FILE PHOTO: Teun van den Dries / Shutterstock
Equinor has announced a landmark project labor agreement (PLA) with the Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York and Vicinity (BCTC) for the construction of the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT).
The rejuvenated SBMT is set to be a pivotal component in the development of Equinor’s Empire Wind offshore wind project, serving as both a staging and assembly site as well as the central hub for the project’s operations and maintenance.
The Empire Wind project, located southeast of Long Island, consists of two phases and has a potential capacity exceeding 2 GW, enough to power over a million New York homes. Empire Wind 1 recently won in New York’s fourth offshore wind solicitation.
The PLA underlines Equinor’s commitment to using New York’s union construction workforce. The agreement will instigate working standards, superior safety practices, and promote equity in the terminal’s construction, generating over 1,000 union construction jobs and apprenticeships in local New York communities and creating thousands of indirect jobs in manufacturing, shipping, and logistics.
The PLA also encourages collaboration with Minority- and Women-Owned Businesses (MWBE) and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses (SDVOB), and incorporates a local hire stipulation that prioritizes union members who are Section 3 New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents, veterans, and residents of Sunset Park.
“This project labor agreement ensures that SBMT’s construction will provide union jobs with family-sustaining wages, industry-leading safety standards, and robust and equitable training programs to help communities from across New York City enter this new industry,” said Molly Morris, president of Equinor Renewables Americas.
Construction at SBMT is expected to start next week with the demolition of existing outbuildings, site excavation, and bulkhead preparation work. Key contracts covered by the agreement include Skanska, GE-BOND, and Nexans.
The BCTC is an affiliation of local building and construction trade unions, representing approximately 100,000 union construction workers in the New York City region.
Gary LaBarbera, President of the Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York and Vicinity, said the signing of this Project Labor Agreement is a crucial step for the Empire Wind project.
“This agreement will work to ensure New York’s hardworking tradesmen and tradeswomen are able to seize these opportunities and work in an environment with strong safety standards, family-sustaining wages, and good benefits, all of which will help our city and state make the most out of the clean energy transition,” said LaBarbera.
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