Controversial Labor Agreement Passes In Parsippany After Contentious Meetings

PARSIPPANY, NJ — After several packed meetings, contentious discussions and public division between Republican officeholders in Parsippany, the Township Council voted Tuesday to adopt the Project Labor Agreement ordinance.

The arrangement means that municipal public-works projects costing at least $5 million must have a pre-established collective bargaining agreement. This gives certain unionized workforces advantages in obtaining contracts for these projects.

The ordinance received a 4-1 vote for passage at Tuesday's meeting, with only Council Member Justin Musella opposing. Musella was also the only member of Parsippany's all-Republican council who had voted against introducing the ordinance. Mayor James Barberio — also a GOP leader — has spoken in favor of the measure.

Oct. 11's meeting drew hundreds of people, overcrowding the Council Chambers and forcing some members of the public to stay in the hallway or outside. Tuesday's vote again drew hundreds — primarily union members — but took place in the larger confines of Parsippany Hills High School's auditorium.

Supporters of project labor agreements say the arrangements guarantee skilled labor, prevent low-balling and eliminate delays that can arise from labor conflicts or worker shortages. Critics say the agreements drive up costs, limit a town's choices and make it difficult for smaller businesses to obtain public contracts.

The ordinance includes a caveat designed to help Parsippany residents work on the projects. Each contractor working under the labor agreement must have an apprenticeship program. Parsippany residents in the program must receive at least 20 percent of each project's labor hours.

Many local union members and leaders spoke in favor of the ordinance. The Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters commended the council for passing the measure.

"By supporting this ordinance they also rejected the false arguments of open shop special interests who look to undermine local workers and taxpayers," William C. Sproule, executive secretary-treasurer of the Eastern Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters, said in a statement. "PLA’s are put in place to protect and benefit local workers and taxpayers."

But Musella, an outspoken critic of the ordinance, says evidence points to project labor agreements delaying projects and driving up taxpayer costs, pointing to studies from the New Jersey Department of Labor and The Beacon Hill Institute for Public Policy Research.

"From the beginning (I) tried in vain to get a thorough understanding of why Parsippany had to be first town in Morris County to do this," Musella said at Tuesday's meeting. "But the (Barberio) administration provided no answers or supporting evidence. On multiple occasions, I provided independent and careful studies to the administration and my colleagues about how PLAs drive up costs, harm small businesses and are anti-competitive."

Barberio responded with the following: "You know what, I wasn’t going to waste the time. Because it was a way out, that’s all it was. It was to reduce (the project labor agreement)."

Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill into law last year that expanded the range of projects covered by the agreements. Under the law, municipal governments can now require that workers get hired through designated labor unions for major projects with price tags of at least $5 million.

Montclair and Toms River are among New Jersey's towns that have adopted project labor agreements.

Read Parsippany's ordinance below: