The Western States Contractors Association (WSCA), a non-profit association of union contractor companies that specialize in heavy civil construction, has announced its establishment in Arizona. Heavy civil construction encompasses the work required to build roads, highways, bridges and rail projects—the backbone of infrastructure development.
Charlie Nobles, executive director of WSCA, says its presence in Arizona is based on a need to fill a void in the marketplace. “While there are a handful of contractor associations in Arizona, none of them exclusively focus on serving union-based engineering contractors,” he said. “It’s impossible for a contractor association to serve two masters, which is essentially what happens when an association represents both union and non-union firms. Those separate interests can be diametrically opposed.”
Exclusively serving union contractors makes WSCA unique in Arizona.
WSCA grew out of the Orange County, Calif.-based Southern California Contractors Association. John Cooper, WSCA’s director of labor relations, explained that SCCA was approached by Southern California based unions which were expanding their presence in Arizona. “According to the owners of several large Arizona construction companies, the booming economy had been struggling to find an adequate number of skilled and trained workers to work on infrastructure projects. Offering competitive rates and benefits makes working in Arizona more attractive.”
While almost all federal infrastructure construction projects require workers be paid “prevailing wage,” essentially mandating payment of union-level wages, city and state work may not require prevailing wages.
According to WSCA Board member Paul Marshall, WSCA is “here to represent and promote our member companies at the state, county and city level in a way they previously haven’t had access to.”
The Western States Contractors Association (WSCA) represents union contractor companies across the southwestern United States. WSCA provides labor relations support and advocates for increased state, county, and local investment in transportation infrastructure on behalf of its member companies. As an extension of the Southern California Contractors Association—an organization with over 50 years of industry leadership—WSCA continues to uphold a legacy of excellence and service.
