Unions push for agreement with contractor on $2 billion John Glenn terminal project

Aaron Burd
·3 min read

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — As plans move forward on a $2 billion project at John Glenn International Airport, questions remain whether workers on the new terminal will be covered by a union agreement.

The Columbus Regional Airport Authority voted in January to approve $250 million in funding toward a terminal and parking garage that will replace the current one, which dates to the 1950s in places. The new terminal would bring the airport up to 36 gates, seven more than now, and create a central security checkpoint to help handle projected growth in central Ohio over the coming decades.

Ground is expected to be broken early next year, with the terminal opening before the end of 2029.

But Columbus-area trade unions have said negotiations over a community benefit agreement with the airport’s contractor are stalled. The Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council is looking for an agreement to ensure a local and diverse workforce in addition to equal rights and due-process protections for workers.

And the council targeted the contractor over past labor issues. Hensel Phelps has been accused of wage theft in California and by the U.S. Justice Department of manipulating a contract designated for a business owned and operated by disabled veterans.

Negotiations fell apart when Hensel Phelps inserted language into the contract that was unacceptable to the unions, according to Rob Dorans, who serves as counsel for ACT Ohio, a labor-affiliated nonprofit.

“The airport has directed the negotiations to be directly with the trades council here and Hensel Phelps,” said Dorans, who also serves on Columbus City Council. “To date, the airport authority has not been a direct party to those agreements.”

Not all local workers are interested in the agreement, however. Others say it would restrict the contractor by forcing it to use only union workers.

“They force you to use union labor, union apprenticeship programs,” Barton Hacker of the Associated Builders and Contractors told airport authority members at a meeting last week. “They force you to pay into union pension programs. They allow a union steward to come in and talk to your employees without your desire.”

Hacker said that when bringing in construction labor, contractors should seek to cast the widest net possible.

“Trade unions represent approximately 15% of our local construction workforce,” Hacker said. “It therefore baffles me that any project that needs to be completed on time and under budget would limit its available workforce to such a small segment of our community.”

Union delegates disagreed, with Dorsey Hager of the trades council saying the agreement would protect the workforce while still allowing nonunion bids.

“If anything, the CBA will encourage more people to bid on the project,” Hager said. “Because they know that there’s wage protections in place, and that if they have a good union workforce, that they pay good wages and benefits their bids will be protected.”

Representatives from Hensel Phelps used the meeting to defend themselves against the unfair labor charges, describing them as misunderstandings and saying the company was not found at fault in either case.

“It all matters, doing business the right way, based on our core values: integrity, diversity, being a builder, community and ownership,” Executive Vice President Allan Bliesmer of Hensel Phelps said.

The airport authority, while continuing to delegate negotiations, said it’s committed to the following:

  • Pay labor rates equal to prevailing wage rates to all contractors;

  • Target a 25% participation goal for disadvantaged business enterprises and programs, meaning about $400 million in contracts could go to underrepresented businesses such as those owned by minorities, women or veterans;

  • Pursue dialogue with community groups to achieve inclusion goals.

Union workers said they weren’t optimistic about a deal getting done but said they would like to see Mayor Andrew Ginther and airport commissioners — who appoint authority board members — push for the agreement.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.