Members of the Columbus Building and Construction Trades Council reiterated their concerns Tuesday to the Columbus Regional Airport Authority about Hensel Phelps’ failure to negotiate a labor contract for construction of the planned $2 billion terminal at John Glenn Columbus International slated to begin as early as late 2024.

Dorsey Hager, executive secretary-treasurer of the Columbus Building and Construction Trades Council, and two others criticized the Colorado-based construction manager at risk on the new terminal project for refusing to adopt a project labor agreement.

The agreement, Dorsey said, would ensure that workers on the new airport terminal project receive prevailing industry standard wages and benefits that would protect all Ohio worker there. He also emphasized that since construction is being financed in part with Ohio tax dollars, local workers should have a part in the construction.

“They have made their intentions known that they want the ability to bring in out of state contractors with no worker protections in place, where they can pay substandard wages, no benefits, no health care, no pension — and obviously, we don’t want that.” Dorsey told media following the authority board meeting.

A spokesperson for Hensel Phelps could not immediately be reached for comment following the authority meeting Tuesday, but the company’s website emphasizes that diversity and community are among the firm’s core values.

Hensel Phelps said on its website it has also partnered with several Ohio-based diverse business partners and disadvantaged business enterprise-certified small businesses “who will be integral during the preconstruction phase of the project.”

Dorsey pointed out that the airport authority is not taking part in negotiations, and have put the responsibility solely on Hensel Phelps, which is working with Elford, a Columbus-based general contractor.

The airport authority, which last week approved $250 million in funding for the new terminal, sent a statement to The Dispatch following the meeting:

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“The Columbus Regional Airport Authority (CRAA) supports policies that benefit our community,” according to the statement. “This includes working with underrepresented businesses and supporting local workers, including union labor.”

The authority also said it is committed to paying labor rates that are equal to prevailing wage rates to all contractors, and want to continue to purse “good faith dialogues” with community groups regarding all inclusion goals.

When the issue first arose publicly in October, the authority was also being asked by the head of a nonunion construction group not to sign a contract with the unions.

Nana Watson, president of the Columbus NAACP branch, had sent notices about the meeting to media and others and attended the meeting in support of the unions’ request for a labor agreement, but did not speak.

Hensel Phelps has been accused of defrauding workers in previous dealings. In May 2022, the construction managemtn company was ordered to pay $2.8 million after an investigation found that they were defrauding small, veteran-owned businesses.

In a previous incident out of California, Hensel Phelps was forced to pay back over $8 million in unpaid prevailing wages to over 2,000 workers who constructed the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel from 2006 to 2008. In addition to the $8 million penalty, Hensel Phelps paid $400,000 to the Labor Commissioner of California for costs related to the investigation.

Construction of the planned new 1-million-square-foot terminal at John Glenn Columbus International Airport is expected to begin in late 2024 and finish by the end of 2028 or the start of 2029. There will be a two-floor passenger terminal with one security checkpoint and 36 gates that can accommodate A320 and 737 aircraft, including two international arrival gates for passengers, a third floor for airport administration, concessions, a ground transportation center, a public safety building, concessions, landside roadways, airside apron and connecting pedestrian bridge

The new terminal will be capable of handling 13 million passengers, which is more than 4 million above the total 8.7 million passengers that traveled through John Glenn Columbus and the Rickenbacker airport passenger terminal combined in 2023, the second-best year for both airports on record.  After the new terminal is opened in late 2028 or early 2029, the existing terminal, opened in 1958, will be demolished.

@ShahidMeighan

smeighan@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Union leaders urge labor contract for new Columbus airport terminal