EGUSD project labor agreement debate draws 19 speakers, majority opposed
A project labor agreement is a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement establishing labor terms and conditions for construction projects
At a special Elk Grove Unified School District meeting on Tuesday, August 18, 19 speakers voiced their opinions on possible project labor agreements (PLAs) for facility construction. Below is a list of the speakers and their positions on PLAs during the seven-plus-hour session.
A project labor agreement is a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement establishing labor terms and conditions for construction projects. Depending on how an agreement is negotiated, it can address matters such as wages and benefits, hiring procedures, apprenticeships, dispute resolution, labor stability, and requirements that contractors and subcontractors follow the agreement on covered projects, and can discourage or effectively exclude some nonunion contractors from bidding.
For EGUSD, the question could have significant financial implications. The district is preparing for hundreds of millions of dollars in new school construction, funded partly through Measure N, the $542 million school bond approved by voters in 2024.
A separate story will provide a synopsis of the meeting.
| Speaker | Stated affiliation | PLA position |
|---|---|---|
| Dave Lagorio/Loro | D&D Construction; described the company as a merit shop | Opposed |
| Ryan Ranchod | D&D Construction; EGUSD graduate | Opposed |
| Name unclear in transcript | Associated Builders and Contractors Northern California (ABC NorCal) | Opposed |
| Jacob Chitwood | Works for a small construction business with fewer than 50 employees; company not stated | Opposed |
| Ian Vanderlin/Vander Linden | KS Telecom | Opposed |
| Jaime/Haime Torres | Laborers Local 185; Sacramento-Sierra Building & Construction Trades Council affiliate | Support |
| John Hershey | UA Local 447 Plumbers and Pipefitters; local Building Trades Council | Support |
| Nicholas Wyn | Rescue Concrete Inc.; local family-owned contractor | Opposed |
| Matthew Beaston | Represented union carpenters living and working within EGUSD-area ZIP codes | Support |
| Kenny Blakeley/Blakesley | Apex Site Solutions; Elk Grove resident and business owner | Opposed |
| Aaron — surname unclear in transcript | KS Telecom; stated the company is a WEA partner | Opposed |
| JP Basari/Basori | KS Telecom; described the company as a merit shop | Opposed |
| Rob Fong | Local 447; former Sacramento City Unified school board member | Support |
| Tim McHugh | KS Telecom | Opposed |
| Tyler Kercher | IBEW Local 340 | Support |
| Reed Jackson | IBEW Local 340 apprentice; EGUSD-area resident | Support |
| Aaron Teague | IBEW Local 340 | Support |
| Eric Christen/Christensen | Executive director, Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction | Opposed |
| Name transcribed as “Rexheim” | Affiliation transcribed as “WEA” | Opposed |
Source: Public comments during the Elk Grove Unified School District Board of Education's Aug. 18, 2026, project labor agreement study session. Some names and affiliations are spelled phonetically because of inaccuracies in the YouTube-generated transcript.
Public comment breakdown: 12 speakers opposed a project labor agreement and seven supported one.
