As regular readers of TheTruthAboutPLAs.com remember, Gov. Ed Rendell (D) promised the Pennsylvania construction unions in 2008 that the Department of General Services (DGS) would require contractors to sign wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) in order to work on over $800 million in upcoming state correctional institution construction.

This promise was a condition of a sweetheart deal between Rendell and the powerful Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trade Council, in which the council promised to support the prison construction appropriation through the state legislature in exchange for government-mandated PLAs on the prison work.

Fast forward to March 2010, despite a significant public relations campaign, a serious legislative inquiry and ridiculously inflated initial bids, the Rendell administration is still fighting to keep their handout to Big Labor attached to the projects.

Here’s an excerpt from a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article (“Dispute Between Three Builders Delays Prisons,” 3/14) describing the situation:

State officials wanted to start work months ago on the first of three new prisons to ease crowding in the corrections system, a problem that has forced 2,000 inmates to be shipped out of state.

But a groundbreaking date for the first new State Correctional Institution, to be built in Centre County, is still not known, and a major reason can be summed up in three words — Project Labor Agreement.

Rendell administration officials and labor unions favor PLAs, but nonunion builders don’t, and the competition between union and nonunion builders for the lucrative prison construction work has been fierce.

In 2008, Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell’s administration signed a deal with union contractors to use PLAs to build the new prisons. The first prison — SCI Benner, to be located in Benner Township near the existing SCI Rockview — will cost about $200 million and hold 2,000 inmates.

A second new prison will be twice that size — holding 4,000 inmates and costing about $400 million. It will be built near the aging SCI Graterford in suburban Philadelphia and will be the new home for its 3,700 inmates. The current prison is to be emptied and mothballed.

Though the Benner and Graterford projects are months late in getting under way, the state now hopes to award contracts for them this spring and break ground this summer.

A third new prison, holding 2,000 prisoners and also costing about $200 million, is to go in Fayette County, at a site still to be announced. The goal is to have that project under way late this year, with all three prisons to be completed in about three years.

Although the Corrections Department operates the state’s system of 27 prisons, the three construction projects are being handled by the Department of General Services, which has been tangling with a group of nonunion contractors over the labor agreements since last summer.

General Services agreed two years ago with a group of politically powerful labor unions — the Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council — to use the agreements for the prisons.

Construction “will require that labor organizations affiliated with the Building Trades will be the exclusive bargaining agents for all construction labor trades and crafts workers on each such project,” states a letter signed in April 2008 by James Creedon, secretary of the Department of General Services and a Rendell appointee, and Frank Sirianni, president of the state Building and Construction Trades Council.

Despite the obvious need to get this construction underway, both due to prison overcrowding and to help with the staggering unemployment in the construction industry, the Rendell administration continues to insist that PLAs need to be utilized on these projects.

Here is a second excerpt from the Post-Gazette article:

The request for an injunction to stop the Benner project ended in August when the state rejected all six proposals it had received because all of them were too high — meaning they exceeded the $200 million budgeted for the work.

But legal wrangling resumed in September when General Services sought bids for the new Graterford prison. Nonunion firms again sued over the PLA requirement but this time, Judge Pellegrini ruled in the state’s favor, denying the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction to stop the project.

In his ruling, he said, “The public would be harmed” if he granted the injunction because it would delay efforts to ease overcrowded and possibly dangerous conditions in state prisons. The decision is being appealed to the state Supreme Court.

The Benner project now has been delayed for nine months. Mr. Creedon said it’s ironic that with hundreds of construction workers out of work, the opponents of the labor agreements have prevented the prison projects from getting started and putting people to work.

New Benner construction proposals were sought last week and a contract could be awarded by early May.

“We can’t wait around any longer,” Mr. Creedon said, adding that he hoped the Benner prison work would begin by early summer.

PLAs won’t be mandated this time for the Benner prison, a decision that Diane Tokarsky, a lawyer for nonunion builders, called “encouraging.”

However, a PLA will be required when the new bids are sought for the Graterford prison project this spring, said General Services spokesman Ed Myslewicz. The department will do so because it has a court decision affirming the use of the agreement for that project, he said.

This is just another example of PLAs as political payback to Big Labor at the expense of the taxpayers.

The Engineering News-Record (ENR) also covered this story through a reprint of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article available here.

Matthew J. Brouillette, president and CEO of the Harrisburg-based Commonwealth Foundation, wrote an excellent Op-Ed in The Philadelphia Inquirerthat attacks the political doublespeak coming out of Governor Rendell’s administration when it comes to capping the influence of special interests (“Some Interests More Special Than the Rest,” 03/03/10).

In his eighth and final budget address last month, Gov. Rendell repeatedly criticized “special interests” for stymieing his legislative proposals. He said, ” … the time has come to put stricter controls not simply on what they report, but on what they do.” And he called for a cap on special-interest groups’ campaign contributions, implying that such limits would lower the hurdles for his policy proposals.

…Of course, Rendell hadn’t declared war on all special interests – only those that oppose his tax-borrow-and-spend agenda…

..So while job creators who are trying to keep the government from taking more of their money are labeled evil special interests by the governor, those that lobby for more of other people’s money are somehow considered virtuous.

Brouillette goes on to document examples of Gov. Rendell supporting special interests, including Big Labor’s effort to secure PLAs on public works projects. 

Other special interests that apparently have the governor’s blessing include teachers’ unions, which lobby for hundreds of millions of dollars more every year, and construction unions, which lobby for such special privileges as “project labor agreements.”

And according to a recent article in The Pennsylvania Independent, the Rendell Administration has even been caught red-handed in their feeble attempt to cover their corruption with a study that justifies the use of an anti-competitive PLA on several PA prison projects (“Department Commits to PLAs Prior to Studies,” 3/5/10).

Nearly a year before opening bids on several planned prison sites, Pennsylvania’s Department of General Services (DGS) signed a letter of commitment with the Building and Construction Trades Council (BCTC) which required DGS to award the bid to a member of the council, that is, a union contractor.

The letter states in the first paragraph, “DGS will retain the Keystone Research Center to conduct the necessary studies and investigations required for the development of a Project Labor Stabilization Agreement (PLSA) for each project meeting this criteria. IF such studies justify a PLSA, DGS will negotiate and enter into a PLSA with the regional building trades council affiliated with the Building Trades in each region of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania where the project will be constructed” (emphasis added).

The DGS letter is dated April of 2008 and bears the signatures of James Creedon, Secretary of the DGS and Frank Sirianni, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council, which represents construction unions across Pennsylvania….

…Frank Sirianni also sits on the board of the Keystone Research Center (KRC), the organization which produced a report in 2009 recommending the use of project labor agreements (PLAs) for the construction of the prisons, specifically in Benner Township. Their report came after a study conducted by Kevin Moore for the same township. Mr. Moore’s report states “in this Region, at this time, there does not appear to be any data that would support the necessity for the PLA. The Regional construction market is incredibly slow, resulting in an overabundance of skilled labor throughout the Region, the Commonwealth and beyond. There is no competitor for DGS for skilled labor now, or on the 24-29 month horizon…under the present circumstances and wholly limited to the facts presented, a PLA is not necessary for DGS to complete this project as planned.”

…So before bidding even began on the prison sites, DGS had already committed to use a union-affiliated contractor through a PLA.

And after the first report failed to justify a PLA – the result the administration wanted – DGS took the corruption to a new level and used a study written by a Big Labor think tank to justify this PLA. TheTruthAboutPLAs.com independently exposed this corruption on July 9, 2009 and brought it to the attention of the media, PA lawmakers, interested stakeholders (“PA Government Cronyism Continues with Rockview Jail PLA“).

Where is the accountability in government? This PLA corruption has to end.

Representative Bear’s press release highlights the intent of the legislation and why government-mandated PLAs are bad public policy,

“We want to guarantee taxpayers get the best work at the best price, and ensure that no project bidder, large or small, is excluded from bidding on a large state project because of an affiliation or lack of affiliation with a union,” said Bear. “This is about fairness and openness in the contracting process. State contracts should not discriminate based on union affiliation, or be awarded as part of some political payback.”

House Bill 2010, known as the Open Contracting Act, would apply to all state and local contracts, and any corresponding agencies or authorities. The bill would ensure that no contract can specify that a successful bidder or any subcontractor must use workers who are members of a labor union or that workers must be referred by one. Also, no contract can recognize a labor organization as the exclusive representative of employees on a public works project. The union or non-union status of a bidder’s workforce cannot be used as criteria during the selection process.

 

“Open contracting practices should not be an endangered species in Pennsylvania. Rather, we should have a public policy where all contractors and all workers are eligible to work on a project regardless of their affiliation with organized labor,” said Bear. “PLAs are a form of mandatory unionism.  They amount to discrimination against non-union labor and provide an unmerited preference in the contract bidding process to unions and contractors who predominantly employ union labor. PLAs promote cronyism in government contracting, potentially driving up the costs of a project, all for a guarantee of labor peace, which should never be a threat to the project.”

 

Numerous studies show that PLAs deny taxpayers the accountability they deserve on government contracts and have found that their use can increase construction costs by 12 to 18 percent.

 

“Now, more than ever, it is important that government gets the most out of every taxpayer dollar it spends,” said Saylor. “That means we must find ways to eliminate waste and save money wherever possible. Representative Bear’s bill would make that possible by eliminating unfair and anti-competitive PLAs from state contracting.”

Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Foundation reports that PA building trade union protesters were not on their best behavior, and they were even paid to protest,

“However when Rep. Bear got up to speak he was catcalled and booed by the mob of union members.  His message was drowned out; in typical fashion organized labor used tactics of intimidation to silence the voice of opposition.  What’s worse is that we overheard union members mentioning that they were being paid $26 an hour to protest.  In contrast, most of Rep. Bear’s supporters were contractors who took time off of work to stand on principle.  And yet the union members had the nerve to persistently ridicule supporters as clueless businessmen in suits bought off by special interests.  

 It’s time to tell big labor that they can’t intimidate us into silence.  It is time to demand fairness and transparency in all government contracts.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports there were, “some testy exchanges and pushing and shoving followed [the press conference].”

The pro-taxpayer legislation is in response to state-wide controversy over the use of PLAs on $830 million worth of construction for six new Pennsylvania prisons.  Recently, the  Benner Towship prison, initially bid with a PLA, is being rebid without a PLA because construction bids came in tens of millions dollars over the $200 million estimate.

Click here for more TruthAboutPLAs.com coverage on the PA prison controversy.

In the interest of fairness, here is the pro-PLA press release from the Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council. TheTruthAboutPLAs.com will again debunk some of the pro-PLA propaganda contained in this news release.

You can view photos from this event here.

Update: More media coverage from The Patriot-News (“Labor, business supporters hold competing rallies at Capitol,” 9/29).

It is required reading, as the piece features great quotes from ABC member contractor Brett McMahon, who  provides thoughtful insight into how PLAs impact non-union contractors and their workforce and why the popularity of PLAs is driven by politics.

Opponents of this measure, such as the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), say cutting out so many nonunion companies reduces competition in the bidding process and leads to higher project costs.

PLAs were issued frequently during President Bill Clinton’s administration from 1993 to 2001 but weren’t in use at all during the following eight years when George W. Bush was president. Brett McMahon, a member of the Associated Builders and Contractors’ legislative committee, said he believed PLAs comeback owes to the lavish support Mr. Obama has gotten from the labor movement.

“To cut out that type of percentage of people for no other reason than pure political payback is despicable,” Mr. McMahon said. “We’ve seen it enough from this administration. It’s really getting out of hand.”

He said organized labor now need government supports like PLAs and “card check” – a proposal Mr. Obama supports that would make unionization by secret ballot more difficult – because union pensions are in poor shape and threaten the solvency of organized labor. According to a report by the Washington, D.C.-based Hudson Institute, only about 60 percent of union pension plans are funded above 80 percent, thereby escaping being branded “at-risk.”

Some labor economists, however, contend that government entities have good reasons to pursue PLAs that have nothing to do with advantaging a particular constituency.

Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of the union-backed Economic Policy Institute, said one reason a federal agency would want to issue PLAs is that they allow the agency to take advantage of the vaunted skills of union workers.

“They’re the best-trained, most skilled workers in the occupation,” he said.

Nonunion advocates counter that union shops impose a number of drawbacks that outweigh whatever advantages they present to the agency that hires them, particularly regarding what many regard as antiquated and sometimes peculiar work rules. Those rules often govern which workers may perform tasks as simple as carrying materials and turning on machines.

As such, nonunion contractors are often able to outbid union contractors on government projects, despite the fact that prevailing-wage laws ensure that contractors must pay their workers above a certain wage.

And Mr. McMahon said some prominent PLA-governed projects don’t indicate that union shops reliably produce quality work. He noted that Massachusetts’ calamitous Big Dig, which tunneled Interstate 93 through downtown Boston, was such a project. It was several times over budget, persisted for years after its expected conclusion and resulted in a deadly ceiling collapse.

Mr. McMahon said there are legal problems with PLAs as well as practical ones and that ABC is currently reviewing its options in this regard.

“Just because it’s an executive order doesn’t mean it’s immune from legal challenge,” he said.

Be sure to read the rest of the article to get The Truth About PLAs.

Despite predictions by politicians (specifically PA Senator Jake Corman), taxpayers and the local construction community that PLAs would increase the cost of construction and discriminate against more than eight out of 10 Pennsylvania construction workers (construction workers who do not belong to a labor union), the DGS initially required a PLA on this project. Now the DGS is rebidding SCI Benner Township without a PLA, yet local politicians are still not convinced a PLA is responsible for the unacceptably high costs. 

According to the article, Jon Eich (D), chairman of the Centre County Board of Commissioners, was surprised that bids were substantially higher than the allocated budget and isn’t sure a PLA is to blame.

“It’s not clear to me as to why the bids came in higher than expected,” he said. “It might be when the bids went out, typically there are good times to issue bids so that a contractor can put it into their regular work schedule. It might have been a very tight time frame to get the work done.”

Eich said other factors that may have driven the prices higher could have been the significant amount of skilled labor required and the design of the facility.

A project labor agreement was originally attached to the plan. Eich said the project labor agreement insures once the prison project starts, it will not be interrupted by work stoppages or labor disputes.

“Some people feel that’s the reason the prices came in higher,” Eich said. “I don’t think that is consistently what happens. That was some of the concern and when they re-bid, they’re going to adjust the terms somewhat.”

A bastardization of President Clinton’s 1992 political catch phrase is appropriate for this situation: “It’s the PLA, stupid!”

Politicians indebted to the political power of special interests such as Big Labor will not criticize PLAs. Or they just don’t get it. They have been misled into thinking that a PLA won’t cut competition and increase costs. PLA proponents argue that PLA projects are not closed to only union contractors and anyone can bid on these jobs. Therefore, a PLA does not impact competition and does not discriminate against non-union contractors and their workers.

While it is technically true that bidding is open to every contractor (regardless of labor affiliation), the fact remains that PLAs have a chilling impact on competition from non-union contractors. PLAs impose restrictive and inefficient union work rules and force contractors to contribute to union pension plans from which their employees will never benefit from unless they join a union.  Contractors have to factor double benefit costs into their bids to maintain existing benefits for their workforce.  All of these factors increase construction costs.

Maybe confused politicians need to read a PLA to understand how and why a PLA discourages non-union contractors and their skilled workforce from bidding on a PLA project.

TheTruthAboutPLAs.com dissected a sample PLA in a previous post (“Project Labor Agreement Basics: What is a PLA?” 4/24/09). We encourage curious minds to read that post and then apply those lessons to the SCI Benner Township PLA.

We’ve even gone through the trouble of highlighting the provisions offensive to non-signatory contractors and workers:

Paragraph 2.2: All subcontractors are bound to this PLA, yet they have no place at the table when negotiating these agreements.

Paragraph 3.1: “[Contractors] recognize the Trades Council and the Unions as sole and exclusvie barganing representatives of such employees within their respective jurisdictions working on the Project under the Agreement.”

PLAs take away workers’ rights.  Workers normally are permitted to choose union representation through a card check process or a federally supervised private ballot election.  With a PLA, unions are recognized as the exclusive bargaining representatives of non-union employees. The decision to elect union representation is made by the employer – when agreeing to participate in a PLA project – rather than the employees.

Paragraph 3.3:  “Other than the Project manager, Project superintendent and Project foreman, the remaining workforce shall be referred to the DBC in accordance with the job referral systems provided in the Collective Bargaining Agreements of the Unions…” 

PLAs require merit shop companies to obtain their workers from union hiring halls.  This means a merit shop company has to exclude their hard working employees from specific jobsites and exclusively use unfamiliar union workers.

Paragraph 3.6: Non-union workers have to pay “financial core” dues to the union in order to work on a PLA job. That’s right, they have to pay the union to work.

Paragraph 3.8 and 3.9: PLAs discriminate against local workers. In the event that a local union does not have enough members to fulfill the manpower requirements of the job, union workers from other local unions have preference over non-union local workers.

Paragraph 9.1(A): Contractors must pay contributions to the union-established employee benefit funds in the amounts designated in the appropriate craft/Local Union Collective Bargaining Agreement.  Workers will never receive these benefits unless they join a union and/or become vested. Thus, companies have to pay benefits twice: once to the union and once to the existing company plan to make sure their employees have benefits. There is no language that permits contractors to contribute to existing benefit plans instead of union plans.

These provisions are enough to discourage merit shop contractors from bidding on the SCI Benner Township project. If politicians still refuse to believe that a PLA is responsible for increased construction costs, perhaps they will see the light once the second round of bidding sans PLA produces more bidders and an on-budget project.

The decision to require a PLA on the Benner prison project was entirely political.  Despite clear evidence that PLAs keep an overwhelming percentage of Pennsylvania’s construction workforce from competing for projects, limit bidders and increase construction costs, Governor Ed Rendell publicly stated his desire for DGS to require PLAs on all of the upcoming state prison construction projects.  As usual, the politics of PLAs reek of cronyism and corruption.

Governor Rendell and DGS’ decision to require PLAs comes at the expense of  the citizens of Pennsylvania, whose tax dollars would be wasted on this Big Labor handout.  Additionally, a PLA requirement hurts Benner Township merit shop contractors, who would have been locked out of an important opportunity to work by DGS PLA requirements.  Senator Corman not only predicted the additional expense resulting from a PLA requirement on the Benner project, but also gave the merit shop contractors who the PLA locks out a voice at his June 23 press conference.

Here at TheTruthAboutPLAs.com, we commend DGS’ choice to re-bid the Benner Township prison project without a wasteful and discriminatory PLA and we hope this decision doesn’t change before the re-bidding actually occurs.  Additionally, we hope the Rockview project can be the canary in the coal mine for DGS.  It’s time to remove the PLA requirements from the other SCI/prison projects too.

• San Diego radio station KPBS has an online report detailing the “bad news” that the San Diego Unified School District received last week from Associated General Countractors – San Diego President Jim Ryan.   It looks like trying to discriminate against 80 percent of California’s private construction workforce is an easy way for a school district to find itself in court.

We wrote about PA Senator Corman holding a protest alongside hundreds of local merit shop workers and contractors that will be shut out of building the SCI in Benner Township, Centre County, PA if a PLA is implemented by the DGS (“PA Senator Fights Rockview Prison PLA,” 6/24).

Well it looks like calls for fairness, efficiency and open competition have fallen on deaf ears as the PA DGS has issued a memo indicating that there will be a government mandated PLA on the Rockview prison project.

The decision to enter into a PLA for the Rockview prison comes under corrupt questionable circumstances, considering there are very few union members and union contractors operating in the Centre County region according to industry experts and government data.

The results of a a labor feasibility study, commissioned by PA DGS, to determine if a PLA is needed for for the Rockview prison project (“Labor Feasibility Study Re: Construction of a New 2,000 Cell L-3 Medium Security Prison SCI Benner Twp.,” June 2009) and ensuing political shenanigans, have raised the profile of corruption to a new level. The study, conducted by Kevin A. Moore, Esquire of Leisawitz Heller determined that:

…there does not appear to be any data that would support the necessity for the PLA.

…Accordingly, under the present circumstances and wholly limited to the facts presented, a PLA is not necessary for DGS to complete this project as planned.

You may recall that we blogged about The Pennsylvania Business Central article about PA Governor Ed Rendell’s (a huge supporter and beneificary of Big Labor’s political activities) desire for PLAs on state prison construction despite legitimate objections from advocates of local businesses and workers who want to build jails paid for by their tax dollars (“Big Labor’s Propaganda Machine to Decide Fate of Project Labor Agreements on PA Jail Construction,” 6/2).

Those familiar with the PLA debate know that politics almost always play a role in deciding whether or not PLAs should be mandated on government funded projects.

So it came as no surprise to learn that the DGS commissioned a second labor feasibility study for the Rockview prison project at taxpayer expense by Stephen Herzenberg and Mark Price of the Keystone Research Center (KRC), a union propaganda machine think tank that consistently produces papers and “studies” supporting pro-union policies.

We blogged about the KRC’s  stacked union board (“Fox in the Hen House,” 5/19):

“A majority of KRC’s 20 board members work for labor unions. Those members include Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Rick Bloomingdale, United Steelworkers principal Ike Gittlen and Pennsylvania State Building & Construction Trades Council President Frank Sirianni. At least 5 percent of KRC’s funding comes from organized labor.”

In addition, recent U.S. Department of Labor LM-2 reports document that the KRC has received at least $353,161 from organized labor from 2005 to 2008.

Predictably, the KRC paper, “Assessment of the Potential Need for a Project Labor Agreement Covering the SCI Benner Township Prison in Centre County, PA“ (June 2009), riddled with numerous inaccuracies and pro-union biased conclusions and assumptions worth dissecting at a later time, recommends a PLA.

Based on the analysis above, we find that a PLA would facilitate successful completion of the SCI Benner Township Prison in Centre County.

It is unclear if both studies were commissioned, written and released at the same time or if the KRC study was written after the Moore study results were released.

It is undeniable that the DGS decision to mandate a PLA on the Rockview prison project was politically motivated and partially “justified” by the KRC paper – a biased source.  The entire process  reeks of cronyism and corruption.

Let’s hope that other PA prison projects like the Graterford Prison in Skippack Township, Montgomery County, PA; the new prison in Fayette County; and four additional housing units in Crawford, Forest, Indiana and Northumberland counties are not subjected to a corrupt process and discriminatory PLA that will likely increase the cost of construction between 14 and 20 percent and eliminate opportunities for PA construction workers and their employers.

We wrote about the aburdity of the Pennsylvania’s Department of General Service (DGS) permitting Hill International to hire the union propaganda machine Keystone Research Centerto produce a PLA feasibility study on the Graterford State Prison Project (“Fox in the hen House,” 5/18).

We also blogged about The Pennsylvania Business Central report that PA Governor Ed Rendell wants PLAs on state prison construction (Big Labor’s Propaganda Machine to Decide Fate of Project Labor Agreements on PA Jail Construction , 6/2).

Yesterday The Lockhaven Express ran a story about a press conference held by State Senator Jake Corman in opposition to a proposed PLA on $200 million worth of construction for the State Correctional Institution at Benner Township, adjacent to the Rockview prison (Corman: Local contractors shut out of Rockview prison project,” 6/23).

Surrounded by contractors and hundreds of employees opposed to PLAs, Sen. Corman made a strong case against PLAs so the PA DGS and Governor Ed Rendel will not implement a PLA on this project.

Corman argued that use of PLAs on the job will deny many local companies the opportunity to bid and bring much-needed work to the county amid the nationwide economic downturn.

The Republican senator from Bellefonte said about 80 percent of the contractors and construction workers in Centre County have decided not to unionize, a right granted by the National Labor Relations Act.

Corman said the DGS, specifically its secretary, James Creedon, commissioned two surveys to determine if Centre County has a sufficient, nonunion workforce to build the prison, or if the project needs a PLA.

“Both the reports he commissioned say (a PLA) is not necessary in this area to complete this work in a timely fashion,” Corman said. “Was this done on a public policy perspective? Was this decision made on a business perspective? Or was this decision made on a political perspective?

“It is clear the use of a project labor agreement discriminates against 80 percent of the workforce and the workforce is simply asking for an opportunity to bid on a project,” he continued. “At a time when local businesses are sorely in need of new work to stimulate our local economy, it’s incomprehensible to me to shut them out of the process.”

Further, Corman said, giving more companies the opportunity to bid on a project naturally lowers prices.

Among the contractors on hand were Nancy Gibbons, president of R&R Construction, and Alison Kurtz, president of Ameron Construction.

Gibbons said the recession has left the entire construction industry “scrambling for contracts” to keep its employees working, and believes union affiliation should not be a determining factor in awarding publicly-funded construction contracts.

“Non-union companies have completed projects this size and magnitude on time and under budget,” she said. “All qualified contractors should be guaranteed equal opportunity for working on this project without discrimination.”

Kurtz said her business employs about 50 people, all non-union, and since the “collapse” of the housing market, it has become increasingly difficult for the firm to stay busy.

“I’m extremely disappointed in the governor’s decision to include a PLA on the Rockview prison job,” she said. “The use of a PLA virtually guarantees that my business and many of my competitors will be excluded from bidding on or working on this project.

“My workers will sit at home and watch as the state trucks in union workers from inside or outside the state to fill local construction jobs,” Kurtz continued. “The unintended result of the decision to use a PLA will be increased unemployment at home and increased construction costs for taxpayers. In this era of budget deficits, it’s unconscionable waste the taxpayers dollars.”

Will Governor Rendell and the PA DGS listen to constituents and promote the interests of all taxpayers by ensuring free and open competition on the Rockview prison project?  TheTruthAboutPLAs.com hopes that politics and narrow special interests won’t trump common sense and fairness.

NO PLA on Rockview.

Sen. Corman’s news release.

Sen. Corman on Rockview Prison PLA Proposal (wmv)

Centre Daily Times (6/23) report on Rockview prison PLA.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of General Services (DGS) hired Hill International to oversee the construction of at least two of the prison facilities. (It should be noted the Hill International also has a storied history of recommending PLAs on projects in the Northeast via biased pro-PLA reports).

As if it wasn’t clear PA bureacrats will do everything in their power to implement PLAs and prevent qualified local workers and contractors from building PA jails, The Pennsylvania Business Central reports that PA Governor Ed Rendell wants PLAs on state prison construction despite legitimate objections from advocates of local businesses and workers who want to build jails paid for by their tax dollars.

“PLAs discriminate,” said Dave Remick, president of ABC Central PA. “Entering into a PLA significantly reduces the number of construction companies considering to bid and work on the project. More than 80 percent of the construction workforce in Pennsylvania is not signatory to a union.”

The Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County (CBICC ) opposes PLAs, according to Dan Abruzzo, vice president for government affairs.

“The use of PLAs will knock out non-union companies that would like to bid on the work,” he said. “Companies will have to contribute to the union whether they have union employees or not.  In Centre County, we have 750 commercial construction companies that are within an 80-mile radius. There are 21,000 workers who are employed by those companies almost all are non-union.”

A new 2,000-bed prison is planned for the Rockview area, which makes the PLA decision an urgent issue, Abruzzo suggested.

“We are trying to create jobs in and near Centre County,” Abruzzo said. “With PLA’s in place, union contractors will come in from Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. That will take paychecks out of this county and region.”

Both Remick and Abruzzo agree that the taxpayer will suffer because PLAs do not encourage a competitive bidding process.

“Non-union companies are not going to want to bid on jobs that require them to hire from the union hall,” Abruzzo said.

Remick agreed. “Local merit shop contractors who are not signatory to a union have performed hundreds of millions of dollars of work on time and on budget with no Project Labor Agreements in place. They put local people to work. Why is the state doing a labor study when merit shop contractors already perform 80 percent of the construction work here in Pennsylvania?”

According to Remick, PLAs will lead to higher costs for the taxpayers.

“Things are happening so fast, it’s going to be difficult to stop,” said Abruzzo. “This flies in the face of what we are trying to do here in Centre County. It won’t help Centre County’s workers or economy. Based on my experiences in the industry, there won’t be many contractors who can do the work, unless they convert to union employees.”

TheTruthABoutPLAs.com agrees with the above arguments against PLAs and will be monitoring these jail projects closely.