LAST WEEK THE PRO-EL TORO AIRPORT MAJORITY ON THE COUNTY BOARD OF
supervisors reached an unprecedented (for OC anyway) agreement with organized labor that ensures union workers will do the vast majority of work on county construction jobs through the year 2005.
Opponents of the El Toro airport went ballistic, accusing the board of the most brazen, base and blatant political dealing in order to win Big Labor’s support for the airport.
They were absolutely correct.
To the county staff which cut this deal and to the supervisors who approved it, including my fellow political conservatives Cynthia Coad and Jim Silva, I can only say nice work.
The county getting in bed with Big Labor to win its potentially powerful backing for the El Toro project is unseemly in principle, but very smart politics. And not bad government, either. It helps to further the cause of an important project, while it does minimal real damage to the non-union contractors who are understandably upset with the decision.
Why minimal damage? Because the county, still constrained by the effects of the bankruptcy, isn’t planning any other major construction projects besides the airport for the next few years, anyway, except maybe a jail. And no other public entity is bound by the deal. That means OCTA road work isn’t affected, nor are any projects undertaken by water districts, flood control districts, cities or joint-power authorities.
Furthermore, there’s even some slack for county work: For example, the deal exempts contracts of less than $250,000, so small, non-union contractors won’t be unduly affected. The agreement expires just a few months after the date the county expects the airport to be finished.
The deal comes down to this: If the airport wins, union labor will build it. So the unions have a strong incentive to join the pro-airport battle.
Indeed, in the evening meeting at which the supervisors approved the deal, a surprising number of people got up to voice support for the planned airport. There hadn’t been such an occurrence in quite a while; airport opponents have gotten used to dominating the mike.
Perhaps it’s a sign of things to come. Maybe the union hirelings protesting at all of those Covi job sites will now have a little night work, too.
(P.S. The first reports of the county’s negotiations with labor were by our Peter Brennan.)
Har-Dee-Har-Har
AS FOR THE CONTENTION OF THE COUNTY AND OF LABOR THAT THIS PACT WAS not an airport quid pro quo:
Yeah, right. Sure. You bet. (Wink wink.)
