AGC's general contractor members do not have any problem with promptly paying subcontractors when they have satisfactorily completed their subcontracts, and we so stated in our meetings with dot. The dot regulation, however, requires primes to pay subs before contractors have been paid by the state and before subcontract work has been accepted by the state. That is exactly the point. AGC will continue to fight dot's burdensome new regulation. Union contractors contribute into health insurance, pension and training programs on behalf of virtually all craft employees covered by collective bargaining agreements.
Nonunion contractors do so only in rare instances, and then only for some of their craft employees.
Obviously there's a cost difference. The nonunion approach to construction, for the great majority of employees, provides only a temporary and short-lived job path. Several federal agencies have been using an award fee in their construction contracting. Here in General Services Administration Region 10, we have used award fees as an incentive for construction contractors to perform. Our efforts have been well received in the Pacific Northwest.