One of the trends frequently cited as a cause of economic stagnation and growing inequality over the past 30 years has been the decline of unions as a player in the economy.

The union decline has accompanied the decline of heavy industry as factories in the Rust Belt either closed down or fled to the southern United States, where unions are less prevalent, or overseas. High-wage manufacturing jobs, and the unions that have secured beneficial contracts, have been replaced by lower-paying service jobs, which are less often unionized.

The decline of unions has also been abetted by anti-union policies initiated during the Reagan years and carried on through the two terms of George W. Bush.

Vermont companies have generally done without unions. The state has never been as highly industrialized as the industrial Midwest, and though unions gained a foothold in many of Vermont's traditional industries, many trades have been able to field a skilled work force, helping Vermont companies maintain profitable operations, without the encumbrance of union rules or negotiations.

Nonunion workers, nevertheless, enjoy benefits that come to them because of the battles fought by their unionized brethren. In order to keep unions away, nonunion companies must respond to pressure for good wages and working conditions. Thus, while there are advantages to both workers and companies from foregoing the burden of union negotiations or union dues, labor advocates view workers who benefit from the union battles of others as free riders.

This history comes to mind as Vermont grapples with the issue of union representation in contracts for construction of the Champlain Bridge. New York and Vermont are each responsible for $11 million of the $110 million project, but New York is managing construction. New York is proposing to carry out the job with a Project Labor Agreement establishing union rules and participation that Vermont companies believe will leave them out.

The Douglas administration opposes use of the PLA, arguing that a quota on the number of nonunion workers would be unfair to Vermont workers. Vermont unions say the PLA would not prevent Vermont companies from bidding on parts of the bridge project, though they would be subject to union-authorized work rules.

The clash has allowed the governors from the two states to defend the interests of part of their core constituencies. Gov. David Patterson of New York, a Democrat, can stand with labor by defending the use of a PLA. Gov. James Douglas, a Republican, can defend the interests of Vermont companies who object either to being left out or to being strong-armed into labor provisions they don't like.

Ultimately, the two sides have to agree. The bridge must be built, and both sides know it. Indeed, the Champlain Bridge furnishes a handy metaphor — the two states must build a bridge, not only between Crown Point and Chipman Point, but between ways of doing business.

Vermont cannot allow New York to freeze out Vermont companies or make the contract so alien to Vermont companies that they are effectively blocked from participation. And yet Vermont cannot negate the influence and importance of unions across the lake. Indeed, a separate agreement about wages means that workers on the bridge will be paid at New York's prevailing wage rates. Vermont union members say the prevailing wages for Vermont tradesmen are the lowest in New England. Thus, the bridge job ought to be a boon to them if they manage to be hired.

Vermont companies probably don't want Vermont workers to be bitten by the union bug, but by participating in the bridge project, they would have to participate in a process that shows workers the benefits that unionization can bring. Meanwhile, the Douglas administration will be trying to negotiate an agreement to make participation in the project less onerous to nonunion companies from Vermont.

Just as Vermont has had to make allowances for the role of unions on the other side, New York must make allowances for Vermont and the way Vermont companies and workers have traditionally done business. If there is a PLA, it must reflect Vermont's needs in a fair way.