…we now have another reason to be concerned about the proposed solar and wind projects for the desert: Union groups are attempting to block projects unless they get hiring agreements with the developers. Observers are calling it “greenmail,” as these groups are using the lengthy, complicated environmental regulations that already make any sort of development difficult in order to challenge the approval of energy projects, but apparently only the projects that don’t have labor agreements. The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors rejected last week a challenge by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Unions to stop the approval of a solar project in Kramer Junction. Their representatives claimed their concerns were about water use for the project, a claim that nobody with half a brain believes.

The editorial mentions how environmental objections delayed the construction of a Walmart distribution center in Barstow. It concludes by decrying how this union tactic hinders economic growth and job creation:

And so Barstow has to wait for more jobs to come. The irony that the people hurt most by these labor actions are other laborers is lost on these folks. They don’t grasp that if their actions keep causing projects to be canceled or delayed, this ultimately reduces demand for construction workers, pushing labor value down. Their actions result in laborers getting paid less, not more. No wonder private sector unions are on the decline in America, down to less than 9 percent, levels not seen since 1932.

The February 9, 2011 Barstow Desert Dispatch and Victorville Daily Press (Kramer Junction Solar Project Approved by Board of Supervisors / Supervisors OK Kramer Junction Solar Project – same article text) reported on the controversy at the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors over the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) greenmail against the 40-megawatt solar photovoltaic generating facility in the Mojave Desert. Remarks by ABC of California are in the article, along with remarks from the Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction:

Members of two organizations that are opposing labor unions that attempt to stop or delay solar projects say that the labor unions are essentially using elements of the California Environmental Quality Act to “greenmail” project developers into signing project labor agreements. Once a developer signs a labor agreement, the opposition to the project disappears, said Kevin Dayton, state government affairs director for Associated Builders and Contractors of California.

Dayton said that labor unions are the biggest obstacle to solar projects in California because of their attempts to get project developers to sign labor agreements. He said that he hoped that Gov. Jerry Brown would amend CEQA in order to keep labor unions from blocking solar projects throughout California.

A representative of another organization opposing the “greenmail” tactics used by labor unions said that he believes that the lawsuits and environmental injunctions filed on the behalf of labor unions are going to become increasingly common in Southern California. Eric Christen, a representative of the Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction, said that the project developers normally win such disputes, but pointed out that such delays cost money and can cause a developer to cancel the project.

“Is the delay and the cost of the delay worth the win?” asked Christen.

Neither the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) nor the representative of Adams Broadwell Joseph & Cardozo was available to the reporter for comment.

Eric Christen of the Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction appeared on the Rick Amato Show on KCBQ AM 1170 in San Diego during its February 9 evening broadcast to discuss this incident. Amato declared his excitement about a group actually being immersed in the fray to stand up to the unions and support the taxpayers.

Meanwhile, Kevin Dayton, Government Affairs Director for Associated Builders and Contractors of California, appeared on the “Top Story @ 6” / Chris Reed Show on KOGO AM 600 in San Diego during its February 14 evening broadcast to discuss union exploitation of the California Environmental Quality Act to squeeze costly Project Labor Agreements out of solar energy developers. Dayton suggested that Governor Jerry Brown work with legitimate environmental groups to reform CEQA so that unions can no longer exploit the law for purposes unrelated to environmental protection.

The San Bernardino County Planning Commission had approved the permit for the solar plant at its October 7, 2010 meeting. The Planning Commission had originally planned to approve the project at its June 3, 2010 meeting, but at the last minute the law firm of Adams Broadwell Joseph & Cardozo swooped in on behalf of the IBEW with environmental objections based on water supply for dust control during construction and for cleaning of the solar panels. This union action delayed the project for four months while the county performed a water supply assessment. Three days after the project was finally approved by the county Planning Commission, Adams Broadwell Joseph & Cardozo filed an appeal of the decision to the Board of Supervisors.

The controversy over the IBEW greenmail and the vote was reported in the February 9, 2011 Barstow Desert Dispatch and Victorville Daily Press (Kramer Junction Solar Project Approved by Board of Supervisors/Supervisors OK Kramer Junction Solar Project – same article text in both stories).

Remarks by ABC of California are in the article, along with remarks from the Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction:

Members of two organizations that are opposing labor unions that attempt to stop or delay solar projects say that the labor unions are essentially using elements of the California Environmental Quality Act to “greenmail” project developers into signing project labor agreements. Once a developer signs a labor agreement, the opposition to the project disappears, said Kevin Dayton, state government affairs director for Associated Builders and Contractors of California.

Dayton said that labor unions are the biggest obstacle to solar projects in California because of their attempts to get project developers to sign labor agreements. He said that he hoped that Gov. Jerry Brown would amend CEQA in order to keep labor unions from blocking solar projects throughout California.

A representative of another organization opposing the “greenmail” tactics used by labor unions said that he believes that the lawsuits and environmental injunctions filed on the behalf of labor unions are going to become increasingly common in Southern California. Eric Christen, a representative of the Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction, said that the project developers normally win such disputes, but pointed out that such delays cost money and can cause a developer to cancel the project.

“Is the delay and the cost of the delay worth the win?” asked Christen.

Neither the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) nor the representative of Adams Broadwell Joseph & Cardozo was available to the reporter for comment.

A Senior Vice President of the solar facility developer, LightSource Renewables, stated “we believe our project was decided correctly by the [Planning] Commission based on its merits” and explained its efforts to minimize the environmental impact of the project. An assistant director for the county’s Land Use Services Department concurred.

During public comment concerning the agenda item, Jackie Nutting of the Southern California Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors and Eric Christen of the Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction blasted Adams Broadwell Joseph & Cardozo for “standard rhetoric” acting as a front for an “extortion racket.” They pointed out that the environmental objections were a scam for unions to pressure the developer to sign a Project Labor Agreement or other union-only labor agreement and cited a February 5, 2011 Los Angeles Times article exposing the tactic against renewable energy generation facilities.

Christen declared that “this nonsense and abuse of CEQA [California Environmental Quality Act] needs to end” and called for a county ban on Project Labor Agreements as a way to send a message about this reprehensible tactic. Such a ban has been enacted in Orange County (Orange County, California PLA Ban – Code of Ordinances §1-8-3) and San Diego County (San Diego County Administrative Code Article XXIII, §428).

Neither the San Bernardino Planning Commission nor the San Bernardino County Land Use Services Department has identified any legitimate reasons why this solar project might harm the environment. Obviously the IBEW is exploiting the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to block this project until the developer and/or its construction contractors succumb to the extortion and sign a Project Labor Agreement or some other union-only agreement with the IBEW.

An article in the February 1, 2011 Barstow Desert-Dispatch newspaper (in San Bernardino County) aptly describes what is going on:

Union Group Protests Kramer Junction Solar Project – Barstow Desert-Dispatch – February 1, 2011.

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors will consider the IBEW appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval of the Solar Photovoltaic Energy Facility at its February 8, 2001 meeting, which starts at 10:00 a.m. at the San Bernardino County Government Center, 385 North Arrowhead Avenue, in San Bernardino, California. Here is the agenda item:

62) CONTINUED FROM TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2011, Item #76 -

Conduct a public hearing to consider an appeal of a Planning Commission approval of a Conditional Use Permit for a 40-megawatt commercial Solar Photovoltaic Energy Facility on a 350-acre portion of a 401.6-acre vacant property, located on State Route 58, approximately one mile west of U.S. Highway 395 in unincorporated San Bernardino County.

2. Deny the appeal and uphold the Planning Commission action to:

Adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration and find that the Initial Study has been completed in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act, that it has been reviewed and considered prior to approving the Project and that the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration reflects the independent judgment of San Bernardino County.

b. Approve a Conditional Use Permit to establish a solar power generation facility on a 350-acre portion of an 401.6-acre parcel.

c. Adopt the Findings as recommended by the Planning Commission.

iv. File a Notice of Determination.

(Affected Districts: First)

(Presenter: James M. Squire, Assistant Director, 387-4131)

Here are links to the relevant government documents:

Staff Report on IBEW Appeal

All Related Documents (except IBEW appeal, which is on file with the county).

Media inquiries: contact ABC of California

This photo was taken at the standing room only meeting.

This project labor agreement prohibition is particularly noteworthy because the Palmdale Water District was targeted by the Los Angeles/Orange County Building and Construction Trades Council in late 2006 and early 2007 to require its contractors to sign PLAs for future construction projects.  The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) had an official on the board at the time who wanted construction unions to have a monopoly on district construction.  In the end, the district did not adopt a PLA, in part because ABC of California and the ABC Los Angeles/Ventura Chapter informed board members, agency staff, and ratepayers about the negative effects of PLAs.

Primary credit for pursuing this sorely-needed project labor agreement prohibition goes to Kevin Korenthal, who has diligently followed the affairs of the Palmdale Water District for four years as the unions attempted to control it.  Kevin Korenthal is running for a seat on the board of the Castaic Lake Water Agency, based in Santa Clarita, 35 miles from Palmdale.

Also speaking in support of the PLA ban were Eric Christen of the Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction and several local employees of an electrical contracting firm.

The union message at the meeting was bluntly anti-competitive: union workers should be the only people performing construction at the district.  Everyone else is unworthy.  Union representatives clearly stated their intention to get control of the work by getting the current board removed from office.

Hopefully ratepayers of the Palmdale Water District will know that three of their board members withstood union intimidation and threats to vote in the interest of ratepayers and ALL workers, and not in the interest of union bosses.  Please send an email to board members Gordon Dexter, Raul Figueroa, and Steve Cordova thanking them for their votes to ban project labor agreements:

gdexter@palmdalewater.org; rfigueroa@palmdalewater.org;

scordova@palmdalewater.org

Directions: Copy the three addresses here and paste into the “To” box of your email.

There are times when something is so obviously wrong and immoral, that when a politician refuses to do something about it, you question their character.

Such is the case with Governor Sean Parnell and his refusal to do something about project labor agreements. Project labor agreements or PLA’s require non-union workers to pay cash to unions if they want to work on certain jobs.

For example, the recent contract signed between the city of Anchorage and the IBEW union requires all electricians who chose not to join the IBEW to give the IBEW cash if they want to do electrical work for the city.

Why would government force anyone to pay a politically connected organization cash just to get a job? The IBEW and its members have given a lot of campaign contributions to former Mayor Mark Begich and the controlling faction on the Anchorage Assembly. So When Begich and the Assembly approved the IBEW contract, they rewarded the union and its members for donating to them by requiring non-union electricians to pay the union cash if those non-union workers want to do work for the city. There’s a word for all of this; extortion. Legalized extortion yes. But extortion nonetheless.

The fact that unions use politicians to discriminate and extort money from those to refuse to join their ranks is nothing new. Especially among Democrats. But the confusing part of all this is Sean Parnell. With a single signature, Parnell could issue an administrative order doing away with project labor agreements for state funded projects. Most of the projects the city is involved in are state funded.

20 other governors have banned project labor agreements. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota being the latest example.

Why is Parnell refusing to sign an administrative order that would end extortion of workers refusing to join unions? His office, after repeated calls is refusing to say.

I have a suspicion. Mr. Parnell is more worried about getting elected than doing the right thing. He seems to want to avoid any controversy at any time. What does his refusal to do the right thing say about his character? It says everything.

To hear IBEW business manager Larry Bell and I in a heated debate over PLA’s, click on the audio link below to hear his call to my show on Friday.

Bell V Fagan.mp3