D.C. Council | The Truth About PLAs

Baltimore City Solicitor Opposes Baltimore Project Labor Agreement Ordinance

July 23, 2010 – 12:23 pm

“For the reasons listed above, the Law Department does not approve the bill for form and legal sufficiency.” That is the legal opinion of Ashley H. Brown, Baltimore’s Assistant Attorney Solicitor, on controversial legislation (Bill No. 10-0455) before the Baltimore City Council that would require the city to include government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) in all contracts for construction projects with a total [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC Baltimore, ABC Metro Washington, AFL-CIO Metropolitan Washington Council, Baltimore, D.C. Council, legal opinion, local hire, local legislation, Ordinance, PLAs, PLAs Cut Competition, Project Labor Agreements, Union-only PLAs harm local workers | Comments (0)

The Truth About PLAs Exposed During DC Council Hearing

July 1, 2010 – 8:29 pm

The D.C. Council committees on Housing and Workforce Development and Government Operations held a joint hearing on June 30 to consider the District Resident Employment and Trade Stimulus Amendment Act of 2010 (Bill 18-650). This bill would require the use of wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) on all projects costing more than $200,000 [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC Metro Washington, AFL-CIO Metropolitan Washington Council, D.C. Council, Executive Order 13502, Hearing, local legislation, PLA Study, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, State Legislation, Union-only PLAs harm local workers, Washington DC | Comments (0)

DC Council Holds Hearing Tomorrow on Legislation Mandating PLA Schemes

June 29, 2010 – 4:16 pm

The D.C. Council’s Committee on Housing and Workforce Development and Government Operations is holding a hearing at 10:00 AM tomorrow morning in Room 500 of the John A. Wilson Building on the District Resident Employment and Trade Stimulus Amendment Act of 2010 (Bill 18-650). This legislation would require contractors building District construction projects costing more than [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC Metro Washington, AFL-CIO Metropolitan Washington Council, D.C. Council, Executive Order 13502, local legislation, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Increase Costs, President Obama, Project Labor Agreements, State Legislation, Union-only PLAs harm local workers, Washington DC | Comments (0)

Job Training, Not PLAs, Needed for District

May 5, 2010 – 8:23 am

As the D.C. Council studies the misleadingly named District Resident Employment and Trade Stimulus Act of 2010 (Bill 18-650), which would require project labor agreements (PLAs) on D.C. construction projects that cost more than $200,000 and receive government assistance, an Op-Ed in The Washington Business Journal by Roderick L. Woodson debunks common myths promoted by Big Labor in [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC Metro Washington, D.C. Council, local legislation, Op-Ed, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, Project Labor Agreements, Washington Business Journal, Washington DC | Comments (0)

Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements: A Form of Corruption

April 12, 2010 – 11:00 am

George Nash, director of commercial construction and development for Facchina Construction Co. and 2010 chairman of the board for Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Metro Washington chapter, calls out project labor agreements (PLAs) for what they are – corruption – in an editorial published by the Washington Business Journal on April 9. This editorial mentions [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC Metro Washington, D.C. Council, local legislation, Nationals Park PLA, PLA Study, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, Study, The Politics of PLAs, Union-only PLAs harm local workers, Washington Business Journal, Washington DC | Comments (2)

Review of District of Columbia Project Labor Agreements

April 6, 2010 – 5:53 am

As members of the D.C. Council review the misleadingly named District Resident Employment and Trade Stimulus Act of 2010 (Bill 18-650), which would require project labor agreements (PLAs) on D.C. construction projects that cost more than $200,000 and receive government assistance, it is important to review the limited, yet poor, history Washington, D.C., has had with PLAs. Research in [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1800 F Street, ABC Metro Washington, D.C. Council, DC Convention Center, DC Progress, District Economic Empowerment Coalition (DEEC), Executive Order 13502, Federal Construction, Federal Contracting, GSA, Lafayette Building, local legislation, Nationals Park PLA, PLA Study, PLAs, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, President Obama, Project Labor Agreements, St. Elizabeth's, Stadium, Union-only PLAs harm local workers, Washington DC, Wilson Bridge | Comments (1)

Washington Times Editorial: Obama and D.C. Council Pay Off Their Union Bosses with PLAs

April 2, 2010 – 3:11 pm

A Washington Times editorial calls government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) resulting from President Obama’s pro-PLA Executive Order 13502 and proposed D.C. Council legislation “a solution that neither the District nor the nation can afford” (“EDITORIAL: More silver pieces for unions,” 4/2). Evidence rapidly accumulated that President Obama will pay any price, bear any burden, meet [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC Metro Washington, D.C. Council, Editorial, Executive Order 13502, Federal Construction, Federal Contracting, local legislation, PLA Study, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Increase Costs, President Obama, Project Labor Agreements, Union-only PLAs harm local workers, Washington Times | Comments (1)

New Report Says Anti-Competitive PLAs Won’t Help District of Columbia Economy

March 31, 2010 – 3:09 pm

A new report on government-mandated PLAs, “The Problem with PLAs in the District of Columbia,” was released today. Focusing specifically on the D.C. construction market, ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu’s report examines the existing data indicating whether government-mandated PLAs make sense in the District of Columbia. Here is a key finding from the report: “In [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC Metro Washington, AFL-CIO Metropolitan Washington Council, D.C. Council, PLA Study, PLAs, PLAs Cut Competition, Project Labor Agreements, Study, Union-only PLAs harm local workers, Washington DC | Comments (1)

District of Columbia Big Labor Bosses Busted for Pay-to-Play Politics

March 30, 2010 – 9:01 am

A TruthAboutPLAs.com reader has sent us evidence we are sharing with the public that demonstrates that the AFL-CIO Metropolitan Washington Council is engaged in shameless pay-to-play politics with Prince George’s County officials, which is the county East of Washington. D.C. TheTruthAboutPLAs.com has covered how a lobbyist for the AFL-CIO Metropolitan Washington Council perpetuated misleading/intentionally false statements in support of District Resident [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC Metro Washington, AFL-CIO Metropolitan Washington Council, Corruption, D.C. Council, Joslyn Williams, local legislation, Maryland, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, Prince George's County, Project Labor Agreements, quid pro quo, Washington DC | Comments (0)

Metro Washington Council AFL-CIO President Argues McDonalds Employees Only Earn $50 an Hour

March 5, 2010 – 5:06 am

A quote in a recent Washington Business Journal article indicates that Joslyn Williams, president of the AFL-CIO Metropolitan Washington Council, believes McDonald’s employees earn $50 an hour (“Bill heats up battle over required use of union labor,” 2/28/10). “The city has to decide whether it wants people working on its construction projects to earn only ‘McDonald’s wages,’” said Joslyn Williams, [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC Metro Washington, AFL-CIO Metropolitan Washington Council, D.C. Council, local legislation, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Increase Costs, prevailing wage, Project Labor Agreements, Union-only PLAs harm local workers, Washington Business Journal, Washington City Paper, Washington DC | Comments (0)