According to Delaware Public Media, crews have already begun preliminary site work on the Port of Wilmington’s Edgemoor expansion, and every phase of that early construction falls under a project labor agreement, meaning the job site is staffed entirely by union trained tradespeople.
Delaware’s Port Expansion task force learned this week that a formal ground breaking is set for Sept. 14, even as two legal challenges to the project move through the courts. Diamond State Port Corporation interim executive director Brian Devine told lawmakers the current work already involves operating engineers, dock builders and laborers, all supplied through the agreement’s union hiring channels.
Agreement sets the standard for a 30 month build
Phase one of the expansion is projected to run roughly 30 months and consume close to half a million labor hours, according to Devine. A representative from the Wilmington mayor’s office, Cerron Cade, said the project labor agreement lets the port authority and its contractor, Enstructure, lean on a single reliable pipeline for labor and training rather than assembling a workforce project by project.
READ MORE: What Is a Project Labor Agreement?
Task force members also used the meeting to raise separate workforce questions, including how to prepare local residents for jobs once the port ramps up hiring and whether a toll on shipping traffic could help fund required physical exams for incoming port workers. Those discussions remain preliminary, and Devine cautioned that details on hiring timelines are still months away.
Read the full report at Delaware Public Media.
Related guide: Project labor agreements in Delaware: current law and the 2026 bill
