Tri-County Labor Club pushing for approval of O’Fallon’s Prop 1

New police and court facilities would bring union jobs with minimal tax increase

Members of the Tri-County Labor Club have been knocking on doors to rally support for worker-friendly candidates in the April 7 municipal election, and encouraging union members to get out and vote.

Labor Club member and O’Fallon City Councilman Bob Howell, a member of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 562, is encouraging support for O’Fallon’s Proposition 1 to fund construction of a new police station and municipal courts building, planned for Bryan Road south of the intersection with Veterans Memorial Parkway.

The $28 million bond issue would be paid for through a small, 20-year property tax increase that would raise taxes on a $200,000 home by about $17 a year.

Howell said the proposed new police and courts facility would serve the needs of the city for decades to come.

“It will also create a lot of union jobs,” Howell said. “O’Fallon has a Project Labor Agreement specifying that all work on the project will be done by skilled union craftsmen.”

The measure requires a four-sevenths (57.14 percent) majority for passage.

“Get out and vote,” Howell said. “In most municipal elections, voter turnout is poor at best. If our union men and women just made a point to take the time to vote, we could swing numerous elections in Labor’s favor.

“These are hard times,” Howell said. “We need to do everything we can to create work and elect candidates who will look out for working men and women.”