One of the stakeholders at Thursday's I-81 Big Table meeting will be the Central and Northern New York Building and Construction Trades Council. President Greg Lancette says it’s probably been decades since he’s seen an effort like this for any project.
After all, he says the I-81 replacement presents a tremendous opportunity for local workers, and it’s good to see everyone pulling in the same direction.
"There's actually some community groups that are coming together in a positive manner to try to maximize the benefit that's going to be experienced from these employment opportunities that don't come often."
That includes the Urban Jobs Task Force, which we heard from yesterday. They’re calling for Community Workforce and Project Labor Agreements for the project, which Lancette says the Trades Council fully supports. He says, though, having the support of city, county, state, and even federal representatives isn’t a guarantee.
"I don't know if there's one project in the nation that I could point to where they can actually drive or control every component, whether it's procurement or hiring. I think that's very difficult to do in the framework of the federal law."
Still, he says, the potential is extraordinary.
"If done correctly, and all the parties involved have the same motivation, you're going to see a tremendous outcome and historic opportunities that develop from the rebuild."
historic. Thursday’s meeting takes place via web conference from 4 to 6:30. Attendees can register to listen using this link.
