Construction Unions: No Strikes at LVCC

At its regular meeting earlier this month, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority board approved two agreements with construction unions that should guarantee work stoppages don't jeopardize scheduled tradeshows.

LVCVA officials said the controversial project labor agreements would assure that work is not interrupted during the impending $890 million enhancement of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The PLAs, which outline terms and conditions of construction labor on the project, are between the LVCVA and the Building and Construction Trades Council of Southern Nevada on the one hand, and the Carpenters Local Union and Laborers' Local Union on the other. Union officials at the meeting said jurisdictional issues compelled the two separate agreements, and they vowed to not stop work on the LVCC project if any disputes between the different unions arose.

Before the board voted 9-4 to approve the PLAs, several people on the board and in the audience expressed their concerns. Leading the opposition was Nevada State Sen. Warren Hardy, a Republican from Clark County who is also president of the Associated Builders and Contractors, a construction industry trade group.

Hardy said the ABC was not invited to the negotiations that resulted in the PLAs, which he deemed "unfair" because contractors who use non-union labor would nonetheless be bound by the agreements. North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon wondered if the PLAs weren't the result of "extortion" since, in his view, they resulted from the authority caving in to the threat of strikes.

LVCVA President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter said it was important to consider the bigger picture. "It really is a business decision that we've made," he said, comparing the master plan enhancement to a major construction project being done on someone's home while the person is living in it "24 hours a day."