Report: Stadium Puts DC to Work

"I love working on the stadium," said local construction worker Niesha Harris at a press briefing on the stadium project's progress Wednesday. "The pay is great, there's good training and lots of overtime." The DC resident was on hand to help Laborers Local 657 release a report outlining the success of District residents who have been building the new Nationals baseball stadium. Thanks to a first-in-the-nation stadium Project Labor Agreement, hundreds of District residents have gained skills and experience through working on the stadium, according to the report, "Keep a Good Thing Going - the Washington Nationals Stadium Project: A Model for the Future." With the stadium on budget and on time to open the 2008 season in April, government affairs expert Gerry Waite noted that "Local governments and Fortune 500 companies have used Project Labor Agreements to accomplish large-scale, complex construction projects with much success." According to one construction industry report, the stadium is on track to be completed in a record-breaking 23 months, "construction's equivalent of hitting a grand slam off a 100-mph pitch." Added Greg Leroy of Good Jobs First, "The stadium PLA is a model for the future. We need to keep a good thing going for DC working men and women." Metro Council President Jos Williams reported that the stadium PLA is already being looked to as a model for several other major construction projects in the District.