Study: Project Labor Agreement Mandates Inflate the Cost of Connecticut School Construction by 19.8%
Study: Connecticut schools built under controversial government-mandated project labor agreements cost 19.8% more than schools that were bid and constructed through fair and open competition, free from PLA requirements.
USACE New England District Project Labor Agreement Survey for New England States Due Nov. 18
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has issued a survey soliciting comments from the construction industry about the potential use of a government-mandated project labor agreement (PLA) for a multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) for construction throughout New England awarded to up to 6 offerors, with a total value of up to $90,000,000 total. ABC National […]
No Surprise: Big Labor Fails to Meet Meriden PLA Hiring Goals
Construction unions in Meriden, Conn. are failing to meet local, minority and veteran hiring goals on two high profile school projects – a key promise made by union leaders during their effort to secure wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA) requirements on approximately $220 million worth of contracts to renovate two local high schools. […]
USACE Project Labor Agreement Survey for New England MATOC Jobs Due June 2
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New England District is requesting comments from the construction community addressing a potential government-mandated project labor agreement (PLA) for federal Multiple Award Task Order Contracts (MATOC) to build, renovate and repair military and other federal facilities throughout six New England states. Those states include Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode […]
Connecticut: A Cautionary Tale
There was an outstanding op-ed published in Forbes magazine in early August that warrants highlighting. In an opinion piece titled, “How Did Rich Connecticut Morph into One of America’s Worst Performing Economies?” economist Jim Powell describes how Connecticut, despite its numerous advantages in geography and individual income levels, lags behind most of the rest of […]
Great Scott: Projects Bid With and Without PLA Mandates Show PLAs Increase Costs and Reduce Competition
While researching the use of government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) in West Virginia in advance of Wednesday’s deadline for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) survey about a potential PLA mandate on a large-scale federal project in Harpers Ferry, W.Va., TheTruthAboutPLAs.com went back in time to revisit another real-world example of how discriminatory PLA […]
Told You So: Project Labor Agreement on Connecticut High School Increased Costs and Reduced Competition
In 2012, the merit shop contracting community and city employees predicted Meriden, Conn., would face increased costs and reduced competition if the city council mandated a union-favoring project labor agreement (PLA) on $220 million worth of contracts to renovate two local high schools. (TheTruthAboutPLAs.com covered the controversy here and here). Despite the warnings, testy public […]
“Skip the PLA”
Last week, we covered the numerous project labor agreement (PLA)-related events that have occurred in Connecticut in recent weeks. On Friday, March 23, Meriden Record-Journal op-ed writer Eric Cotton authored a strong piece urging the city not to require a wasteful and discriminatory PLA on two future school construction projects. Here are the highlights from his […]
PLA Activity in Connecticut: The Recap
Connecticut has seen a buzz of activity and hearings relating to wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLA) within the last week or so. Here is the recap. On March 10, a public forum to discuss whether a PLA mandate is appropriate for two school projects that are expected to cost approximately $200 million was […]
United States Army Corps of Engineers Requests Information on Project Labor Agreements
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently issued three surveys requesting information about the potential use of controversial government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on construction projects in the Savannah, Georgia district; at Fort Campbell in Kentucky; and at the Newtown/Bridgeport Armed Forces Reserve Center in Danbury, Connecticut. All ABC members, employees and construction […]