Open Competition | The Truth About PLAs

San Diego Union-Tribune: Vote for Prop. A – Don’t Let Bullies Win

May 16, 2012 – 4:28 pm

The editorial staff of the San Diego Union-Tribune Saturday announced their support for Proposition A, which would ban government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on city funded construction projects in San Diego. This support comes despite union claims that if Proposition A is adopted, the city risks losing future state construction funding due to a new [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Ballot Initiative, California, Chula Vista, Editorial, local legislation, Open Competition, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, Proposition A, San Diego, San Diego County, San Diego Union Tribune, State Legislation | Comments (0)

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)

Santa Fe City Council Adopts the State’s First PLA Mandate

April 2, 2012 – 12:35 pm

There was a distributing development in Santa Fe, N.M., on Feb. 29, when the city council quietly adopted a policy requiring community workforce agreements (CWAs) on all projects costing more than $500,000. A community workforce agreement is no different than a wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA); it just goes by another name. Washington, [...]

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

PLA Activity in Connecticut: The Recap

March 21, 2012 – 12:39 pm

Connecticut has seen a buzz of activity and hearings relating to wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLA) within the last week or so. Here is the recap. On March 10, a public forum to discuss whether a PLA mandate is appropriate for two school projects that are expected to cost approximately $200 million was [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Connecticut, Open Competition, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, School Construction | Comments (0)

Victory for Taxpayers – Fair and Open Competition Saved in Ventura County: Disagreements Among County Supervisors Kills Project Labor Agreement Proposed for $250 Million Hospital

March 13, 2012 – 2:45 pm

At a special meeting this morning (Tuesday, March 13), the Ventura County Board of Supervisors rejected (on a 2-2-1 vote) a motion from the board chairman to require contractors to sign a project labor agreement (PLA) oriented toward the demands of the Tri-Counties Building and Construction Trades Council in order to work on a $250 [...]

By Kevin Dayton | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC California, California, Hospital Construction, Kevin Dayton, local legislation, Open Competition, PLAs, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, Union-only PLAs harm local workers, Ventura County | Comments (1)

Out of Nowhere: Project Labor Agreement and Community Benefit Agreement Tacked on End of Motion for New Sacramento Kings Basketball Arena

March 9, 2012 – 10:28 am

On March 6, when Sacramento City Councilman Robert King Fong made the motion to the Sacramento City Council for approval of a new $391 million arena for the Sacramento Kings professional basketball team, he generally read the posted agenda item verbatim, but then tacked on an additional, obviously pre-prepared provision out of nowhere: …and lastly, [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC California, Ballot Initiative, California, Kevin Dayton, local legislation, Open Competition, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Sacramento, Sacramento Bee, Sacramento Kings, Union-only PLAs harm local workers | Comments (0)

County Hospitals Are Prime Targets for Project Labor Agreements: Ventura County is the Latest in California

March 6, 2012 – 11:02 am

The first government-mandated project labor agreement (PLA) in California (following the Boston Harbor decision at the U.S. Supreme Court) was imposed in the spring of 1994 by the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors for a county hospital construction project. Last year, unions managed to squeak out (on a 3-2 vote) their first PLA for [...]

By Kevin Dayton | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC California, California, Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction, Editorial, Hospital Construction, Kevin Dayton, local legislation, Op-Ed, Open Competition, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, The Politics of PLAs, Ventura County | Comments (0)

Minnesota Vikings to Require PLA on Upcoming Stadium Project

February 16, 2012 – 2:58 pm

On Feb. 6, the Minnesota Vikings signed an agreement with the Minnesota Building and Construction Trade Division (BCTD), AFL-CIO to require contractors to sign a project labor agreement (PLA) on the upcoming construction of their new stadium. This will ensure that nearly all of the construction jobs on the project will go to union workers—leaving [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Citi Field, Detroit, local legislation, Minnesota, Op-Ed, Open Competition, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, Safety Problem on PLA Project, Stadium, State Legislation, Union-only PLAs harm local workers | Comments (0)

Pennsylvania County Passes Resolution Banning PLA Mandates on County Projects

January 11, 2012 – 8:46 am

Leaders in yet another county have decided to stand up against wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA) mandates. This time, it is Westmoreland County, PA, where the county board of commissioners resolved on January 9 not to require PLAs on county funded construction. This is an important step toward ensuring that taxpayers get the [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC Western Pennsylvania, local legislation, Open Competition, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PLAs, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Increase Costs | Comments (0)

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)