Keystone Research Center Studies Promoting Pennsylvania Project Labor Agreements Can’t Be Trusted
Proponents of discriminatory and costly government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) have concocted some wild schemes to help misguided and corrupt lawmakers steer taxpayer-funded contracts to their union workers and unionized contractor political supporters with little competition and public scrutiny, but this latest caper from Bristol Township, Pa., is remarkable and deserves to be exposed. In August 2013, when […]
First Project under Prince George’s County’s New Pro-PLA Policy a Disaster
Prince George’s County’s first attempt to implement a wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA) mandate under a November 15, 2011, policy (read the Prince George’s County press release on the policy here) is poised to be a costly disaster for county residents. Bids have been submitted for a fire station construction project in Brandywine, Md., […]
Bids for Maryland’s Cheltenham Juvenile Detention Center Tainted by Big Labor Favoritism
Today the ABC Maryland Joint Legislative Committee issued this release in response to the Maryland Department of General Services’ (DGS) decision to include a provision in a Nov. 11, 2011, request for proposal (RFP) regarding a juvenile detention center in Cheltenham, Md. (Prince George’s County) that unfairly favors construction managers (CMs) promising to mandate a […]
U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to Examine Costly Government-Mandated PLAs
Today at 1:30 PM, the House Oversight and Government Reform (OGR) Committee’s (chaired by Rep. Issa of California) Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending Subcommittee (chaired by Rep. Jordan of Ohio) is holding a hearing called, Regulatory Impediments to Job Creation: The Cost of Doing Business in the Construction Industry. The hearing will focus […]
The Truth About the Recent PA Supreme Court Ruling
The Pennsylvania Supreme Count issued a preliminary ruling on the Hawbaker, et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of General Services, et al. Several uninformed media outlets have indicated that this ruling is an endorsement of PLAs. This is not accurate. This case stems from former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell administration’s effort to force PLA requirements on […]
Lancaster County, PA Bans PLAs on Locally-Funded Projects
In a move designed to defend taxpayers against potential future wasteful and discriminatory Big Labor handouts, Lancaster County, PA commissioners approved a measure that will prohibit project labor agreements (PLAs) on locally-funded construction projects. Here is a quote that sums up the issue by the measure’s sponsor, Chairman Scott Martin, as reported by FOX43 WPMT: […]
Op-Ed: State’s Union-Friendly Deals Unfair, Too Costly
In an op-ed published in the June 19 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette titled, “State’s Union-Friendly Deals Unfair, too Costly,” Stephen R. Campbell and Vicki Craft Kearns present a well-written overview of the project labor agreement (PLA) issue in Pennsylvania and nationwide. The op-ed also does an excellent job laying out how Big Labor’s support […]
Building Pennsylvania: PLA Forum and Lt. Governor Debate
The Keystone Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors is holding a forum to discuss wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) as part of their May 11 Lt. Governors debate. This event is part of their Save the Endangered Species campaign to educate the public on the true impact of PLAs. TheTruthAboutPLAs.com’s Ben Brubeck is […]
Rendell Administration Love Affair With Big Labor Stalls Prison Construction Projects and Slows Job Growth for Pennsylvanians
There is renewed interest in the delayed construction of over $800 million worth of prison construction in Pennsylvania. 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 […]
Do PLAs Reward Special Interests?
TheTruthAboutPLAs.com has long maintained that government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) are one of the purest forms of payback to special interests. Sometimes it is hard to believe that PLAs are even legal. And as this example will demonstrate, elected officials go to great lengths to justify their paybacks to special interests. Matthew J. Brouillette, president […]