1. BTC/ Cornell Contract basic Training

2. Welcome Today’s Presenters:
Laurie Johnston, Senior Director, Workforce Policy & Labor Relations
Kelley Yeomans, Senior Director, Finance and Administration, Facilities and Campus Services

3. Agenda Building Trades Council Agreement (BTC)
What is the BTC agreement?
What work applies to the BTC agreement?
What does “exclusive jurisdiction” mean?
What trades are covered?
How does the BTC enforce its rights under the agreement?

4. Roles and Responsibilities
We are all responsible for compliance with the BTC/ Cornell Contract
Workforce Policy and Labor Relations (WPLR)
Collective bargaining agreement negotiation and administration
Facilities Contracts
Preparation of University's contracts that include the appropriate language.
Respond to inquiries from WPLR, local union representatives and the Department of Labor.
University Procurement
Preparation of University's purchase orders – ensures the appropriate language.
Contract Colleges Facilities
Provides administration of prevailing wage rates for state funded projects
Guidance to the implementation of state requirements in State owned buildings

5. BTC/Cornell contract key elements
BTC first recognized in 1968; first labor union contract at Cornell
Current BTC Contract Dates – July 1, June 30, 2020;
Employees, regular and temporary, are employed by Facilities & Campus Services, Cornell University.
Provides for exclusive jurisdiction for trades recognized by the contract
Excludes preventative maintenance
Geographic area covered per Article 1, Recognition:
“This Agreement ...shall include the University facilities in Tompkins County, New York......”
Cornell facilities outside Tompkins County are not covered by this contract.

6. What does exclusive jurisdiction mean?
"All work associated with the demolition, repair, replacement, improvement
to or construction of equipment, buildings, structures, utilities, and/or system or components thereof."
Work that is within the exclusive jurisdiction of any of the covered trades in the BTC/ Cornell contract
must be performed by a member of that particular trade.
Member of the trade may be a regular Cornell employee, a temporary Cornell employee, or a union tradesperson hired by the contractor doing the work
Not included is work associated with monitoring, tests, lubrication and other repetitive maintenance work by FCS or EH&S
Applicable to ALL work in Endowed Campus at Cornell (special requirements for Contract Campus, i.e., prevailing wage.)

7. Trades Positions Covered by the BTC Contract
Trades covered by the BTC Contract:
Trades not covered, for example:
Electricians
Plumbers/Steamfitters (includes HVAC/Controls)
Carpenters
Masons
Painters
Sheet Metal Workers
Laborers (assisting covered trades)
Operating Engineers
Iron Workers Glaziers
Machinists
Millwrights
Local #241 - International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
Local #267 - United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters
Local #277 - Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters
Local #3NY- Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers
Local #178 - IUPAT Painter District Council No. 4
Local #112 - SMART Twin Tier Sheet Metal Workers
Local #785 - Laborers International Union of North America
Covered: All work associated with the demolition, repair, replacement, improvement to or construction of equipment, buildings, structures, utilities, and/or system or components thereof.
Not included: work associated with the monitoring, tests, lubrication, and other repetitive preventive maintenance work performed by Facilities Management mechanical maintenance staff or qualified technicians of such University offices as Environmental Health & Safety, etc.
- Exclusive representative for electricians and line workers, painters, plumbers, steamfitters, controls mechanics, welders, refrigeration mechanics, carpenters, masons, sheet metal workers; and, building trade laborers, including journeypersons, apprentices and temporary employees

8. Minor Repairs Article of the BTC Contract
In 2010, Cornell and the BTC negotiated the Minor Repairs article in order clarify trade work and work done by non-union employees (usually UAW-represented maintenance mechanics).
This article can assist in determining whether or not the work at issue is considered to be covered by the exclusive jurisdiction clause of the BTC contract.
Examples in the Minor Repairs:
Paint areas less than 1 square foot;
Adjust door hardware;
Operate valves to secure leaks;
Reset branch circuits, one time only
Repair or replace dry laid stones in pathway if 2 square feet or less

9. Contract campus requirements prevailing wage
Work covered by the BTC Contract on the Contract Campus must be performed by union labor or to non-labor who are paid the prevailing wage.
Prevailing Wage Requirements -
All workers employed on public works projects (New York State projects) must be paid the prevailing wage determined by the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations, according to the type of work and location of the project.
Contract Colleges – New York State Land and Facilities:
Prevailing wages must be paid to all workers employed on a public works project “state project” when the public works project is over $1,000
NYS Labor Law, Article 8, Section Prevailing Wages must be paid to for all construction/repair; renovation and maintenance work where the "work has to do with the ...fabric and essential parts of public buildings ...."

10. How does the btc bring its concerns to our attention?
Visit to the Job Site
Call to WPLR
After review of eBuilder notice
After seeing or hearing about the work done
File a Grievance under the BTC Contract
Contract provides for a procedure to address violations of the Exclusive Jurisdiction clause
On receipt of a grievance, WPLR contacts the project manager, the department or facilities management to collect facts
A Step 1 meeting is held with BTC and Cornell representatives to discuss the issue
If the matter is not resolved at Step 1, BTC Contract provides additional steps for resolution including arbitration

11. Our challenge **there is no bright line**
Multiple "front doors” for how construction, repair and maintenance gets done
There is no "master list” of how every task should be appropriately assigned
Multi-pronged analysis is often necessary:
Details of specific job;
Past practice;
Grievance resolution history;
All information can provide guidance and the guidance may not be definitive.
No automatic exclusion for “specialty” work, “warranty” work or work occurring in a laboratory or classroom
Relevant to consider whether there is an attachment to the fabric/ structure of the building

12. Examples Cement Work at Laboratory? Banners on Light Poles
Project manager aware of work being done, believed required a building permit; worked with WPLR and laboratory to identify what work is connected to experiments and what is infrastructure.
Banners on Light Poles
After an analysis that the banners are clipped to a bracket that is clipped on to the pole, it was concluded that this was not work exclusive to the BTC
Granite Countertops with attached sinks
Question of whether this is carpenter, mason or plumber work?
A non-union granite installer was used to install the counter and the sink;
Currently granite work is not routinely the work of carpenters or masons;
This contractor offered lifetime warranty;
Concluded that at this point, this work is not the exclusive jurisdiction of the BTC

13. Best Practices
All contracts identify the BTC labor requirements and contractors are responsible for the labor requirements (whether or not they read them.)
Might be helpful to highlight:
Pre-Bid Meeting;
Low Bidder at “descope” meeting.
Emphasize it is a legal requirement and Cornell will hold the contractor responsible for compliance.
Consult with internal resources on whether the work at issue is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the BTC
Consult with external resources (e.g., BTC officers, business agents) for possible union contractors who might want to bid on the job

14. Resources Workforce Policy and Labor Relations
Laurie Johnston, lmj6;
Lauran Jacoby, lj14;
Experienced Project/Construction Managers
Facilities Contracts Office
Kelley Yeomans, kmy24;
Brenda Frank, bf343;
Procurement
Melinda Sweazey, mss7;

15. questions