By Patrick Devlin
Secretary-Treasurer
Greater Detroit Building Trades Council

We don't subscribe to the Detroit News or Free Press because of the ongoing labor dispute, which moves into its fifth year on June 25.

However, we do monitor the papers via the Internet, and came across a letter to the editor by Doug Kelsey and Mark Sawyer, executive directors of the anti-union Associated Builders and Contractors in Lansing.

The letter blasted the use of union-only project labor agreements - specifically targeting the Comerica Park project - and was so biased and out of step with the truth, that I felt compelled to respond with a letter to the editor.

To the Editor,

The June 25 letter to the editor by Doug Kelsey and Mark Sawyer of the Associated Builders and Contractors, "Unions hiked ballpark costs" is another outrageous lie from a group that's much better at marketing itself than it is at constructing buildings.

Kelsey and Sawyer attempted to tie cost overruns at the new Comerica Park with the project labor agreement that was in place for the construction of the stadium. In fact, the project labor agreement utilizing skilled union craftworkers led to the park being opened on time; and of course, Comerica Park has received rave reviews for its beauty, use of unique materials, and quality craftsmanship.

Tigers' owner Mike Ilitch obviously wanted a first-class ballpark and was willing to pay for the extras and the construction change orders that came with it. He was quoted in the June 6 Detroit Free Press that "…if I wanted to add something to the stadium to enhance, it, I was willing to pay for that." The article mentioned the $3.2 million water fountain, the $1 million tiger carousel and Ferris wheel, $300,000 Hall of Fame statues and $8 million worth of "other decorative items."

Kelsey and Sawyer also claimed that lower productivity caused by union work rules, jurisdictional disputes and "make-work" requirements - whatever those are - lengthened the project's duration. In truth, the stadium was one of the fastest ever built.

Numerous studies have shown that productivity on building projects increases when construction workers are properly trained, and earn a fair, collectively bargained wage. Jurisdictional disputes on the Comerica Park project and everywhere else are few and far between and are handled internally so as not to disrupt the construction process.

Quality-conscious owners and contractors continue to request project labor agreements from the union labor community because the agreements are good for business. Scores of ongoing construction projects in metro Detroit, including the Midfield Terminal at Metro Airport, Ford Field, the GM Renaissance Center, and the Chrysler Technology Center, are being successfully constructed under project labor agreements.

If construction of Comerica Park had been handed to contractors affiliated with the ABC, I daresay the Tigers would still be playing at Michigan and Trumbull, waiting and wondering when their new ballpark will be finished.

Sincerely,

Patrick J. Devlin
Secretary-Treasurer
Greater Detroit Building and Construction Trades Council
Detroit, MI