05/16/2000 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 5/16/2000 city to oversee that to make sure that prevailing wage is being paid. Over the last decade, how many prevailing wage complaints have been filed against any union or non-union contractor? Is that a concern? What ABC stands for is a notion called "merit shop" which matches Ohio law. The job should go to the lowest, responsible bidder. How the city defines responsible in the process utilized for evaluating bids is the city's judgment. Statutory standards lay out the various types of concerns a city can address to determine whether or not a contractor is not only low but responsible. Those standards are incorporated, for the most part, in the American Institute of Architects Contractor Qualification Statement. Is the legislation saying that any contractor that is not signatory to a PLA is not responsible? If a non-union contractor were to bid a project and sign a PLA and thereby require its non-union employees to become members of a labor organization for the duration of the project, is that going to make those workers safe? Is that going to prevent labor disputes? It will take a group of non-union employees and say you have to join the union. How does that change anything? Hopefully, a dialogue can continue to flesh out what the real rationale for this legislation might be because it does not appear that anything in the Whereas clauses, the enabling aspects of this legislation, fits with anything that is in the city's legislative record up to this point. What ABC asks for is free and fair competition, not one-sided competition for one group. Councilman McKay: • By way of response to Mr. Ross, he could tell him about a project completed in the city (not a city project) which had non-union workers. The police had to visit and arrest a number of people, and one of the persons arrested was a murder suspect. People wondered how the place ever got built because every time the police went over there, nobody was working. He doesn't believe that the unions have that kind of reputation. The literature that came to his house--he takes it quite serious--accuses him of giving kickbacks and many other things. That has never happened. He doesn't know how Mr. Ross can stand here tonight and say that he is proud of this. It really burns him up. ABC says Council is "ramming" the legislation through. They don't know what they're talking about--this legislation has been considered for over a year. Who are the special interest groups that are getting political kickbacks from construction? He doesn't know. No Council member can give anyone a kickback. It takes four people to award a contract. Where is the evidence that the contracts will be given to Mr. O'Grady's political friends? Who are his political friends? Where is the proof that this Council or the Mayor is using this money for political kickbacks which was stated in the mailed literature. He has been on Council for 19 years and has stood up and been counted whether he was right or wrong. That's what he expects from the people he wants to do business with. President Saringer: • Earlier this evening in the caucus, she asked the sponsors of the legislation and the committee if they would consider suspending the rule and passing the legislation tonight. She would encourage them to do it, but it's up to them. As far as she is concerned, it has been in committee and there have been several meetings and she 10