Los Angeles | The Truth About PLAs

Op-Ed: Project Labor Agreements Build Nothing But Unions

January 19, 2012 – 10:43 am

Eric Christen from the Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction penned a new op-ed for the Los Angeles Business Journal in which he calls out Los Angeles area leaders for their love affair with project labor agreement (PLA) mandates. Here are the highlights: Project Labor Agreements Build Nothing but Unions OPED By ERIC CHRISTEN January [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged California, Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Business Journal, Op-Ed | Comments (0)

Project Labor Agreements Are Evidence of Moral Breakdown

December 5, 2011 – 9:49 am

Rarely mentioned in public policy discussions about Project Labor Agreements are the moral implications of using the government as an agent to prod contractors and their employees into union agreements. Is it right for a government to require contractors to make employee fringe benefit payments to union-managed trust funds and obtain their workers from a [...]

By Kevin Dayton | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC California, California, Kevin Dayton, local legislation, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Unified School District, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, Recall Elections, San Fernando, The Politics of PLAs, Union-only PLAs harm local workers, University Construction | 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)

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)

Another PLA Myth Busted: PLAs Fail to Prevent Strikes on NYC Projects

August 2, 2011 – 6:44 pm

Construction unions market project labor agreements (PLAs) to public and private construction owners as a tool to guarantee labor peace on construction projects. But recent examples of strikes on PLA projects in NYC and other areas across the U.S. call into question the value of these anti-competitive schemes designed steer contracts to union contractors and union members. MYTH: [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Boston Herald, Cement and Concrete Workers of New York, Crain's New York Business, featured, Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements: The Public Record of Poor Performance (2011 Edition), Indiana, Ironworkers, Joseph Hunt, Labor Unrest, Laborers International Union of North America, Laborers Union, Local 150 of the International Union of Operating Engineer, Los Angeles, Maury Baskin, New York, New York Building and Construction Trades Council, PLA Basics, PLA Myth, PLAs, PLAs Cut Competition, Project Labor Agreements, Regional Plan Association, Strikes, Wall Street Journal | Comments (2)

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Crushes Fair and Open Competition for Hospital Project

May 25, 2011 – 3:43 pm

The seven-month battle at the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors over requiring contractors to sign the county’s first government-mandated project labor agreement (renamed on the May 24 agenda as a “Community Workforce Agreement”) came to an end today (May 24, 2011) with a regrettable result for county taxpayers, as well as businesses and their [...]

By Kevin Dayton | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC California, California, Community Workforce Agreement, Hospital Construction, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, PLA Loss, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, Union-only PLAs harm local workers | Comments (1)

Stop the Potential PLAs on MTA Projects in California

May 5, 2011 – 9:20 am

Associated Builders and Contractors Southern California and Los Angeles-Ventura Chapters along with Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers-LA and the Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction have formed a coalition of small business organizations called Small Business United. Together, these groups are working with small, minority and disadvantaged businesses to fight wasteful and discriminatory project labor [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Ballot Initiative, California, City of Los Angeles, Coalition, Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Los Angeles County: Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority, PLAs, PLAs Kill Jobs, Project Labor Agreements, Take Action, The Government Neutrality in Contracting Act | Comments (0)

Why Are Project Labor Agreements Popular with Corrupt, Mismanaged, Fiscally Irresponsible Governments?

March 10, 2011 – 7:47 am

In California, project labor agreements (PLAs) go hand-in-hand with incompetent, unaccountable governments. Find a school district with low test scores that is close to bankruptcy. Or find a local government with a massive budget deficit and huge unfunded pension liability for its public employees. Or find a local government that holds its elections on oddball [...]

By Kevin Dayton | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC California, California, City Construction, City of Los Angeles, Corruption, Kevin Dayton, LA Times, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Community College District, Los Angeles County, PLA Axioms, PLAs, PLAs Increase Costs | Comments (0)

Minority Contractors and Business Associations Take Leadership Role in Fighting Project Labor Agreements in California Coastal Cities

March 9, 2011 – 9:47 am

Minority contractors and minority business associations in California are taking a political leadership role in Los Angeles and Oakland to oppose proposed project labor agreements (PLAs). LOS ANGELES COUNTY On March 1, 2011, Small Business United (SBU), described as “a coalition of small business groups and professional associations representing a diverse set of constituencies from [...]

By Kevin Dayton | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged abc, ABC California, California, Green Jobs, Housing, Kevin Dayton, Light Rail, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Oakland, PLA Video, PLAs, PLAs Discriminate, Press Release, Small Business | Comments (0)

San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Votes 3-0 to Reject Union Appeal of Solar Project

February 9, 2011 – 5:29 am

At its February 8, 2011 meeting, the San Bernardino County (California) Board of Supervisors voted 3-0 to reject a scheme by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 477 to block a permit to build a 40-megawatt solar photovoltaic generating facility in the Mojave Desert, near Kramer Junction. The San Bernardino County Planning Commission [...]

By Kevin Dayton | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC California, California, California Environmental Quality Act, Green Jobs, Greenmail, IBEW, Kevin Dayton, LA Times, Los Angeles, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Increase Costs, Solar Power, Union-only PLAs harm local workers | Comments (0)