Inactive

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District is soliciting additional comments from the construction community addressing the potential use of a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for the following ... The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District is soliciting additional comments from the construction community addressing the potential use of a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for the following large scale construction project: Lincoln Hall Repair, Building 607, United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. Please respond to the following: a. How would you comply with a requirement to incorporate a PLA for the Lincoln Hall Repair, Building 607, at West Point, NY? What benefits do you believe a PLA could achieve? What other factors should the Corps consider before deciding to include PLA provisions for the Lincoln Hall Repair project? b. Would the use of a PLA on the Lincoln Hall project be effective in achieving economy and efficiency? If so, how? What is the estimated relative cost impact, or any other economies or efficiencies derived by the Federal Government, if using a PLA? Would a PLA impact the cost of submitting an offer? c. Are there any concerns regarding labor-management stability related to this project? Would the use of a PLA produce labor-management stability on this project? Have labor disputes or other labor issues contributed to project delays in the local area? Are you aware of examples of labor-management conflicts in the area which could impact the efficiency of this project, which a PLA could positively impact/resolve? What market share does union labor in construction trades have in the geographic area? Which existing Collective Bargaining Agreements will expire during construction of this project? d. Would use of a PLA be conducive to ensuring compliance with laws and regulations governing safety and health, equal employment opportunity, labor and employment standards, and other relevant matters on this project? Are there instances where these standards have not been met on Federal contracts in the local area? Were PLAs used for those specific contracts? e. This project will require construction contractors and/or subcontractors employing workers in multiple crafts or trades. Do you foresee any work on this project that may result in both the prime contractor and at least one subcontractor, or two or more subcontractors, employing the same trade? If so, which ones? f. Are there concerns by prime contractors on the availability of skilled construction labor? Are there large-scale construction projects in the area (over $25M, within 50 miles of West Point, NY) which could impact availability of skilled labor for this project? What is the anticipated volatility in the labor market for the trades required for the execution of the project? Are existing apprentice programs providing enough skilled workers for future requirements? g. How would a PLA impact the proposed schedule/completion time? h. Have comparable projects been undertaken by Federal, State, municipal, or private entities in the geographic area of this project? For each project, please indicate if a PLA was used, the initial and final cost, number of trades on the project, if the project was completed on time, and if there were any challenges such as labor shortages, labor related delays, safety issues, etc.. i. How would the use of PLAs impact the ability of potential offerors and subcontractors to meet small-business utilization goals? j. How would the inclusion of a PLA effect your firm’s ability of securing bid, performance, and payment bonds for the full amount of the Design-Bid-Build Construction contract as an individual company, through a Joint-Venture Agreement, or as part of a Teaming Agreement with another company? k. If you are a prime contractor, how much time do you estimate that it would take your firm to execute a project labor agreement for the Lincoln Hall project? The expectation is that if a PLA is needed that it would be required as part of the proposal package.