Two groups rallied in front of Binghamton City Hall Monday afternoon voicing opinions on a PLA, or Project Labor Agreement, to rebuild a local joint sewage treatment plant.


Associated Builders and Contractors, a group of local contractors and workers, are calling on Binghamton's City Council to vote against the PLA for the $250 million Binghamton-Johnson City Joint Sewage Plant Project. They say it adds unnecessary costs to tax payers. A unionized group in support of the PLA says the agreement is the best way to ensure work will stay in the community.


"This isn't a non-union, union issue. This is a guarantee of local jobs for local people," said Tom Spicer of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.


"What we want is for every contractor to have the opportunity to bid the work. If they bid it, and they're the lowest bidder and the most qualified bidder, they get the job and they put their local workforce on the job," said President of the State Chapter of ABC Brian Sampson.


Binghamton City Council met in a work session Monday evening to discuss the issue. It could choose to bring the PLA to a vote during Wednesday's regular council meeting.