Unions and Union Contractors Oppose Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements in New Jersey
An alliance of union and merit shop construction industry stakeholders are opposed to legislation expanding the scope of project labor agreement (PLA) mandates on New Jersey construction projects. They are taking steps to prevent A3679 from passing the Assembly or getting signed into law by Gov. Christie and need your help.
House Defends Principles of Fair and Open Competition with Passage of Amendment Restricting Government-Mandated PLAs on NDAA Authorized Projects
It was a historic week for the merit shop contracting community in the U.S. House of Representatives. Thursday, by a bipartisan vote of 211 to 209, the House passed an amendment offered by Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) and cosponsored by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2013 [...]
U.S. House Appropriations Committee Passes Amendment Restoring Fair and Open Competition on MilCon/VA Construction Contracts
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations on May 16 passed an amendment via voice vote to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon/VA) Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2013 that prevents federal agencies from requiring contractors to sign anti-competitive and costly project labor agreements (PLAs) as a condition of winning federal construction contracts. [...]
Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements Harm Union Contractors and Tradespeople
The debate surrounding government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) is often framed by the media and elected officials as a dispute pitting union signatory contractors and their union employees against nonunion contractors and their nonunion employees. However, a recent lawsuit attacking government-mandated PLAs on $6 billion worth of taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects through 2014 in New York City sheds light on unsung victims of these controversial, anti-competitive and costly special interest handouts that deny hardworking taxpayers the accountability they deserve from government contracts: Union contractors and some construction trade union members.
Diverse Coalition of Construction Industry Associations and Employer Groups Oppose Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements
A diverse coalition of construction industry associations and employer groups oppose government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) and anti-competitive PLA preferences used by federal agencies as a result of President Obama’s pro-PLA Executive Order 13502 and related regulations. During the 112th Congress, these groups have sent numerous coalition letters to the House and Senate in support of legislation [...]
ABC Members Testify in Support of Legislation Restoring Fairness in Federal Contracting
On June 3, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform Subcommittee held a hearing, “H.R. 735 and Project Labor Agreements: Restoring Competition and Neutrality to Government Construction Projects.” The subcommittee, chaired by Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.), heard testimony about the negative impact of President Obama’s controversial Executive Order 13502 [...]
Think Tank Attacks Project Labor Agreement Discrimination
Jim Waters, vice president of policy and communications for the Bluegrass Institute, Kentucky’s free-market think tank, penned an interesting column about the discriminatory nature of government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs). Here is an excerpt from “Local PLAs bite the hand feeding the beast,” 9/24: Prejudice at the lunch counter may have disappeared, but other types of discrimination remain alive [...]
More Required Reading: April 13 Media on Obama’s Project Labor Agreement Final Rule
While you were out rebuilding America (and the Obama Administration was busy crafting anti-competitive special interest schemes to push lucrative federal construction contracts to their largest political supporters) here are today’s media reports and notable statements on the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council’s final rule implementing President Obama’s pro-project labor agreement (PLA) Executive Order 13502 into federal procurement regulations. [...]
AGC Letter to the Editor Calls for Fair and Open Competition on Lake Champlain Bridge
Another Albany Times Union letter to the editor (“Bid project for bridge both ways,” 3/15) refutes a March 6 letter to the editor that encourages the use of a controversial project labor agreement (PLA) on the Lake Champlain Crown Point Bridge (a PLA fight TheTruthAboutPLAs.com has covered here) by Robert J. Jones, business manager of the International [...]
Update on Lake Champlain Bridge Project Labor Agreement Controversy
TheTruthAboutPLAs.com covered the controversial proposed project labor agreement (PLA) on the Lake Champlain Bridge project spanning from Crown Point, N.Y. to Chimney Point, N.H. (“A Bridge to Government Waste and Discrimation,” 2/16). Here is an update for readers following this story. On Feb. 12 the Vermont Senate Transportation Committee held a hearing on the Lake Champlain Bridge [...]