The Business Review (Albany) reports that GlobalFoundries has committed to building its $4.2 billion chip plant, the largest public/private industrial investment in the state’s history, with a discriminatory and costly project labor agreement (PLA) (“Done deal: Work begins on $4.2 billion chip fab,” 6/12). GlobalFoundries this week submitted a letter to the Empire State Development [...]
Yesterday I wrote about how pension provisions in typical PLAs: Hurt retirement for non-union workers. Employer retirement contributions into union pension plans on behalf of non-union workers are forfeited unless workers join a union. Keep underfunded and mismanaged union pension plans afloat. Expose contractors to underfunded multi-employer pension withdrawal liability. Increase costs to construction users because [...]
A piece in The Washington Examiner (“Almost half of top unions have underfunded pension plans,” 6/7) reports that some major construction labor unions have underfunded pension plans. This is relevant to the PLA debate because PLAs typically force non-union employers and their employees to contribute to union pension funds for time worked on a PLA project. Readers may [...]
VoiceofSanDiego.org is reporting that union disputes will allow more Proposition S funded construction to move forward without a project labor agreement. This is great news for the citizens funding the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD). Apparently, “Jurisdictional problems” between the carpenters union and other construction unions have delayed the signing of the PLA between [...]
Our post about the San Diego Union-Tribune’s anti-PLA editorial reminded me of an anti-PLA editorial published by the Boston Herald (“Stimulus for some,” 4/8/09) a few weeks prior to the launch of TheTruthAboutPLAs.com. The Herald’s excellent editorial came on the heels of an AP story about Mass. considering PLAs on projects funded by the federal stimulus [...]
By Ben Brubeck
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Posted in Uncategorized
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Tagged Beacon Hill Institute, Big Dig, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, David G. Tuerck, Editorial, Gov. Patrick, Letter to the Editor, Massachusetts, Op-Ed, PLAs, PLAs Cut Competition, Project Labor Agreements, Study
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On 6/2 I wrote about the corruption and absurdity of the Pennsylvania government hiring a union propaganda machine — Keystone Research Center — to conduct a study that will likely recommend PLAs on future publicly-funded Pennsylvania jails. So I enjoyed reading this 5/24 Letter to the Editor in the Lancaster Journal Online by ABC Keystone President Jack Zimmer in [...]
During the past 10 years, many of California’s daily newspapers (including the Sacramento Bee, Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times, Orange County Register and San Diego Union-Tribune) have published editorials denouncing Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) proposed at local governments for public works projects. This is no surprise: anyone who looks objectively at how PLAs are promoted [...]
By Kevin Dayton
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Posted in Uncategorized
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Tagged Beacon Hill Institute, California, Connecticut, Editorial, Massachusetts, PLAs, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, San Diego, SDUSD, Study
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Today the Board of Directors of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority decided to move forward on a $500 million expansion of Terminal B and other work at San Diego International Airport without requiring contractors to sign a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with construction unions. At its previous meeting on May 20, the board [...]
This Thursday at 9:00am the San Diego Regional Airport Authority Board of Directors will consider a union-only PLA for all its upcoming work. The meeting will be held in the third floor board room located in the Commuter Terminal at Lindberg Field. Public comments will be allowed (3 minutes each). If you are in the [...]
On 5/19 we wrote about the implementation of costly and discriminatory PLAs on approximately $830 million worth of construction for six new Pennsylvania prisons depends on the findings of an ongoing PLA feasibility “study” conducted by a union propoganda machine research firm with deep ties to Big Labor - the Harrisburg-based Keystone Research Center (KRC). (Note the KRC Board [...]
By Ben Brubeck
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Posted in Uncategorized
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Tagged Benner Township, Department of General Services, Hill International, Keystone Research Center, Pennsylvania, PLAs, Prisons, Project Labor Agreements, Rendell, Union Propaganda Machine, Union-only PLAs harm local workers
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