Council does away with private PLA

While the parking lot outside Cloquet City Hall filled with union members rallying in support of project labor agreements Tuesday, councilors inside the building steeled themselves for a contentious discussion on the subject.

Ultimately the Cloquet City Council voted 5-2 - with Lyz Jaakola and Sheila Lamb the two "no" votes - to remove the PLA mandate for private businesses from city code.

At issue was a request by the city's Economic Development Authority that the council remove the private mandate in the city's project labor agreement, which required developers to work with the Duluth Buildi...