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The D.C. United stadium deal was always going to be the culmination of many tiny steps, not a few giant steps. In that spirit, another tiny step will be announced tomorrow: The signing of the Project Labor Agreement, which will govern the people to be hired for the construction project. For D.C., this typically means an agreement between the District and the unions that will build the stadium. The brief press release from the Mayor's office on the PLA states that it will be structured similar to the deal which governed the construction of the Washington Nationals' stadium. That Nationals' deal consisted of three main parts, which were:
1. The Agreement states that the stadium project will utilize apprentices for 25% of the jobs and 50% of all of those apprentices will be bona fide city residents. In order to train city residents to become journeypersons, 100% of all new apprentices will be bona fide city residents.
2. Certified Local Small and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (LSDBEs) will receive 35% of the contracts. Certified LSDBEs that are awarded contracts with a total combined value of $10 million or less will not be required to recognize the union.
3. District residents will receive priority status on the "union call list" and be referred to a job before non-District residents, regardless of the District resident’s place on the referral list. A contractor seeking to hire a bona fide city resident will contact the applicable union dispatch and request a city resident. If the union is unable to dispatch a city resident, the union will contact the DC Department of Employment Services (DCDOES) and obtain a city resident to fill the dispatch. If no qualified individual is identified by DCDOES within 48 hours the union may use its normal referral procedures. This is the first time a union has agreed to change their "call out" procedures.
There were a number of other provisions in that Nationals' deal, which you can read about in the link above. We will obviously have more coverage of this agreement tomorrow as it happens. And as a reminder, the term sheet for this deal says that final agreement, or the transaction agreement, is supposed to be in place by 1 October 2013. That date is three short weeks from tomorrow, so expect more news in the coming weeks as well.