The Syracuse Common Council has approved a $49 million renovation to the Syracuse Hancock International Airport. The Syracuse Regional Airport Authority has a goal of 30 percent local hiring for the project.
The council and local labor unions recommends the airport authority conduct a project labor agreement study, which Councilor Joe Nicoletti said would give local workers a better shot at getting the construction jobs.
“All of these buildings that go up are wonderful, but if we don’t provide jobs for people, particularly in a community where we have high unemployment, we’re losing a tremendous opportunity,” Nicoletti said.
Hancock Executive Director Christina Callahan said to enhance its local hiring goal they are reaching out to minority and women-owned businesses in the area.
“This is a way to give the community at large an opportunity to work on a project of this size,” Callahan said. "We are pro-actively reaching out into the community to talk about airport opportunities. Hopefully, a project of this magnitude is going to benefit not only the airport, but the community we serve."
Callahan said local hiring opportunities will not be limited to just Onondaga County but also to the surrounding counties the airport serves. The state is paying for the majority of the project, which will include replacing the terminal façade and canopy and renovations to ticket counters, the center lobby and restrooms.
