PLAs Are Political Payoffs To Union Leaders | The Truth About PLAs

PLA Mandates, Right-to-Work in Indiana and the Super Bowl

February 3, 2012 – 3:32 pm

It is an exciting week in Indiana and not all of the action is on the football field. While the Giants and the Patriots prepared for their Super Bowl match-up, Indiana’s state government took steps to guarantee Hoosiers the opportunity to work without having to pay dues to a labor union. On Wednesday, Gov. Mitch [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Indiana, Indianapolis, local legislation, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, Right to Work, Stadium, Union-only PLAs harm local workers | Comments (0)

Construction Union Membership Near Historic Low

January 27, 2012 – 11:38 am

A new report released today by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates that from 2010 to 2011, 874,000 workers in the private construction industry belonged to a union, the second lowest number of construction union members since BLS started tracking this information in 1973. According to BLS data, the construction industry [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Executive Order 13502, Federal Construction, Federal Contracting, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, President Obama, Project Labor Agreements, Union Membership Report | Comments (0)

President’s SOTU Remarks About Construction Industry Raise Questions

January 25, 2012 – 11:17 am

In last night’s State of the Union address, President Obama made some remarks about the construction industry: “Building this new energy future should be just one part of a broader agenda to repair America’s infrastructure. So much of America needs to be rebuilt. We’ve got crumbling roads and bridges. A power grid that wastes too [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Executive Order 13502, Federal Construction, Federal Contracting, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Increase Costs, President Obama, Project Labor Agreements, Section 7 | Comments (0)

Federal PLA on Navy Project in Washington Will Harm Local Construction Workforce and Procurement Efficiency

January 12, 2012 – 4:04 pm

Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Northwest has mandated a project labor agreement (PLA) on the construction of a $450 million to $550 million explosives handling wharf #2 (Solicitation No. N4425511R9004) at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor in Washington. The PLA mandate harms Washington’s experienced and skilled nonunion construction workforce and will discourage competition from qualified contractors that have [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Corruption, Executive Order 13502, Federal Construction, Federal Contracting, Kitsap Sun, Kitsap-Bangor, NAVFAC, Navy, PLA survey, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, President Obama, Project Labor Agreements, Washington State | Comments (3)

California Union Boss/Community College District Trustee Not Big on Disclosure

January 12, 2012 – 3:03 pm

It isn’t hard to see that Big Labor is engaged in an organized effort to get union bosses elected and appointed to local governing entities, i.e. school boards, community college commissions, county councils, etc. This strategy has paid dividends in a number of communities, where labor leaders have pushed these governing bodies into requiring wasteful [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC California, California, Contra Costa Times, local legislation, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Increase Costs, School Construction, 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)

ABC Empire State Chapter Urges Gov. Cuomo to Unshackle the Economic Power of Public Construction

January 8, 2012 – 4:12 pm

Stephen Lefebvre, president of the Empire State Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) had some thoughts on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s state of the state address last week. The ABC Empire State Chapter issued the press release below on January 5, where he wished Gov. Cuomo the best in 2012 and asked him [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC Empire State, New York, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Press Release, Project Labor Agreements, State Legislation, The Politics of PLAs | Comments (0)

Virginia Construction Industry Supports Legislation Ensuring Fair and Open Competition On Public Construction Contracts

December 14, 2011 – 12:55 pm

Yesterday, ABC Virginia issued a press release supporting the Fair and Open Competition in Government Contracting Act (HB 33) pre-filed this Monday in Richmond (see the full release below). HB 33 prohibits Virginia and recipients of state funding or assistance from requiring or prohibiting contractors to enter into union agreements, such as a project labor agreement (PLA), as [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC Virginia, Arizona, Barbara Comstock, Boston Herald, Dulles Transit Partners, Fair and Open Competition in Government Contracting Act (HB 33), Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Metro Washington Airport Authority, Michigan, MWAA, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, Silver Line, State Legislation, Take Action, Tennessee, Tim Hugo, VA, Virginia, Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Wall Street Journal | Comments (0)

Is Phase 2 of the Dulles Metrorail Silver Line Subject to a Government-Mandated Union Project Labor Agreement?

December 13, 2011 – 12:56 pm

Will a recent deal to save the multi-billion dollar Phase 2 Dulles Metrorail Silver Line project in Northern Virginia force prime contractors to agree to an anti-competitive and costly project labor agreement (PLA) with labor unions in order to win construction contracts? What level of protection will Virginia’s right-to-work law offer to the state’s nonunion [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC Virginia, Dennis Martire, Dulles Transit Partners, Gov. McDonnell, Ken Cuccinelli, LIUNA, Metro Washington Airport Authority, Michael Curto, MWAA, Patton Boggs, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, Right to Work, Secretary Connaughton, Silver Line, Thelma Drake, VA, Virginia, Virginia Chamber of Commerce | Comments (1)

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)