Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
Inspectors check out damage to the Capitol shortly after the Feb. 28. earthquake.

FEMA: Union labor rule will block federal aid

Republicans vow to hold up state funds

PATRICK CONDON AND BRAD SHANNON, THE OLYMPIAN

"It would not be very smart for us to say to the federal government, 'No, we don't want your earthquake money, because making this a union job is more important.' "-- Rep. Clyde Ballard, R-East Wenatchee

"This is the architectural jewel of the state of Washington. It would just be a travesty if it were held up for political reasons."-- Rep. Ed Murray, D-Seattle

OLYMPIA -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency has informed Gov. Gary Locke that the state won't get federal dollars to fix the earthquake-damaged Capitol if it sticks to a policy of favoring only union labor for construction projects.

FEMA's decision also casts doubt on whether the state will be able to implement one of its so-called project labor agreements on the long-planned $75 million Capitol renovation, which is likely to be merged into one project along with earthquake repairs.

The state stands to collect about $15 million from the federal government to help fix the damage.

Republicans on Tuesday seized FEMA's pronouncement, calling it evidence that the state should ditch its policy of favoring union labor for its construction projects.

"We've been opposed to this kind of agreement for a long time," said House Co-Speaker Clyde Ballard, R-East Wenatchee. "We don't think the state should discriminate against workers who don't belong to unions."

House Republicans will kill any state funds for Capitol repairs if Locke insists on a project labor agreement, Ballard said.

If the repair and the renovation projects are linked, according to FEMA local coordinating officer Bill Lokey, the federal agency is likely to decide that they are "related" and that a federal executive order barring project labor agreements would extend to the entire project.

"We note ... that these issues would not arise if a PLA were not entered into with respect to the entire Capitol repair and renovation project," Lokey wrote in a letter sent Friday to Diane Offord, Locke's representative in the state's Military Department.

Just days before the Nisqually Earthquake, President Bush issued an executive order barring federal funds from flowing into construction projects that employ project labor agreements. Washington has had a policy on the books since 1996 that encourages such agreements, which allow only union shops to land some lucrative state projects.

Soon after the quake, Locke's office asked FEMA to assess whether Bush's order extended to disaster money. It also asked if the state might be able to receive a waiver because of the emergency nature of the situation.

The answer: No.

"The agency does not have authority to extend emergency assistance to long-term repair of structures, such as the Capitol building, which no longer pose an immediate threat to health or safety," Lokey wrote.

Locke spokeswoman Dana Middleton said discussion is under way as to how to respond to FEMA's decision.

"There will always be issues of interpretation with something like that," she said.

Middleton had said a few weeks ago that Locke wants to stick to the project labor agreement for the Capitol renovation, but also that the administration would be willing to jettison the requirement if it's necessary to obtain federal money.

Ballard said he hopes Locke won't make a decision that would jeopardize the federal funds.

"It would not be very smart for us to say to the federal government, 'No, we don't want your earthquake money, because making this a union job is more important,' " Ballard said.

Rep. Gary Alexander, R-Olympia, who is chairman of the House Capital Budget Committee, is charged with reviewing the plans for Capitol repairs. He will meet with Locke this morning and try to convince him to drop his insistence on a project labor agreement.

Alexander's co-chairman, Rep. Ed Murray, said he'll defer to Locke's decision. But he warned Republicans not to politicize the debate.

"This is the architectural jewel of the state of Washington," said Murray, D-Seattle. "It would just be a travesty if it were held up for political reasons."

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