(HIBBING, MINNESOTA) - In what could be a portent for other Counties and Cities seeking Federal funds for infrastructure projects, the GOP Trump Administration’s Transportation Department is threatening to yank $7.7 million for five County road and bridge projects, unless the County drops its requirements that contractors sign Project Labor Agreements (PLAs). And, given the strong Union Tradition in Minnesota’s Northland, the County Board is - so far - refusing. But it also faces the fact that $7.7 million is a lot of money for a Rural County and that it may seek more Federal funds for other projects down the line and face the same dilemma. Nevertheless, the Trump Administration’s demand “is Union-Busting 101,” said County Board Chair Mike Jugovich, a Steelworker. “I don’t bust Unions. I build them.” Members of the area’s Building and Construction Trades Unions jammed the March 24th meeting of the County Board in Hibbing to speak up strongly for PLAs, which guarantee projects finish with set budgets, high quality, good pay for local Union Workers - not imported cheaper labor, and Labor-Management disputes jointly worked out through cooperation on the job. The requirement about dropping PLAs appears to have come from a series of e-mails from former TV reality star Sean Duffy, now Trump’s Transportation Secretary, and his office, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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