Buffalo, NY (WBEN) - A new home for the Buffalo Bills will also be the new home for thousands of unions jobs in Western New York.
As part of the $1.4 billion Bills' stadium deal announced Monday, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced the Bills will enter a project labor agreement with the Buffalo Building Trades.
“Western New York's labor force will be the winning team to construct this new facility, said Poloncarz Monday. "We couldn’t make this happen without a strong commitment from labor and I am pleased to say that this agreement respects them, keeps these construction dollars local to invest in local workers and families, and energizes our workforce to be a part of the biggest construction job in these parts in many years."
The decision makes sense to Nellie Drew of UB Law School, who told WBEN, "Obviously you want to have the economic impact of this tremendously large project stay in the region."
"This is a way to insure public money won't just go to the stadium, but drive into the economic revitalization of the region as a whole," Drew added.
Related
The project labor agreement aspect of the deal is all good news for Peter DeJesus of the WNY Area Labor Federation. "If we're going to have a local project that's built that with taxpayer dollars, that it'd be union made," says DeJesus. He says this will be a once in a lifetime project for members of the various trade unions.
DeJesus says the jobs will be good paying, as they've been recently. "The trades have has seen stable income for for a while now. Many of them have full employment. But you know, it's going to mean years of work of good paying work for them," explains DeJesus. He adds apprentices will also be able to get into a good paying job.
The project, says DeJesus, will also have a spillover impact and help nearby unions as well. "If the desired skill is at full employment, it's going to be necessary to bring in some of the surrounding areas' trades on in order for us to maintain this job is done union" says DeJesus, referring to the possibility that trades from Rochester and central New York may be brought in as well.
DeJesus hopes this will also renew the discussion about trades as an alternative to higher education. "I think you're having your the conversation around skilled trades that's being pushed through through many different sectors as it should be," says DeJesus. "One could pick up a trade and graduate debt free and have a skill that they can keep for the rest of their life." He says it's a viable alternative for those who don't want to go to college.
Work is expected to begin in several months.