Greenmail | The Truth About PLAs

California Lawmakers Pay Back Their Big Labor Allies, Take Steps to Deprive Charter Cities of Local Control

May 1, 2012 – 12:40 pm

Elected officials in California have again taken their focus away from solving the troubled state’s problems to give a handout to their Big Labor enablers. From 2000 to 2011, the merit shop construction community helped local leaders and voters across the state understand that government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) deprive taxpayers of the opportunity to [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 20 in 2010, ABC California, Ballot Initiative, California, Chula Vista, Fresno, Greenmail, local legislation, Open Competition, Orange County, Palmdale Water District, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, Proposition A, San Diego, San Diego County, School Construction, State Legislation, The Politics of PLAs | Comments (0)

Bill to End Union Abuse of Environmental Laws Fails in California Assembly Committee

January 11, 2012 – 5:13 pm

On January 9, 2012, the California State Assembly’s Natural Resources Committee considered Assembly Bill 598, a bill sponsored by ABC of California and introduced by Assemblywoman Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) that would give authority to file lawsuits under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) solely to the California Attorney General. The hearing was an opportunity for [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC California, California, Greenmail, Kevin Dayton, local legislation, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, State Legislation, Union-only PLAs harm local workers | Comments (0)

California’s Environmental Laws: A Weapon to Crush Potential Competition and Extort Developers

November 16, 2011 – 10:01 am

Legal exploitation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for purposes unrelated to environmental protection continues unabated throughout California, according to an article in the November 14 Los Angeles Times (“Firms Turning to Environmental Law to Combat Rivals”). This news is 25 years old, but it’s always good to see the news media remind people [...]

By Kevin Dayton | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC California, California, California Environmental Quality Act, California Unions for Reliable Energy (CURE), Greenmail, Kevin Dayton, Los Angeles, PLAs Cut Competition, Project Labor Agreements, State Legislation, The Politics of PLAs | Comments (0)

A Genuine California Union Conspiracy: Senate Bill 790 and the California Building Trades Council’s Ratepayer-Funded Political Slush Fund

September 23, 2011 – 12:30 pm

In California, a mini-public relations campaign is underway to defend Senate Bill 790, a bill now at Governor Jerry Brown’s desk dealing with “community choice aggregation” for electric consumers. Defenders of the bill are trying to downplay an obscure but controversial unrelated provision attached to the end of the bill that allows public utilities to [...]

By Kevin Dayton | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 20 in 2010, ABC California, Ballot Initiative, California, California Environmental Quality Act, Chula Vista, Greenmail, Kevin Dayton, local legislation, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, SB 922, State Legislation, The Politics of PLAs | Comments (1)

Fair and Open Competition Measure Easily Qualifies for Ballot in City of San Diego

September 21, 2011 – 10:23 pm

The San Diego City Clerk announced late this afternoon that a proposed ballot measure for a Fair and Open Competition ordinance easily qualified for the next city election ballot. The well-organized, experienced campaign executive committee of local business owners and association representatives submitted their petitions on September 2, well ahead of the deadline, with far [...]

By Kevin Dayton | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 20 in 2010, ABC California, Ballot Initiative, California, California Environmental Quality Act, Chula Vista, Greenmail, Kevin Dayton, local legislation, Open Competition, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Increase Costs, San Diego, SB 922, School Construction | Comments (0)

California Bills Designed to Turn Back the Will of the Voters Reach Gov. Jerry Brown’s Desk

September 19, 2011 – 4:14 pm

With two of the three bills designed to kill California voters’ rebellion against project labor agreements (PLAs) reaching Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk on Friday afternoon, this is a good opportunity to again urge Gov. Brown to veto this obvious and appalling handout to Big Labor. This is also a good opportunity to review the numerous [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 20 in 2010, 2010 Election, ABC California, Ballot Initiative, California, Chula Vista, Editorial, Greenmail, Kevin Dayton, local legislation, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, San Diego, SB 922, School Construction, State Legislation, The Politics of PLAs, Union-only PLAs harm local workers | Comments (1)

Unions Unveil Last-Minute Legislative Schemes in California to End Local Fair and Open Competition Policies and Promote Project Labor Agreements

September 6, 2011 – 8:04 am

On the afternoon of September 2 – the Friday before Labor Day weekend – the California State Building and Construction Trades Council finally revealed its plot to terminate local efforts throughout the state to guarantee the best quality construction at the best price for taxpayers. Bills in the California State Legislature were “gutted and amended” [...]

By Kevin Dayton | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 20 in 2010, ABC California, Ballot Initiative, California, Chula Vista, City of Los Angeles, Greenmail, Kevin Dayton, local legislation, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Oceanside, Open Competition, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Prop G, Prop K, Proposition A, San Diego, San Diego County Taxpayers Association, San Gabriel Unified School District, SavePropS.com, SB 922, School Construction, State Legislation, Union-only PLAs harm local workers, Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District | Comments (2)

Voters in City of Sacramento and County of Sacramento Asked to Ensure Fair and Open Competition for Construction Contracts

June 10, 2011 – 10:28 am

On Thursday, June 9, a group of local contractors, construction workers, business associations, and taxpayer advocates held a press conference announcing the launch of an audacious campaign to win voter approval of two ballot measures that would ensure fair and open competition for taxpayer-funded construction contracts in the City of Sacramento and in the County [...]

By Kevin Dayton | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC California, Ballot Initiative, California, Greenmail, Kevin Dayton, local legislation, Open Competition, PLAs, PLAs Increase Costs, Sacramento | Comments (0)

Arizona Bans Greenmail, Government-Mandated PLAs on State and Local Projects

April 12, 2011 – 12:15 pm

Arizona is the latest state to ban the use of wasteful and discriminatory government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on state and local construction projects. On April 6, Gov. Jan Brewer signed S.B. 1403, which prohibits state and local entities from requiring contractors to sign a PLA as a condition of performing taxpayer funded construction. Similar [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Arizona, Executive Order 13502, Greenmail, PLA Ban, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, President Obama, Project Labor Agreements, State Legislation, Union-only PLAs harm local workers | Comments (0)

New California Legislation Targets Union Abuse of Environmental Laws Meant to Squeeze Project Labor Agreements Out of Private Developers

April 11, 2011 – 4:00 pm

When Governor Ronald Reagan signed the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, (now comprising California Public Resources Code Sections 21000-21177) into law in 1970, many California state legislators believed the law would only apply to public projects, such as highways. The courts decided otherwise, and now unions routinely victimize private developers by abusing and exploiting [...]

By Kevin Dayton | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Assembly Bill 598, California, California Environmental Quality Act, California Unions for Reliable Energy (CURE), Greenmail, PLAs, Project Labor Agreements | Comments (0)