Updated: March 13, 2024
Public water customers in Springfield should get ready for a good soaking.
The Springfield Water and Sewer Commission has resurrected a previously abandoned, ill-advised plan to strike a sweetheart deal with organized labor, which would have added $15.44 million to the cost of constructing a $260 million water treatment plant.
A PLA requires the use of only union workers, who are only about 15% of the state's construction workforce. This would lock out all qualified merit shop firms and their employees. Merit shops don't abandon their loyal employees and replace them with temporary workers - which is what a PLA demands. They are responsible employers being asked by a government entity to act irresponsibly.
Both merit shop and union construction were vetted by the Commission and deemed qualified to perform the work. The merit shops, have had the rug pulled out from under them by the PLA and placed at a competitive disadvantage.
The Springfield Water and Sewer Commission has abandoned it's fiduciary responsibility to the ratepayers. The project's own engineer estimated the PLA will add $15.44 million the the project cost and extend the completion by months. That's a low-ball estimate.