Project labor agreements offer a pathway to the middle class by providing job opportunities to low-income communities, minorities, veterans and others, according to a new study by Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations School (ILR).

The study, Community Workforce Provisions in Project Labor Agreements: A Tool for Building Middle-Class Careers, examined 185 project labor agreements around the country. It found that 97 percent contained community workforce provisions that are designed to open job opportunity doors and career training for residents in the communities where the construction projects take place.

Project labor agreements are pre-hire agreements between labor and management that require all construction jobs be filled by local workers, include diversity requirements, establish wages and work rules covering overtime, working hours and dispute resolution and ensure that safety guidelines on the job site are enforced.

AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) President Mark H. Ayers says:

The Cornell report confirms and illuminates the “untold story” of PLAs. Not only are PLAs an effective project management tool that delivers “on time, on budget”‘ results…but they are extremely effective at providing job and career training opportunities for historically disadvantaged communities. The bottom line, as exemplified by this report, is that PLAs work.

Click here for the full report.