Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Project Labor Agreements topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Union supporters urge St. Louis County to keep project labor agreements despite federal pressure
Summary
Multiple commenters during public comment urged county commissioners to maintain project labor agreements (PLAs) and resist perceived federal pressure to exempt county projects; at least one speaker called the federal message a "blackmail type threat."
Several residents and union supporters told St. Louis County commissioners they should retain the county's project labor agreement (PLA) requirements for county projects and resist federal pressure to grant exemptions.
"Don't be intimidated," Dan Olsen (introduced by the meeting moderator) told the commissioners, urging them to stick with prior decisions to support PLAs. Susan Daly of Duluth said federal officials were threatening to withhold funding if the county honored PLA requirements and called that pressure "a blackmail type threat." She urged the board not to weaken workers' rights in response.
Eric Hoffman, who identified himself as an Iron Ranger from Cook, said PLA-backed projects have delivered safety, fair wages and benefits and argued the community should defend union labor. Paul Fish, an elected soil-and-water supervisor from south St. Louis County, said his programs rely on county, state and federal dollars and described recent statewide discussion about prevailing-wage rules, noting a related resolution at a state convention failed to pass.
Speakers framed the federal action as an allegation rather than a confirmed administrative directive; the transcript records the speakers' claims and warnings but includes no recorded county response or formal vote on PLA policy during the public-comment portion.
