Westmoreland County commissioners accused of bid rigging with project labor agreement

Vince Tresco's Delmont-based paving company has worked for Westmoreland County for more than a decade. But his firm is now ineligible for jobs under a year-old agreement he contends favors unionized shops, he told the commissioners Wednesday.

Tresco accused Democratic commissioners Gina Cerilli and Ted Kopas of “bid rigging” for their support last year of a project labor agreement that he said has frozen his firm and other nonunion companies out of work in the county and will result in higher costs to taxpayers.

“They're paving the road outside my asphalt plant, and I can't even bid on it,” Tresco said after calling out the commissioners during their business meeting, when they awarded Derry Construction Co. Inc. a contract to repave a stretch of county road in Unity Township.

Tresco Paving Corp. was one of eight firms to submit bids for the project. Its proposal was rejected because it did not comply with the county's requirements, which Tresco claims was solely related to criteria in the project labor agreement.

That agreement, which was crafted by a Pittsburgh trades council, says contractors hired to work on projects that cost more than $150,000 must meet certain requirements including that workers have safety training and participate in apprenticeship programs. Opponents at the time said those terms and others would bar nonunion contractors from getting county work.

Cerilli and Kopas, both Democrats, defended the project labor agreement and said nonunion contractors are eligible for county work provided they meet the requirements.

“It's perfectly legal,” Kopas said.

“Safety is our primary concern,” Cerilli said.

Neither Cerilli nor Kopas would specify why Tresco's bid was rejected.

Tresco said his proposal would have cost the county $12,000 less than the $234,737 that will be paid to Derry Construction Co. Inc. His company's bid for another paving project was rejected last month, even though it was $40,000 less than the price pitched by another, unionized company, according to Tresco.

“This is only going to get worse. It's only been a year,” he said.

Project labor agreements have been a controversial issue among county commissioners. A previous version of the agreement was in place for about a year before a new Republican majority of the commissioners board abolished it in 2012.

Commissioner Charles Anderson, who was the board chairman at that time, said Wednesday that project labor agreements discriminate against nonunion firms. He voted against awarding the paving contract Wednesday.

“(Tresco) hit it right on the head. He's done good projects for the county, and now suddenly he's not good enough for the work. This is about as outrageous as it gets,” Anderson said.

Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.