problem is that these union donations do not come directly from the unions, but from a separate PAC.
America works best when you say union yes
I called six contractors this summer about painting several rooms in my house. Three agreed to look at the job. All three said they'd give me an estimate but only one followed through. I hired that company and they were terrific.
Granted, this was for a residential job, not a government project, but it indicates that
tradesmen are in short supply right now. That's a sign that the economy is doing well and that painters, electricians, carpenters, etc. deserve more respect.
"But a county council that kicked and screamed over a gift ban is unlikely to adopt such an ordinance."
I doubt it. Council members get no real money. All the big bucks go to McClure, and you know it, you hypocrite. The county Executive, especially this one, has all the power The gift ban was a McClure PR stunt as the charter already made clear.
I suspect the venue change is due to the Parents' Medical Rights group and Lehigh's controller Pinsley planning to attend and protest OCYS child abuse cases from Norco based upon Munchausens by Proxy diagnoses.
Unions are great. Uaw think they deserve a 40 plus and hour raise for a 32 hour work week paid at 40 hours and restore traditional pension. And we think cars are expensive now! Why do they feel entitled to such an outrageous deal? Doesn't anyone see anything wrong with this?
No, but you're an idiot.
Nothing compared to what CEO’s are paid
Cars are expensive because the top 3 automakers are profiting billions...$20 billion just this year! The corporate class is getting richer by literally starving their workers and retirees. Then they lie, cheat and steal to pay pennies in taxes, further robbing the the other 99% of us who's hard earned money must support the rest of society. We need unions now, more than ever.
How much did the $340k plumbing job end up costing the taxpayers? How much less would it have cost if a Northampton County company did the job?
I don't see the negative in employing a Reading-based company, if all the local companies couldn't do the job at the price I needed it done for, why not? That just means the local guys are busy with more profitable projects. And what's wrong with drawing more workers into our area? They'll be stimulating the local economy frequenting restaurants, stores, bars, sometimes even hotels, etc., so what's the down-side? I'm asking genuinely because I couldn't come up with one.
I need more information before I say so definitively, but I'm for this type of ordinance in the abstract.
Union so-called accomplishments are now ingrained in law. Unions are not needed. They spent their dough to buy politicians who enacted their agenda. Mission accomplished. Take a bow and STFU. That was forever ago and you're essentially big business, now. Go away. Unnecessary and harmful. The 1930s aren't calling and you're too stupid to know history, anyway. Also, Ds hate private trades. They're all about bought-and-paid-for government unions. Get a government job and stop whining about the good old days before your were born.
Public unions are a waste. Trade unions are still important. Civil Service, Career Service and
modern laws have made their need for this monopoly union to go away. They only exist to fatten the pockets of the union bosses. As can be seen in Northampton County, they do nothing for the employees.
At one time I would have agreed with you. But over the years, I've seen too many times what county supervisors can do to a worker who supposedly is protected by civil service or career service. Unions are needed to protect jobs. But the unions need to work. Too many public unions in NorCo are doing a shitty job of representing the worker.
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