Business View Magazine | Volume 8, Issue 6

109 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 8, ISSUE 6 The Pipe Line Contract NEGOTIATING A BRIGHTER FUTURE T he Pipe Line Contractors Association (PLCA) was founded in 1948 with a focus on negotiating labor agreements for the four crafts involved in pipeline construction: the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the International Union of Operating Engineers, the Laborers’ International Union of North America, and the United Association of Plumbers & Pipe Fitters. The PLCA has been a partner for these four unions for the entirety of its existence and in addition to supporting labor negotiations, offers assistance in a number of different areas, such as the management of pension, and health and welfare funds. Support around safety, quality, training, and recruitment issues also makes up the broad portfolio of services provided by the PLCA. Kelly Osborn, President of the PLCA, and Elizabeth Worrell, the association’s Managing Director and Chief Legal Counsel, recently spoke with Business View about some of the biggest challenges currently facing the pipeline industry and how the PLCA has handled the COVID-19 pandemic. “At the PLCA, we have two different types of membership (three, if you include Honorary