Flood prevention district, Durbin object to Army Corps of Engineers contract

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently awarded a project on the Wood River Levee to a contractor without a project labor agreement in place, a decision which has disappointed the Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevention District Council.

The estimated $2.4 million project includes shoring up the shallow cutoff walls, and is being paid for with only federal dollars.

However, when the corps awarded the project, the winning contractor did not have a project labor agreement in place, said Chuck Etwert, chief supervisor of construction and the works for the flood prevention council.

The flood prevention district council has pushed for all contracts involving upgrades and improvements and work on the metro-east levees to include project labor agreements, to ensure union labor is used on the projects.

A project labor agreement, or PLA, is a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement with one or more labor organizations that establishes the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project.

Federal policy, however, says project labor agreements cannot be mandated.

When soliciting contractors for this Wood River project, the corps used a best value trade off approach where the lowest price offer isn’t necessarily awarded the contract, said Sue Casseau, a command information specialist for the corps of engineers.

“The Best Value Trade Off process allows for trade off between non-cost factors and cost/price and allows the government to accept other than the lowest priced proposal or other than the highest technically rated proposal to achieve a best value contract award,” Casseau said.

According to Casseau, the contract went to Mi-Con, a division of Michels Corporation based in Wisconsin, on June 30. A phone call to Mi-Con was not immediately returned.

According to Etwert, their were four contractors who submitted proposals for the Wood River shallow cut off contract. None had PLAs in place.

The corps also wouldn’t confirm how many contractors submitted proposals.

Etwert said the council is disappointed with the results of the approach taken with this contract.

“If this would have worked, the council would have been agreeable to try it again in the future,” Etwert said.

The move by the corps has received criticism by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, D-Illinois.

“This decision is baffling to a community that has made it abundantly clear that this project contain a PLA,” Durbin said. “PLAs serve as a basis for a partnership between the local workforce and the contractor responsible for the project, and cooperation among all parties is essential for progress.”

The corps of engineers did not have any comments on Durbin’s criticisms.

Etwert added PLAs have been used in southwestern Illinois for years without any problems.

“If the contractor says ‘I’ll use a PLA,’ that means (there) won’t be any work stoppages,” Etwert said. “If they don’t have that, there could be work stoppages due to disagreements.”

The corps and the flood prevention council are working to bring the levees to a 500-year flood protection level. To pay for the improvements, the corps has agreed to pay for 65 percent with federal money, with 35 percent coming from local dollars.

Because the corps and flood prevention council could not agree on PLAs, the council has decided to carry out projects on its own, until it completes work equaling about 30 percent of work needed to bring levees up to a 500-year flood protection level.

The council has opted to do this work in-kind approach, rather than providing cash. However, the council does have to provide 5 percent cash for all of the overall work, Etwert said.

The work in kind amendment is expected to be formally memorialized in the project partnership agreement in January or February, Etwert said.

This story was originally published July 7, 2016 at 12:08 PM with the headline "Flood prevention district, Durbin object to Army Corps of Engineers contract."