January 20, 2012 – 12:26 pm
This week the Obama administration killed Phase 3 and Phase 4 of TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline project (for now), which would have connected Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the existing pipeline to new pipeline that would carry crude oil 1,600 miles from Alberta, Canada, to Gulf Coast refineries. The State Department’s denial of the [...]
January 12, 2012 – 4:04 pm
Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Northwest has mandated a project labor agreement (PLA) on the construction of a $450 million to $550 million explosives handling wharf #2 (Solicitation No. N4425511R9004) at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor in Washington. The PLA mandate harms Washington’s experienced and skilled nonunion construction workforce and will discourage competition from qualified contractors that have [...]
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Tagged Corruption, Executive Order 13502, Federal Construction, Federal Contracting, Kitsap Sun, Kitsap-Bangor, NAVFAC, Navy, PLA survey, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, President Obama, Project Labor Agreements, Washington State
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December 29, 2011 – 4:56 am
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a pre-solicitation on Dec. 22, 2011, for a $20 million to $50 million DOL Job Corps Center in Manchester, New Hampshire, indicating the project will be subject to an anti-competitive and costly project labor agreement (PLA) mandated by the DOL. Bidding is open only to certified small business [...]
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Tagged Executive Order 13502, Federal Construction, Federal Contracting, GAO, H.R. 735, Legal Challenge, local, local hire, Manchester, New Hampshire, New Hampshire Union Leader, PLAs, President Obama, Project Labor Agreements, Rep. Bass, Rep. Guinta, S. 119, Sen. Ayotte, Take Action, Union-only PLAs harm local workers
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December 16, 2011 – 12:16 pm
The Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) issued three surveys requesting information from the construction industry on the potential use of project labor agreements (PLAs) on projects in the San Diego region, where just last week San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) internal documents revealed how a new SDUSD PLA mandate policy is reducing competition and [...]
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Tagged ABC California, California, Camp Pendleton, Cannon AFB, Clovis, Executive Order 13502, Federal Construction, Federal Contracting, NAVFAC, Navy, New Mexico, PLA survey, PLAs, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, San Diego, US Army Corps of Engineers
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December 14, 2011 – 12:55 pm
Yesterday, ABC Virginia issued a press release supporting the Fair and Open Competition in Government Contracting Act (HB 33) pre-filed this Monday in Richmond (see the full release below). HB 33 prohibits Virginia and recipients of state funding or assistance from requiring or prohibiting contractors to enter into union agreements, such as a project labor agreement (PLA), as [...]
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Tagged ABC Virginia, Arizona, Barbara Comstock, Boston Herald, Dulles Transit Partners, Fair and Open Competition in Government Contracting Act (HB 33), Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Metro Washington Airport Authority, Michigan, MWAA, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, Silver Line, State Legislation, Take Action, Tennessee, Tim Hugo, VA, Virginia, Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Wall Street Journal
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December 13, 2011 – 12:56 pm
Will a recent deal to save the multi-billion dollar Phase 2 Dulles Metrorail Silver Line project in Northern Virginia force prime contractors to agree to an anti-competitive and costly project labor agreement (PLA) with labor unions in order to win construction contracts? What level of protection will Virginia’s right-to-work law offer to the state’s nonunion [...]
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Tagged ABC Virginia, Dennis Martire, Dulles Transit Partners, Gov. McDonnell, Ken Cuccinelli, LIUNA, Metro Washington Airport Authority, Michael Curto, MWAA, Patton Boggs, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, Right to Work, Secretary Connaughton, Silver Line, Thelma Drake, VA, Virginia, Virginia Chamber of Commerce
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December 9, 2011 – 10:03 am
On Dec. 7, 2011, TheTruthAboutPLAs.com explained how government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) reduce competition and increase costs. Yesterday, the Free Enterprise Coalition released this press release (see below) about documents recently obtained from the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD). They prove government-mandated PLAs reduce competition and increase costs. (Note: SDUSD calls these union agreements Project Stabilization [...]
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Tagged ABC California, Ballot Initiative, California, Chula Vista, Oceanside, PLAs, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, project stabilization agreement, San Diego, San Diego County, SavePropS.com, SDUSD
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December 7, 2011 – 3:24 pm
Regardless of political philosophy, one fundamental economic principle is rarely wrong: Reduced competition increases costs. It is a fairly intuitive premise. Unfortunately, some government officials fail to grasp this basic economic concept. They often unwittingly—or even worse, knowingly—implement policies that unfairly cater to special interests or address legitimate and erroneous public policy concerns at the [...]
December 1, 2011 – 11:04 am
Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter issued Executive Order 15-11 on Nov. 29, 2011, re-establishing the use of anti-competitive and costly union-favoring government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on city projects costing more than $5 million. According to Philly’s press release, the order does not mandate PLAs on all projects, but it creates a PLA evaluation procedure that opens the door [...]
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Tagged Executive Order, local legislation, Mayor Nutter, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Convention Center, Philadelphia Inquirer, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Discriminate, Project Labor Agreements, The Politics of PLAs, Union-only PLAs harm local workers
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November 9, 2011 – 9:46 pm
The Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), which manages construction of U.S. Navy shore facilities, recently issued surveys for four federal construction projects, exceeding $25 million in total costs, in Maryland and Virginia. ABC members and construction professionals are encouraged to respond to the PLA surveys. Tell NAVFAC’s Washington District that government-mandated PLAs injure competition, increase costs, [...]
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Tagged ABC Metro Washington, ABC Virginia, Executive Order 13502, Federal Construction, Federal Contracting, Maryland, NAVFAC, Navy, PLA survey, PLAs, PLAs Increase Costs, President Obama, Project Labor Agreements, Quantico, Take Action, US Army Corps of Engineers, VA, Virginia
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