Committee selects scale

The AFL-CIO common construction wage scale will be used for the Portland Water Park project.
The Common Construction Wage Committee voted 3-2 in favor of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations wage scale after rejecting a motion to use the Associated Builders and Contractors scale by the same margin. The scale, which is required for all projects more than $350,000 sets minimum wages for those working on the project.
Portland Mayor Randy Geesaman, taxpayer representative Dru Hall and AFL-CIO representative Kevin Cope voted in favor of the AFL-CIO scale, which set higher wages than those proposed by the ABC.
For example, the AFL-CIO hourly wage and fringe benefits come in at $34.81 for laborers and builders and $35.45 for truck drivers. The same workers would have been paid $18.35 and $20.78 respectively per hour under the ABC scale.
Cope represented East Central Indiana Building Trades in advocating for the AFL-CIO scale, while ABC representative Ken Neumeister recommended his organization’s numbers. Kelly Watson Jr. of Laborers’ International Union of North American was the lone member of the public to speak and favored the AFL-CIO scale.
“I’ve done my homework and I just don’t see that it’s going to make that much difference when you’re talking about a $3 million project,” said Geesaman. “I’d rather have people who have been through an apprentice program and are skilled people for it.”
The projected $3.3 million water park, which will include a lap pool, slide, lily pad walk, dump bucket and zero entry, is being partially funded (68.4 percent up to $2.25 million) by the City of Portland. The rest of the money is coming from local fundraising efforts.
County commissioner Doug Inman, who along with Neumeister voted in favor of the ABC scale and against the AFL-CIO numbers, said his main concern was controlling costs.
“I think that the wages presented by the ABC were very fair and having knowledge of the fundraising that’s going on locally, every dollar is very precious to this project. I think the adoption of the AFL-CIO rates are just going to cause the price of the overall project to go up.”
Portland Park Board plans to open bids for the project in March. Construction is slated to begin in April or May, with the project to be completed by the end of 2015.