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 Daniels signed legislation to make Indiana the 23rd right-to-work state.

The enactment of Indiana’s right-to-work law may be the most significant general labor law reform adopted since the 2010 election. This law gives workers an opportunity to decide whether to join a labor organization, even if their workplace is organized, without having that decision made for them by union bosses.

Courtesy of the National Right to Work Foundation

From our perspective at TheTruthAboutPLAs, this is a very positive development. It will position Indiana to attract investment and this will help create much needed jobs. This is particularly true in the manufacturing and service sectors of Indiana’s economy. There is no doubt it will lead to additional construction jobs, too.

Unfortunately, the right-to-work law does not eliminate the threat of government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) in the Hoosier state. As we have explained before, PLA mandates can still occur in right-to-work states, although the PLA cannot require workers to pay full union dues. The PLA can still require contractors to recognize a labor union as the sole representative of all workers on the job, hire some or all of their workers from a union hiring hall, pay into union pension and benefit programs, and follow inefficient union work rules. The right-to-work law removes an important component of PLAs, which is to force workers to join a union as and/or pay union dues as a condition of employment, but the other provisions are burdensome enough that contractors utilizing union labor from local unions participating in PLAs are at a significant competitive advantage over their merit shop counterparts.

Indiana is no stranger to PLA activity. Super Bowl attendees will enjoy the game from Lucas Oil Stadium, a facility constructed under a wasteful and discriminatory PLA mandate. As a result, it was virtually impossible for nonunion construction workers to build this project. This kept 70 percent of Indiana’s construction workforce – those who chose not to join a labor union – from building this project, which was funded in part by their own tax dollars. Out of state license plates from construction union members flooded the area, demonstrating how a PLA does not guarantee local hire.

Additionally, the stadium project was $75 million over budget, despite burning through a $50 million contingency fund.

Lucas Oil Stadium Mid-Construction, Courtesy of Wikipedia

This is just another example of how PLA mandates not only hurt the construction workers and their families, who are deprived of the opportunity to compete for projects, but also average taxpayers.

In an interesting bit of irony, rumors are swirling around Indianapolis that some union members and ‘Occupy’ protesters are planning to protest the right-to-work law at the Super Bowl on Sunday. If protests do happen, we are sure the protesters will say they are standing up for the middle class. Someone should ask them how excluding 72 percent of Indiana’s construction workforce from building the stadium grows the middle class.

According to BLS data, the construction industry recorded the lowest number of union members in 2010, when just 801,000 private construction workers belonged to a union.

From 2010 to 2011, union membership grew from 13.1 percent to 14 percent of the U.S. private construction workforce, with construction unions adding 73,000 new members.

The recession has hit the construction industry hard.  The average construction industry unemployment rate in 2011 is 16.4 percent. According to government data, the current industry unemployment rate is at 16 percent, but it was as high as 22.5 percent in Jan. 2011 .

The construction industry has shown few signs of improvement. From 2010 to 2011, the construction industry added 141,000 jobs and grew from 6,103,000 workers to 6,244,000 workers. However, this few workers have not been employed in the construction industry since 1998, when 5,946,500 workers were employed and 17.8 percent of the workforce was unionized, according to the Union Membership and Coverage Database, available at www.unionstats.com. In addition, government data indicates construction spending has been flat.

Government-Mandated PLAs Create Jobs for Union Members
So how will the decline in overall construction union membership change the public policy debate surrounding government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) and President Obama’s pro-PLA Executive Order 13502?

In short, there will be added pressure on politicians to pander to Big Labor’s special interests and help keep their political base afloat. As they did in 2009 and 2010, the White House, members of Congress and federal officials beholden to Big Labor’s costly special interest agenda will try to steer federal construction contracts to unionized employers and create jobs exclusively for union members through federal government-mandated PLAs. On April 13, 2010, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council issued a final rule (pdf), effective May 13, implementing President Obama’s Feb. 6, 2009, pro-PLA Executive Order 13502 into federal procurement regulations.

While the final rule does not mandate PLAs on all federal construction projects — and it offers agencies some flexibility when deciding whether to mandate a PLA on a specific large-scale construction project — the regulation is nothing but a handout to special interests.

The decision to agree to a PLA should be left up to individual contractors and not forced onto qualified contractors by government agencies as a condition of winning a federal construction contract. PLAs mandates reduce competition, increase costs and steer contracts to unionized firms.

This election year, special interests and their political allies will turn up the heat on federal bureaucrats to ensure more PLAs are attached to federal construction projects and other taxpayer-funded construction projects.

After all, numerous elected officials have a politically motivated self-interest in creating jobs for construction union members.  Fewer union jobs spells disaster for union institutions, union retirement plans and the politicians that depend on union contributions to get elected and pass public policy favoring Big Labor.

Politicians understand that a lack of union jobs in the construction industry means fewer union dues and “voluntary” political contributions deducted from union members’ paychecks that are funneled into various union slush funds coordinated through Labor Management Cooperation Committees (LMCCs), 527 groups and Political Action Committees (PACs) that support Big Labor’s friends in politics.

This symbiotic relationship between Big Labor and its political chums cannot continue without healthy union institutions and political contributions from labor unions that fuel the Democrats’ political machine.  

So the latest union membership numbers—coupled with high unemployment in the construction industry and the complex relationship of entities dependent on union revenue—point to a greater push for local, state and federal governments to mandate PLAs at the expense of taxpayers and the merit shop contracting community.

There are valid economic and ethical reasons why promoting the special interests of Big Labor, which composes just 14 percent of the U.S. private construction workforce, ahead of the needs of the rest of the construction industry through PLAs is bad public policy.

For example, on prevailing wage projects, PLAs on average increase the cost of construction between 12 percent and 18 percent compared to similar non-PLA mandated projects. With the added cost premium of anti-competitive PLAs, there is less construction money available. And less construction money means fewer total construction projects and construction jobs. So union-favoring PLAs could make unemployment in the construction industry even worse.

In addition, there is no compelling reason (other than political self-interest) to create jobs for union members ahead of nonunion employees via government-mandated PLAs. Qualified nonunion employees deserve just as fair a shot to feed their families as union members. Unions should use the ultra-competitive market and tough economy as an opportunity to retool their product and make it more lean and efficient to compete in today’s marketplace instead of relying on government handouts to stay relevant.

The U.S. economy and the construction industry would benefit from free and open competition, without corrupt government-mandated PLAs, where taxpayers can get the best possible construction product at the best possible price.

“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 much energy. An incomplete high-speed broadband network that prevents a small business owner in rural America from selling her products all over the world.

“During the Great Depression, America built the Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge. After World War II, we connected our States with a system of highways. Democratic and Republican administrations invested in great projects that benefited everybody, from the workers who built them to the businesses that still use them today.

“In the next few weeks, I will sign an Executive Order clearing away the red tape that slows down too many construction projects. But you need to fund these projects. Take the money we’re no longer spending at war, use half of it to pay down our debt, and use the rest to do some nation-building right here at home.

“There’s never been a better time to build, especially since the construction industry was one of the hardest hit when the housing bubble burst. Of course, construction workers weren’t the only ones who were hurt…”

On behalf of the merit shop contracting community, ABC 2012 National Chairman Eric Regelin, president of Granix, LLC, Ellicott City, Md., today reacted to President Obama’s remarks:

“In his speech, the president said ‘we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share,’” said Regelin. “Yet, one of his first official acts when he took office was to sign an executive order on project labor agreements that discriminates against the 87 percent of the nation’s construction workforce that chooses not to belong to a labor union.

“It is not clear at this point what President Obama meant when he spoke of removing red tape from construction projects, but any sincere effort to do so must involve the elimination of government-mandated project labor agreements and Davis-Bacon wage requirements on taxpayer-funded construction projects,” Regelin said.

“The president’s insistence on a so-called ‘millionaire’s tax’ to fund his various priorities will expose the 80 percent of construction firms that are taxed at the individual rate to a significant tax increase,” said Regelin. “This does not represent a ‘fair share’ that will help the economy and create jobs, but rather the president’s continued use of the nation’s job creators as his personal piggy bank.

“The nation’s construction industry continues to struggle with an unemployment rate of 16 percent – nearly twice the national average,” Regelin said. “However, the president’s only solution to fix the economy is to hand out favors to special interests and punish those who work hard and take risks.”

To view this statement, click here.

So will President Obama’s new executive order cutting red tape slowing down construction projects be helpful, or, will it be another gift to special interests?

Cartoon courtesy of the Boston Globe

It is quite possible President Obama’s new executive order is just repackaging a policy the White House announced in October 2011 to speed along the approval of 14 high priority infrastructure projects. If so, this won’t likely be controversial. It could be something else equally noncontroversial

However, there is concern President Obama will make some changes this election year to federal policy concerning government-mandated PLAs on federal and federally assisted projects. See Section 7 of Executive Order 13502, issued Feb. 6, 2009:

Section 7. The Director of the OMB, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor and with other officials as appropriate, shall provide the President within 180 days of this order, recommendations about whether broader use of PLAs, with respect to both construction projects undertaken under Federal contracts and construction projects receiving Federal financial assistance, would help to promote the economical, efficient, and timely completion of such projects. [Note: Order was issued Feb. 6, 2009, 180 days sets the deadline at Aug. 5, 2009, but a recommendation has not been publicly issued.] 

An expansion of Section 7 could decrease the current $25 million threshold when federal agencies are currently required to evaluate if a PLA mandate is appropriate on a federal construction project. More PLA mandates on smaller projects would help Big Labor at the expense of everyone else. 

Section 7 could also force pro-PLA policies on federally assisted projects built by private owners and state and local governments. An expansion could increase costs for local and state projects already suffering from difficult budget realities. It could also lead to out-of-area union workers taking jobs away from qualified nonunion construction workers in the local economy.

TheTruthAboutPLAs.com explained the concerns with Section 7 expansion here.

Let's hope Section 7 of Executive Order 13502 is not.

TheTruthAboutPLAs.com will be following White House policies impacting the construction industry closely.

The PLA mandate harms Washington’s experienced and skilled nonunion construction workforce and will discourage competition from qualified contractors that have successfully built federal projects in Washington and across the country without PLA mandates.  It will also needlessly increase costs.

According to an article in the Kitsap Sun, NAVFAC Northwest mandated a PLA after Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, and Reps. Norm Dicks and Jay Inslee (all Democrats from Washington) wrote to the Navy in support of a PLA at the request of construction trades unions (“Navy to hire local workers for second explosives handling wharf,” 1/1/12):

The trades council contacted the area’s federal delegation — Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and Reps. Norm Dicks and Jay Inslee — who wrote to the Navy supporting a PLA, Whetham said. Four trade council officials and seven from the Navy met in November to explore the benefits and arrived at cost savings and skilled labor.

According to information obtained from opensecrets.com, construction trades unions have donated the following political contributions totaling $814,375 to the four Washington Democrats who signed the letter:

Rep. Inslee:       $340,000   from 2000 – 2012
Rep. Dicks:       $183,125   from 1998 – 2012
Sen. Murray:     $279,250   from 1998 – 2012
Sen. Cantwell:   $ 12,000    from 2002 – 2012
Total:               $814,375

Is this PLA mandate the product of a crony contracting scheme by federal officials? 

Prior to mandating the PLA, NAVFAC Northwest did not consult with the merit shop contracting community about the negative impact of PLA mandates on qualified federal prime contractors, subcontractors and their skilled local employees.

First Navy PLA Mandate Under Obama Administration
This is the first PLA mandate on a Navy project since President Obama issued Executive Order 13502 on Feb. 6, 2009, just a few weeks after his inauguration. The order strongly encourages federal agencies to mandate PLAs on a case-by-case basis on federal construction projects exceeding $25 million in total costs.

As a result of Obama’s encouragement of federal PLA mandates, NAVFAC has issued several PLA surveys to the contracting community to determine if a PLA mandate will advance the economy and efficiency in federal procurement of numerous large-scale construction projects across the country.  ABC National and ABC members have responded to these PLA surveys.

NAVFAC Northwest did not issue a survey to evaluate if a PLA would be appropriate for this project.

In contrast, NAVFAC directly contacted ABC National and the merit shop contracting community for feedback on possible PLA mandates on other federal projects.

For example, after soliciting comments from ABC National and the contracting community in October 2010 concerning NAVFAC’s potential use of PLAs on billions of dollars worth of construction for Guam base realignment, NAVFAC elected not to mandate a PLA.

NAVFAC’s PLA Mandate Creates Inefficiencies
NAVFAC Northwest’s solicitation instructs qualified contractors invited by NAVFAC to bid on Phase 2 of the solicitation (the short-listed contractors) to negotiate a PLA with specific trade unions and submit an executed PLA within 10 days of the contract award.

NAVFAC supplied short-listed contractors with a pre-drafted PLA containing the terms and conditions NAVFAC already developed with specified construction trade unions and councils.

NAVFAC asked contractors to submit feedback on the pre-drafted PLA by Dec. 28. 

ABC advised short-listed contractors about the numerous problems with NAVFAC’s mandatory PLA language and cumbersome and inefficient procurement approach. Some of these concerns were submitted by short-listed contractors to NAVFAC.

NAVFAC is expected to review and share these comments with unions and provide contractors with a final PLA at a later date that they must use as the starting point in PLA negotiations.

Proposals from short-listed contractors are due Feb. 13. It is unclear when NAVFAC will award the contract, although it should be in early 2012.

Under this inefficient procurement process, it is possible for contractors to not know the terms and conditions of the executed PLA – which impacts labor costs and final bid costs – before submitting a final price proposal to NAVFAC.  If PLA negotiations are stalled by unions or NAVFAC does not supply the final terms of the pre-drafted PLA in time, contractors cannot submit an accurate price proposal.

In addition, the project could be delayed pending the outcome of the post-award PLA negotiations.  The project may have to be re-bid if the final agreement cannot be executed.

In 2010, a General Services Administration (GSA) project, the GSA Headquarters at 1800 F Street in Washington, D.C., suffered delays as a result of labor unions refusing to agree to the terms of a PLA the contractor presented and signed with other labor unions. Congressional testimony from GSA deputy administrator Susan Brita described this scenario, which also required the contractor to present an executed PLA within 10 days post-award.

Even regulatory comments  filed by Frank Dean, NAVFAC’s labor advisor, on the FAR Council’s proposed rule implementing Executive Order 13502 identify concerns with this inefficient post-award PLA procurement approach.

PLA Will Harm Local Nonunion Workforce and Small Businesses
From 2001 to 2009, when President George W. Bush’s Executive Orders 13202 and 13208 prohibited PLA mandates on federal and federally assisted construction projects, Washington’s skilled nonunion tradespeople constructed large-scale projects for the Navy, Army and other federal agencies absent a PLA mandate with no reported problems.

This union-favoring PLA is sure to serve as a barrier to new jobs for 84 percent of Washington’s private construction workforce and 86.9 percent of the U.S. construction workforce that has chosen not to join a construction labor union.

The Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO announced “construction labor on this project will be provided by Olympic Peninsula Building Trades and the Northwest Regional Council of the National Construction Alliance II (NWNCA),” and it is unlikely this project’s PLA will allow nonunion contractors to use few, if any, of the existing skilled nonunion employees they have invested training and resources in while employed at the company.

As this letter to the editor in the Kitsap Sun points out, if the PLA even allows nonunion construction workers to build this project, they will have to join a union and/or pay union dues and pay into union pension plans that they will never benefit from unless they join a union and meet vesting requirements.  The PLA results in a huge financial windfall for Big Labors coffers.

Favoritism for unionized construction workers is especially despicable because the construction industry is plagued by high unemployment in Washington and across the country. The number of construction workers employed in Washington in July 2011 was as sparse as the number of workers employed in Washington in August of 1997. Meanwhile, the U.S. construction industry is suffering from an unemployment rate of 16 percent as of December 2011. 

Don’t nonunion construction workers deserve a fair shot at new federal construction jobs?

Provisions in a PLA that force contractors to swap their existing workforce out for unfamiliar union labor is problematic for short-listed contractors that self-perform specific trade work, as well as subcontractors performing specialty trades.

This PLA mandate will make it difficult for short-listed contractors to meet NAVFAC’s small and disadvantaged business subcontracting targets because small businesses are traditionally not unionized:

Because building trades union membership is traditionally not diverse, a PLA mandate also may make it difficult for short-listed contractors to meet minority and women hiring goals set by the FAR’s Equal Opportunity and the Affirmative Action Compliance Requirements for Construction regulations required in federal construction contracts.

The PLA mandate’s inefficient procurement approach and pro-union language will discourage competition and increase costs to remaining competitors. Studies indicate PLA projects subject to prevailing wage laws increase construction costs between 12 percent and 18 percent compared to similar projects subject to prevailing wage laws not subject to government-mandated PLAs.

ABC Committed to Fair and Open Competition
ABC is opposed to government-mandated PLAs because these agreements typically restrict competition, increase costs, create delays, discriminate against nonunion employees and place merit shop contractors at a significant competitive disadvantage. Typical government-mandated PLAs are nothing more than anti-competitive schemes that end open and fair bidding on taxpayer-funded projects.

ABC has led industry opposition against federal PLA mandates, utilizing a variety of educational, public relations, grassroots, political and legal strategies to ensure fair and open competition on taxpayer-funded construction projects.

ABC has helped ABC member contractors file bid protests against federal PLA mandates during the Obama administration, which resulted in the removal of PLA mandates on a Veterans Affairs medical center in Pittsburgh, an Army Corps of Engineers project in Camden, N.J., a General Services Administration project in Washington, D.C., and a Department of Labor Job Corps Center in Manchester, N.H.     

ABC National also has responded to and helped ABC members participate in more than 50 PLA surveys issued by federal agencies to determine the feasibility of a PLA on a federal project.

ABC supports the Government Neutrality in Contracting Act (H.R. 735/S.119), cosponsored by 31 Senators and 172 Representatives and supported by a diverse industry coalition. The measure would eliminate waste and favoritism in federal contracting by prohibiting federal agencies and recipients of federal assistance from mandating PLAs, yet it would allow contractors to voluntarily enter into PLAs. This bill is good for taxpayers and the principles of free enterprise.

In 2011, House committees held two hearings in Washington and three field hearings on the negative consequences of federal PLA mandates and the benefits of H.R. 735.

Additional hearings and votes are expected in 2012.

Stay current on government-mandated PLAs and “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheTruthAboutPLAs and visit TheTruthAboutPLAs.com often.

To help fight this PLA and other federal PLA mandates, please contact Ben Brubeck or TheTruthAboutPLAs.com here.

One such example occurred in California, where union efforts helped get Robert Calone appointed to the Governing Board for the Contra Costa Community College District.  Mr. Calone’s day job is Recording Secretary for the Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 159.

While it’s possible that civic duty motivated Mr. Calone to apply for this office, it is also pretty clear that the construction unions have a revenue stream to develop.  And thanks in part to Mr. Calone, Big Labor will have a virtual monopoly on community college construction for the next five years.

But in all of the excitement over securing nearly all of the community college’s construction work in the next five years for Big Labor, it appears that Mr. Calone may have forgotten to take care of a small detail – properly completing his ethics disclosures.

Here is the press release from the Golden Gate Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors issued on January 10:

FPPC Complaint filed against Contra Costa Community College District Trustee for Failure to File Form 700 Timely and Report Income

The Fair Political Practices Commission has confirmed receipt of a complaint filed for possible violations relating to Robert Calone, who holds the office of Governing Board member for the Contra Costa Community College District.

California Government Code §87202(a) states that “Every person who is elected to an office specified in Section 87200 shall, within 30 days after assuming the office, file a statement disclosing his or her investments and his or her interests in real property held on the date of assuming office, and income received during the 12 months before assuming office.”

Robert Calone failed to file a statement within 30 days (he did it 200 days after assuming office, after the public requested his Form 700 from the college district). When he filed his statement, he failed to report income.

Finally, by filing his Form 700 late and then omitting a source of income on the late Form 700, Robert Calone concealed his financial interest in a controversial contract that was approved on December 14, 2011 by the Governing Board of the Contra Costa Community College District. Only the intervention of the public in exposing Robert Calone’s failure to submit a Form 700 and his failure to report his employment income prevented him from voting on a contract for which his loyalties and allegiance were divided and influenced by his paid employment as an instructor for an organization that was signatory to the contract.

“Mr. Calone, the Recording Secretary for the Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 159, was appointed to the Board for the sole purpose of enacting a union-only Project Labor Agreement for District construction projects, thereby creating a monopoly on District work that will result in reduced competition and increased costs for public contracts funded by taxpayer dollars” stated Matt Heavey, a local citizen who filed the complaint.

A copy of the complaint can be viewed here.

Here at TheTruthAboutPLAs.com, we believe sunshine and transparency are the best medicine for public corruption.

Regardless of whether Mr. Calone violated the letter of the law, this one doesn’t pass the smell test.

The hearing was an opportunity for the committee to discuss how certain parties, particularly labor unions, exploit public participation in the CEQA process to achieve objectives unrelated to environmental protection. Assemblywoman Grove cited four specific recent examples of different unions (the Teamsters, the California Nurses Association, the United Food and Commercial Workers, and the Service Employees International Union) filing CEQA lawsuits to delay projects as leverage to extract labor concessions from businesses. She also noted that some businesses use CEQA to try to block potential competition.

Testifying on behalf of the sponsor, ABC of California Government Affairs Director Kevin Dayton discussed how certain construction trade unions abuse CEQA as a weapon to delay projects until the owner agrees to require contractors to sign a Project Labor Agreement with unions. The Western Electrical Contractors Association (WECA) and the Chambers of Commerce Alliance of Ventura & Santa Barbara were the other public supporters of the bill.

Assemblywoman Linda Halderman (R-Fresno) cited a specific example of a union using CEQA to try to force a contractor to sign a Project Labor Agreement to install solar panels at Fresno-Yosemite International Airport. Assemblyman Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) adeptly exposed the Attorney General’s double standard of opposing the additional responsibilities assigned in AB 598 while remaining silent about adopting additional responsibilities through other legislation.

Legitimate environmental organizations such as the Sierra Club and the Planning and Conservation League opposed the bill. The Teamsters and United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union opposed the bill in writing but did not speak at the hearing. Democrats on the committee opposed the bill, but some of them (along with the Attorney General’s office) acknowledged that some parties abuse CEQA. Assemblyman Bill Monning (D-Santa Cruz) said nothing about how the Carpenters union used CEQA in a recent high-profile campaign to delay and ultimately derail the proposed La Bahia Hotel in Santa Cruz.

The committee defeated the bill on a 5-3 party-line vote: Democrats opposed, Republicans in support.

You can thank the following state legislators at these email addresses:

Assemblywoman Shannon Grove: Contact

Assemblywoman Linda Halderman: Contact

Assemblyman Steve Knight: Contact

Background on Assembly Bill 598: text, committee analysis

Some Recent News Media Coverage of CEQA Abuse: Bad Environment for Development? (Los Angeles Business Journal, July 18, 2011, via Central City Association of Los Angeles); Firms Turning to Environmental Law to Combat Rivals (Los Angeles Times, November 14, 2011).

As the release goes onto say, one of the mandates hindering job growth in the construction industry in New York is government-mandated project labor agreements (PLA).  PLA mandates on both state and local projects have been a regular problem for the construction industry in New York – particularly for the 72.5 percent of the workforce that chooses not to join a labor union.

These mandates have also been a problem for New York taxpayers.  A blatant example of how these Big Labor handouts hurt taxpayers occurred in the spring of 2011, where the NYS Department of Transportation tried and was ultimately successful in implementing a PLA mandate on an infrastructure project that disqualified a qualified contractor’s bid and cost taxpayers an addition $5 million in unnecessary construction costs.

As America climbs out of recession, it is vital that government entities use taxpayer funds as wisely as possible.  As far as we are concerned, rewarding union bosses for their political support by giving union contractors a leg up against their nonunion counterparts doesn’t seem like the best use of public money.

Like the ABC Empire State Chapter, we urge Gov. Cuomo to support the Public Construction Savings Act and put an end to government-mandated PLAs in New York.

The ABC Empire State Chapter press release from January 5 is below.

STATEMENT FROM ABC PRESIDENT STEPHEN LEFEBVRE ON GOV. CUOMO’S STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS

I want to applaud the governor on his first year in office and wish him the best on the start of the 2012 Legislative Session. The plan he laid out today in his annual State of the State provided some bold initiatives to enhance government and improve the economy through investment in many areas that the construction industry is sure to help build. With any discussion of development I encourage the governor to seek out the best value possible for the money paid by New York’s hard-working taxpayers.

I urge Gov. Cuomo to unshackle the full economic potential of any government funded construction work from the unnecessary use of restrictive measures such as mandatory Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) that time and again have driven up the cost of public work projects in the Empire State. The governor should seek construction mandate relief in the form of the Public Construction Savings Act (S.4121/A.7855) which would allow government entities to bid public construction in a way that promotes unfettered competition among contractors seeking public work to the benefit of taxpayers.

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The Empire State Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors (“ABC”) represents over 550 merit-shop construction contractors and subcontractors employing thousands of workers throughout the State of New York.

Update 1/1/12: Sen. Mark Obenshain introduced companion legislation in the Virginia Senate, SB 242 (pdf). It is cosponsored by all 20 Senate GOP members. The Virginia Senate has 20 GOP and 20 Democrat Senators. Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling (R) casts deciding votes. 

Click here to write your legislators and encourage them to support HB 33/SB 242.

HB 33/SB 242 ensures Virginia taxpayers get the best construction project at the best price and 96 percent of Virginia’s construction workforce (those who choose not to belong to a labor union) have a real shot at working on taxpayer funded projects.  It will also help stretch scarce tax dollars to meet Virginia’s transportation and infrastructure needs.

In 2011, Michigan, Maine, Tennessee, Arizona,  Louisiana, Iowa and Idaho enacted similar legislation and executive orders ensuring taxpayers get the best possible product at the best possible price. 

In July, 2011, the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Herald editorial boards applauded states for enacting fair and open competition measures that end “sweetheart deals with labor unions,” and “limit bids on construction projects to contractors that agree to union representation.”

State budget deficits and a 2009 President Obama executive order encouraging PLAs on federal projects and allowing their use on federally-assisted projects pushed states to take steps at preventing waste and discrimination in public contracting.

A total of 11 states have enacted legislation or executive orders prohibiting government-mandated PLAs on state and state-assisted projects to some degree.

This year, Democrats controlling Illinois and California state government enacted legislation encouraging the use of government-mandated PLAs. New Jersey and New York have existing laws enacted by Democrat legislatures and administrations encouraging anti-competitive and costly PLA mandates, while Washington has a pro-PLA executive order.  

If enacted, HB 33/SB 242 will prevent special interst handouts like the mandated PLA on Phase 2 of the $2.8 billion Dulles Metrorail Silver Line project Virginia is partially financing. TheTruthAboutPLAs.com covered this controversial project in great detail yesterday. It will increase competition, reduce costs and create job for Virginia’s construction industry.

The measure prevents the state and those procuring projects with state dollars from MANDATING PLAs.  Contractors would be free to voluntarily enter into PLAs, as is permitted by the National Labor Relations Act.

Update 12/15 and 12/19:
The Virginia Chamber of Commerce issued this press release Dec. 14 in support of HB 33.

Del. Comstock and Del. Hugo issued a Dec. 19 press release on HB 33.

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

Contact:      Angie Gutenson, Vice President, ABC-VA (703) 968-6205                     For Immediate Release
                     Ben Brubeck, PLA Expert, ABC National (703) 812-2042                        December 13, 2011

DULLES, VA – On behalf of its 660 Virginia merit shop employers, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC-VA) supports the Fair and Open Competition in Government Contracting Act (HB 33) introduced on Monday by Virginia Delegate Barbara Comstock (R-34^th) and GOP Caucus Chairman Virginia Delegate Tim Hugo (R-40^th). 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 a condition of winning state and state-assisted construction contracts. 

“This commonsense legislation will reduce costs, increase competition and create jobs for qualified Virginia businesses and their skilled local employees on state and state-funded construction projects,” said ABC-VA President Patrick Dean. “It will ensure Virginia’s infrastructure dollars are spent wisely and support projects subject to fair and open competition, which ultimately will benefit taxpayers by funding more construction projects and creating more jobs for Virginians.

“Unfortunately, unaccountable political appointees controlled by special interests have been steering taxpayer-funded construction contracts to their political supporters by mandating union-favoring PLAs on projects funded by the state,” said Dean. “This special interest favoritism has no place in Virginia.

“If enacted, this measure would prohibit state-assisted construction projects, such as Phase 2 of the multi-billion dollar Dulles Metrorail Silver line project, from mandating unwanted anti-competitive and costly PLAs on contractors,” said Dean. “Why should Virginia’s financial stakeholders pay for the majority of this project when the PLA mandated on the prime contractor by MWAA ensures discrimination against 96 percent of Virginia’s construction workforce – those who have freely decided not to join a union? Local workers will lose jobs to out-of-state union members given hiring priority via the PLA.”   

“HB 33 simply ensures the government remains neutral with respect to a qualified contractor’s relationship with labor unions and gets the government out of the business of picking winners and losers through cronyism,” said Ben Brubeck, ABC National’s Director of Labor and Federal Procurement. “To date, 11 states have enacted similar measures, resulting in reduced costs, increased job creation and a level playing field encouraging robust competition from qualified nonunion and union contractors.

“HB 33 allows contractors to voluntarily enter into union agreements like PLAs,” said Brubeck. “Unlike a government-mandated PLA, it gives contractors a real choice, which can only increase competition and help taxpayers get the best possible product at the best possible price.”

Learn more about anti-competitive and costly PLAs and the Silver Line Metrorail controversy at www.TheTruthAboutPLAs.com.

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About ABC — Associated Builders and Contractors is a national association with 75 chapters representing more than 23,000 merit shop construction and construction-related firms with nearly two million employees. Founded in 1972, the ABC Virginia Chapter is the only association in Virginia dedicated to representing the interests of merit shop contractors. ABC VA represents all firms in the commercial construction industry equally. Membership represents the full range of contractors, from small family-owned subcontractors to global general contracting firms, as well as, materials suppliers and industry professionals. The ABC Virginia Chapter has offices in Chantilly, Richmond and Hampton Roads. 

What level of protection will Virginia’s right-to-work law offer to the state’s nonunion construction workers?

Virginia taxpayers, public officials, businesses and construction workers deserve answers and public officials haven’t offered much clarity.

TheTruthAboutPLAs.com has monitored this project closely since the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) passed an April 6, 2011, resolution requiring prime contractors to agree to a PLA similar to the agreement voluntarily entered into by the Phase 1 prime contractor, Dulles Transit Partners.

About the Silver Line
The Silver Line is a $6 billion project involving the construction of 23 miles of new Metro track.  

Phase 1 of the Silver Line is under construction and runs from the Orange Line’s existing West Falls Church station through Tysons Corner to Reston. It is expected to open late next year, but contractors and MWAA officials have said it could be delayed and is as much as $150 million over budget.

Phase 2 of the Silver Line will run from Wiehle Avenue in Reston to just past Dulles International Airport in Loudoun County. 

According to the original funding agreement, Phase 2 is financed by MWAA (4.1 percent), Loudoun County (4.8 percent), Fairfax County (16.1 percent) and the Commonwealth of Virginia ($275 million). Toll revenue generated from the MWAA-owned and operated Dulles Toll Road will fund the remainder of Phase 2.

MWAA says estimated revenue needed to fund Phase 2 construction will be similar to the toll schedule published in the July 2009 Wilbur Smith Associates traffic and toll revenue report commissioned by MWAA, which predicts Dulles Toll Road motorists will pay $16.75 each way in 2047 (see table 6-3 on p. 124). An updated study is expected to be completed in the next few months.

Broad Opposition to the Phase 2 PLA Mandate
Opposition to MWAA’s PLA mandate include the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors; Fairfax County Board of Supervisors; local, state and elected officials; The Washington Post editorial board; The Washington Examiner editorial board; Fairfax Chamber of Commerce; Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce; Purcellville Business and Professional Association; a coalition of 13 of Northern Virginia’s leading business groups and associations; Women Construction Owners and Executives; and former Virginia Governor and U.S. Senator George Allen, who is running for the U.S. Senate in Virginia (see summary of entities opposing the Phase 2 PLA mandate here and here).

They know a PLA mandate will ensure discrimination against Virginia’s nonunion construction workforce (96 percent of Virginia’s construction workforce does not belong to a union) and reduce competition from qualified prime contractors opposed to PLA mandates.

An April 21 letter from ABC Virginia to MWAA explained how reduced competition and costly pro-union rules and fees within the proposed Phase 2 PLA circulated by MWAA earlier this year will increase Phase 2 bid costs by hundreds of millions of dollars and discriminate against Virginia’s construction workforce.

 
Unanticipated costs are problematic because financial stakeholders balked at Phase 2’s rising expenses, which ballooned to $3.825 billion – an increase of more than $1.8 billion (53 percent) compared to Phase 2’s initial $2.5 billion budget. This summer, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was called in to negotiate an agreement between MWAA and state and local stakeholders to reduce costs and get the project back on track.

Is the Silver Line Back on Track?
On Nov.16, 2011, MWAA signed Resolution No. 11-33 approving a new Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the project’s financial stakeholders modifying the Phase 2 scope, financing structure and budget. It trims the Phase 2 costs from $3.825 billion to an estimated $2.8 billion, although these are only rough estimates at this stage in the project.

The MOA says the Commonwealth of Virginia agreed to contribute an additional $150 million, provided the funds are appropriated by the General Assembly and allocated by the Commonwealth Transportation Board in 2012.

The MOA places Loudoun County in charge of financing and building parking garages included in the original Phase 2 project plan. Likewise, Fairfax County must build two garages and a new Route 28 Metro station. These cost shifts from the original Phase 2 plan will be subsidized by federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loans the localities can apply for in the coming months. 

Loudoun County and Fairfax County recently agreed to the MOA, which gives them 90 days to opt out of the project after Phase 2 preliminary engineering, financing and cost estimates are released in early 2012. 

In short, Phase 2 will face many financial hurdles in the coming months, although the project is in better shape now that costs have been trimmed and the local stakeholders have been given a larger role in planning the project.

The Facts About the Phase 2 PLA Mandate
Section 3.9 of the MOA refers to a “separate agreement on the matter of Project Labor Agreements for Phase 2” reached by MWAA and the Commonwealth of Virginia. While the PLA agreement (known as the PLA MOU) clarifies a PLA will not be mandated on Phase 2 subcontractors, it will not discriminate against nonunion contractors, and it will comply with Virginia’s Right to Work and contracting laws, Section 3 clearly states the prime contractor is subject to a PLA mandate: 

“(3) no prime contractor working or seeking to work on Phase 2 shall be required, in order to secure or maintain a phase 2 prime contract, to become a party to any labor agreement other than the Phase 2 PLA; and” [emphasis added] 

However, there remains great confusion about whether Phase 2 prime contractors are subject to a PLA mandate. 

The confusion may be fueled in part because it is unclear if the Commonwealth of Virginia understands the PLA MOU. Thelma Drake, director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, signed the PLA MOU along with Commonwealth Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton. She said this about the Phase 2 PLA: 

“The PLA is not mandatory,” Drake says. “You cannot require your prime to sign a PLA.” 

For example, an article in Leesburg Today reported the PLA was optional and the controversy was resolved: 

As part of the MOA, the state government also will be contributing more money, as has been pushed by many local leaders, up to $150 million, now [sic] controversy over MWAA’s plan to require a Project Labor Agreement has been resolved. The project plan, as originally created, had a requirement for labor workers to be used for the entirety of the second phase of the project. In Phase 1, the option is left to the individual contractor, something some leaders pushed for in the second phase. 

In an agreement worked out directly between the state and the MWAA, the use of union contractors will be optional. “Neither will be discriminated against and will allow for all to participate in the bidding on the project,” York said, noting it was similar to the approach used in Phase 1. 

The Loudoun Times reported the MOU “remove[d] the use of mandatory project labor agreements,” and “Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell also agreed to give $150 million to help finance the rail extension as long as mandatory project labor agreements were eliminated.”

The truth is that it is a PLA mandate. A prime contractor must sign a union PLA in order to win Phase 2 construction contracts as a prime contractor.

A Nov. 16 Washington Times article, “Dulles Metrorail Phase 2 is right to work,” examines the impact of MWAA’s PLA mandate and PLA MOU with respect to Virginia’s right-to-work law:

Still, union-friendly labor agreements are a thorny issue in states such as Virginia that have right-to-work laws, under which workers cannot be required to join a union as a condition of employment. 

“This agreement ensures that Virginia’s right-to-work laws will apply to every aspect of Phase 2,” said Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton. “It also will ensure that no one — contractors or subcontractors — will be forced to take on unions. It will also subject [Phase 2] to Virginia law. So we think it’s a major step forward from Phase 1.”

While Virginia believes the MOU offers prime contractors a measure of protection against forced unionism, Virginia has still given the green light for MWAA to mandate a PLA. This is problematic.

The public doesn’t know the final terms and conditions of the PLA now and may not know these terms until Virginia and local financial stakeholders have committed funding to the project. By then it may be too late to ensure Virginia taxpayers, workers and contractors maximize their investment in this project. 

Right to Work and PLAs
The truth is that the PLA MOU and Virginia’s right-to-work law do not eliminate all of the anti-competitive and costly provisions of the draft Phase 2 PLA identified by ABC Virginia’s April 21 letter to MWAA. Virginia’s right-to-work law grants all employees the right to refrain from being a full union member and to pay either no or reduced union dues. Second, if the PLA requires all employees to be hired through an exclusive union hiring hall, the hiring hall may not discriminate between union and nonunion workers. However, typical union hiring hall rules give preferential treatment to out-of-work union members from all over the country ahead of qualified nonunion workers from Virginia seeking jobs on Phase 2. Officials don’t understand how this process works and allows unions to police themselves. It is rife with discrimination. 

In addition, despite a right-to-work law, the PLA may still force contractors to pay into union slush funds used to harm merit shop contractors, force contractors and employees to follow archaic and inefficient union work rules, require contractors to only use union apprentices, and force unwanted union representation on employees for the life of the project.

The biggest concern most contractors have about PLA mandates is how these agreements typically require contractors to pay into underfunded multi-employer pension plans, exposing their businesses to significant financial liability (e.g., the Sheet Metal Workers National Pension fund is in critical status, according to the U.S. Department of Labor) and preventing workers from receiving retirement benefits rightfully earned. Employees will never benefit from fringe benefit contributions employers make to union pension and benefit plans unless the employee joins a union and meets vesting requirements. In order to ensure employees accumulate benefits they can eventually keep, contractors pay into their own existing benefit plans, artificially inflating their labor costs and making their bid uncompetitive against union firms free from double benefit costs. (This 2009 report by Dr. McGowan explains the anti-competitive and costly impact of pension contribution mandates in PLAs.)  

Learn more about PLAs and right-to-work laws at TheTruthAboutPLAs.com blog post, Understanding PLAs in Right to Work States.

In short, Virginia’s right-to-work law does not make this government-mandated PLA any less offensive, nor will it increase competition.
 
Reduced Competition Will Increase Costs
Unfortunately, when faced with a government-mandated PLA, nonunion contractors and their existing workforces are presented with a false choice of agreeing to the union-favoring PLA in order to win a contract and perform work on Phase 2, or not pursuing work at all.

A reduction of two or three bidders because of MWAA’s PLA mandate could increase costs by hundreds of millions of dollars, depending on the final Phase 2 construction costs.

With strong evidence demonstrating that reduced competition increases bid costs, why would MWAA mandate an anti-competitive scheme that undermines the spirit of Virginia’s right-to-work law and has the potential to needlessly increase bid costs?

The answer, of course, is politics. 

Politics and Corruption at MWAA
Unions overwhelmingly give campaign contributions to Democrats, which is a key reason why MWAA members appointed by Democrats or affiliated with the party supported MWAA’s PLA mandate. The public officials who appointed them know they will eventually benefit from union political contributions resulting from union job creation through this PLA. It is not surprising that MWAA board members with union ties orchestrated MWAA’s PLA mandate.

The Washington Examiner reported that Virginia GOP delegates Tim Hugo, Barbara Comstock and Thomas Greason sent a letter requesting that Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) investigate the Phase 2 PLA mandate and possible ethics violation of MWAA board member Dennis Martire because he advocated for the Phase 2 PLA mandate that financially benefits his employer, the Laborers International Union of North America (LiUNA), (“Virginia lawmaker calls for probe of Dulles Rail labor pact,” 5/28).

Martire, appointed by Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D), is chairman of MWAA’s Planning and Construction Committee. He also is employed as the vice president and Mid-Atlantic regional manager of LiUNA with an annual salary of $266,000, plus a generous benefit and pension package totaling $336,270, according to the most recent financial disclosure filings by LiUNA.

According to the Virginia Public Access Project, the Laborers Mid-Atlantic Regional Organizing Coalition has donated $419,050 to candidates and political action committees since 2007 — overwhelmingly to Democratic candidates. Creigh Deeds, unsuccessful candidate for governor, scooped up $250,000. Moving Virginia Forward, Tim Kaine’s PAC, garnered $55,000. LiUNA kicked in another $200,000 to the Democratic Party of Virginia in 2008. Martire was appointed by Gov. Kaine (D), in July 2009.

Martire’s employer, LiUNA, and its local affiliates (such as LiUNA Local 657, which bused in protestors to disrupt the April 18, 2011, press conference held by U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf and other local politicians to address concerns about Phase 2 of the project) will receive a significant financial windfall from the Phase 2 PLA that could easily exceed millions of dollars. 

The PLA mandate will likely require the prime contractor to hire primarily union labor dispatched from LiUNA hiring halls (and union members performing labor in other trades from their respective union hiring halls) and force contractors to contribute into union slush funds and pension and benefit plans.

Martire’s MWAAA bio lists him as “a former Trustee to the National Heavy and Highway Alliance” (the same group that drafted the proposed Phase 2 PLA and the Phase 1 PLA voluntarily signed by DTP). Martire is also chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Laborers’ Employers Cooperation and Education Trust (LECET), which is a union fund contractors/employees are forced to pay into under the current LiUNA collective bargaining agreement that contractors would have to follow under the PLA.

The wage and benefit schedule contained in the current LiUNA collective bargaining agreement for LIUNA Local 657 and Local 11 (the LiUNA locals with jurisdiction over this project) highlight the benefit rates and plans contractors must pay into on behalf of their laborer employees if they are party to this agreement. Appendix A (page 20) lists the following hourly contributions contractors are required to pay to union funds by contractors (after collecting the hourly deductions from each laborer’s paycheck):

Pension: $1.99
Health and Welfare: $3.01
Training: $0.25
LECET: $0.10
CCC Industry Fund: $0.08
Total:  $5.43 per hour

When Martire pushed for the PLA to apply to Phase 2 prime contractors and subcontractors earlier this year, this excel worksheet estimated the following financial windfall LiUNA and various LiUNA-affiliated funds will receive from a Phase 2 PLA mandate:

Pension: $21.544 million
Health and Welfare: $32.587 million
Training: $2.706 million
LECET: $1.082 million
CCC Industry Fund: $833,113.22
Dues: $8.081 million
Contractors Pay to CILM: $937,500 max.

This calculation doesn’t factor in benefits other unions besides LiUNA will receive as a result of the PLA mandate.

The amount of jobs created for union members and money flowing into union funds likely will be less because the recently executed PLA MOU states the PLA does not apply to subcontractors. However, MWAA will require the prime contractor to self-perform a significant amount of Phase 2 work, meaning a large portion of the Phase 2 project would be subject to a PLA. Spokespeople for DTP said they have self-performed 65 percent of Phase 1. 

(Note: Merit shop subcontractors were exempted from signing the Phase 1 PLA agreement and MWAA has reported 60 percent of Phase 1 contracts have been awarded to nonunion shops that did not sign the Phase 2 PLA. This means the strong or poor performance of Phase 1 construction cannot be attributed to the voluntary PLA.) 

In short, the total number of Phase 2 construction jobs created for union members and money paid to union funds is unknown until the project is completed, but they will certainly benefit from this PLA mandate.

While Martire’s conflict of interest is obvious, others have raised questions about a possible conflict of interest by MWAA board member Michael Curto, who was appointed by Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) in January 2011. MWAA board members recently elected Curto as their 2012 chair. Curto’s employer, Patton Boggs, has received between $1.25 million and $1.44 million per year since 2005 from Martire’s employer, LiUNA, according to recent union financial disclosure reports filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. Curto’s bio says he is a member of the firm’s Management Committee and head of the firm’s ERISA and Employee Benefits practice, representing corporate, nonprofit and government sponsors of pension and welfare benefit plans, including the type of union Taft-Hartley pension plans contractors would be forced to pay into under this PLA.

Curto introduced the PLA resolution, and Martire and Curto advocated for the resolution at the April, 6 2011, MWAA board meeting. Curto and Martire sit on the MWAA committees in charge of implementing the Phase 2 PLA, which is to be authorized by MWAA’s CEO and director. Both Curto and Martire voted for the resolution on April 6, 2011, when it passed 11-2. Both spoke to other MWAA board members and staff in support of this measure outside of MWAA meetings.

Martire authored this paper encouraging the use of government-mandated PLAs.

Despite all of these direct and indirect conflicts of interest, MWAA continues to defend Martire’s advocacy of a government-mandated PLA and denies he violated MWAA’s code of ethical responsibilities.

As the evidence demonstrates, at the very least, Martire should have excused himself from engaging in this decision, as this self-dealing undermines the public trust given to MWAA. MWAA should reveal to the public documents exonerating Martire and Curto from any wrongdoing.

Recent efforts to reform the MWAA board and an ongoing U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General audit of MWAA may prevent future ethical conflicts, but the damage is already done.

Taxpayers Benefit From Free and Open Competition
Taxpayers win with open competition free from anti-competitive and costly PLA mandates. Just look at taxpayer-funded projects free from government-mandated PLAs like the Wilson Bridge, the post- 9/11 renovations to the Pentagon, the Air Force memorial and many other high-profile projects in Virginia and the Washington, D.C. metro area.

The Commonwealth of Virginia, Loudoun County and Fairfax County would benefit from knowing the final terms and conditions of the Phase 2 PLA and its impact on competition and cost before agreeing to fund this project. Phase 2 of the Silver Line already has the potential to be Virginia’s Big Dig. Why not take the appropriate measures to protect taxpayers, create jobs for Virginians, increase competition, reduce costs and eradicate corruption at MWAA by ditching this dreadful PLA mandate policy?

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 union hiring hall? What kind of thinking leads a representative of the People to require workers to pay initiation fees and dues to a union as a condition of working on a public project? What kind of community leader wants to build four taxpayer-funded schools for the cost of five, in order to curry favor with a special interest group?

Project Labor Agreements are associated with fiscal irresponsibility and mismanagement, internal corruption, and lack of accountability to the people who pay taxes for the government to provide services. Citizens abdicate their responsibilities to oversee their local governments. As a result, unions fill the resulting political vacuum and attract ambitious people who see unions as a vehicle to attain personal power and position.

Arguments based on reason and common sense have no power in this kind of environment, where only scandals earn public attention.

Today’s Exhibit A is the City of San Fernando, near Los Angeles.

The City of San Fernando was the first municipality in California to require a PLA for all public works projects. On September 19, 2005, the San Fernando City Council voted 5-0 to require all construction contractors to sign a Project Labor Agreement with unions for prime contracts worth $150,000 or more and specialty contracts worth $25,000 or more. These project cost thresholds are unusually low, indicating that representatives of the city made little effort to engage in credible negotiations with union leaders to develop the PLA.

Voting for the PLA in 2005 were council members Julie Ruelas, Nury Martinez, Steven Veres, José Hernández, and Maribel De La Torre. So what happened to them?

San Fernando voters recalled José Hernández and Julie Ruelas on January 13, 2009.

Nury Martinez was elected in 2009 to the board of the Los Angeles Unified School District, with endorsements from the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building & Construction Trades Council and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

Steven Veres was elected in 2011 to the board of the Los Angeles Community College District, with endorsements from the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building & Construction Trades Council and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

Only Maribel De La Torre remains on the San Fernando City Council. At the November 21, 2011 city council meeting, she was entangled in a spectacle that is bizarre, even by California standards.

Meanwhile, the city continues to require its contractors to sign a Project Labor Agreement to work on taxpayer-funded city construction. Business as usual.

Postscript: Today’s Exhibit B on Project Labor Agreements and Moral Breakdown…

Inquiry Targets Two Contractors on L.A. Community Colleges Project – Los Angeles Times – December 1, 2011

“The D.A.’s probe centers on Los Angeles Community College District allegations that the firms submitted fraudulent billings for Mission College work, part of a $5.7-billion construction program.”