ABC Empire State Chapter Issues Statement on Senate & Assembly One-House Budget Proposals

One-House Budgets are a Disappointment for Construction Industry and Taxpayers
A Statement from ABC Empire State Chapter Public Affairs Manager Tanner Schmidt

“The one-house budget bills are a disappointment for New York’s construction industry and its taxpayers. While we welcome a major investment to improve the state’s failing infrastructure, mandating Project Labor Agreements will keep the more than 70 percent of the construction workforce that is non-union on the sidelines. When mandating PLAs – allowing only a small portion of the industry to work – our elected officials are choosing to delay many of these much-needed projects, like road and bridge repairs, which negatively impacts the quality of life for all New Yorkers.

“These one-house bills also call for an expansion of the prevailing wage to projects that are not traditionally subject to it. That measure will result in the cost of these projects increasing by as much as 25 percent, stifling economic growth, and adding billions more to the tab paid by New York’s taxpayers.

“These harmful mandates cannot be part of the State’s final enacted budget. New Yorkers need their elected representatives to stand up in opposition and make themselves heard. Those supporting these detrimental measures need to take a serious look at the harm they will inflict on the state’s workforce and its taxpayers and reconsider.”