At a special meeting Monday, the Penn Hills school board voted 8-1 to enter into a project labor agreement for its $130 million construction project, which includes a new high school and elementary center. Margie Krogh voted against the action.

The agreement with the Pittsburgh Regional Building and Construction Trades Council stipulates that all construction will have "standardized work practices, hours, holidays, grievance arbitration and jurisdictional dispute resolution processes," among other requirements.

The agreement "precludes" strikes, lockouts and other types of work stoppages. Any contractor who is awarded a contract will be required to sign the agreement.

Associated Builders and Contractors of Western Pennsylvania issued a news release Tuesday criticizing the school board for approving the agreement without fact-finding. The association describes its mission as ensuring open market practices in the construction industry.

According to the association's website, project labor agreements favor unions and are "a discriminatory addition to a construction project, effectively precluding [nonunion] contractors from competing."

"This is what we are fighting for -- ensuring that everyone is included in the process, which means minority- and woman-owned businesses," association president Eileen Watt said in the release, adding that the school board's action "could result in a potential lawsuit if not rectified."

The news release said McKeesport Area School District, which also is engaged in a major building project, rejected a project labor agreement, 7-2, in July.

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