By George P. Hassett

In the midst of an economic downturn, aldermen last week passed an ordinance that, according to critics, will drive up costs on city construction projects.

The Responsible Employer Ordinance was passed 7 votes to 3 on Thursday. It will require all companies doing work on city projects of $100,000 or more to participate in a state approved apprenticeship program. Many small companies do not offer such programs.

At a March 26 public hearing, opponents said the ordinance would limit bids to companies that use union labor. Alderman-at-Large William A. White said in general when fewer companies bid on a project, costs increase.

“There is a very great risk that this ordinance will cost the taxpayers of Somerville a substantial amount of money,” he said. White, Alderman-at-Large John M. Connolly and Alderman-at-Large Bruce Desmond voted against the proposal.

Ordinances similar to the one passed last week had been pushed by unions before. In 1985, union members packed City Hall by the hundreds to support an apprenticeship proposal eventually vetoed by then Mayor Eugene Brune. Brune also spoke against the latest ordinance.

The rebuilding of the East Somerville Community School, destroyed by a fire in December, is at the top of the city’s to do list for construction. Supporters of the ordinance said it would increase the safety and quality of big city projects.

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone supported the ordinance and in April said it was not a union issue. ‚ÄúIf we’re going to invest hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions, of dollars we need to be sure certain contractors are abiding by the law,‚Äù he said.