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THE IMPACT OF RESPONSIBLE BIDDER ORDINANCES ON UNION CONTRACTORS IN ILLINOIS AND INDIANA <br />prevailing wage law, has a so-called "right-to-work" law that weakens collective bargaining, and only 55 <br />percent of its construction apprentices are registered in joint labor-management programs (Manz() & <br />Gigstad, 2021). The Quad Cities case study consequently reveals that the effect of RBOs may be larger <br />when paired with high -road labor standards in construction. <br />FIGURE 6: THE DIFFERENCE IN UNION WIN SHARE AND UNION MARKET SHARE FOR PROJECTS THAT ARE AND ARE NOT <br />COVERED BY RBOs IN THE QUAD CITIES OF ILLINOIS AND IOWA, DATA FROM JAN. 2018 THROUGH JUNE 2021 <br />Quad Cities <br />Projects <br />Total <br />Projects <br />Total <br />Value <br />Union Union <br />Wins Win Share <br />Union <br />Value <br />Union <br />Market Share <br />Covered by RBOs <br />Not Covered by RBOs <br />RBO Difference <br />51 $55,479,609.91 <br />197 $85,403,882.83 <br />44 <br />92 <br />86.3% <br />46.7% <br />+39.6% <br />$37,234,073.43 <br />$46,121,313.97 <br />67.1% <br />54.0% <br />+13.1% <br />Source: Authors' analysis of project bid data from the Indiana, Illinois, Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting (III FFC, 20211. <br />Conclusion <br />Responsible bidder ordinances (RBOs) are policy tools that establish objective criteria and verifiable <br />standards for contractors bidding on public construction projects funded by local taxpayers. These policies <br />are designed to promote quality infrastructure built by professional contractors and skilled workers while <br />stabilizing construction costs. This guarantees that public projects are awarded to responsible local <br />businesses that make efficient use of taxpayer dollars. <br />This report finds that responsible bidder ordinances increase the market share of union contractors by <br />millions of dollars every year in Illinois and Indiana. In 11 local government jurisdictions that have passed <br />RBOs in Illinois and Indiana since 2019, the union market share increased by 9 percent following the <br />ordinance's implementation date. This corresponds to a gain of more than $5 million in work for union <br />contractors in just these 11 jurisdictions alone over this time. Additionally, a local case study of the Quad <br />Cities located along the Mississippi River on the Illinois -Iowa border reveals that RBOs may boost the <br />market share of union contractors by as much as 13 percent when other high -road construction labor <br />policies are present, such as a prevailing wage law. <br />The data conclusively shows that union contractors are more likely than nonunion contractors to be <br />responsible businesses that are good stewards of taxpayer dollars. By ensuring that local governments <br />hire only professional, competent contractors, responsible bidder ordinances deliver accountability and <br />transparency for taxpayers, promote apprenticeship programs that produce skilled craftworkers for local <br />businesses, and increase work for contractors who pay family -supporting wages and benefits. <br />7 <br />