January 20, 2012 – 12:26 pm
This week the Obama administration killed Phase 3 and Phase 4 of TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline project (for now), which would have connected Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the existing pipeline to new pipeline that would carry crude oil 1,600 miles from Alberta, Canada, to Gulf Coast refineries. The State Department’s denial of the [...]
January 18, 2012 – 3:43 pm
State and local leaders continue to say NO to wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA) mandates. The latest to do so is Anne Arundel County, MD, where local leaders adopted a ban on government-mandated PLAs on January 17. Maryland joins California, Texas and Pennsylvania as states in which local government entities have approved [...]
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
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Posted in Uncategorized
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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
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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
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Posted in Uncategorized
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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
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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
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Posted in Uncategorized
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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
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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
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Posted in Uncategorized
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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
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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
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Posted in Uncategorized
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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
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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
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Posted in Uncategorized
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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
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December 1, 2011 – 11:04 am
Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter issued Executive Order 15-11 on Nov. 29, 2011, re-establishing the use of anti-competitive and costly union-favoring government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on city projects costing more than $5 million. According to Philly’s press release, the order does not mandate PLAs on all projects, but it creates a PLA evaluation procedure that opens the door [...]
By Ben Brubeck
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Posted in Uncategorized
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Tagged Executive Order, local legislation, Mayor Nutter, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Convention Center, Philadelphia Inquirer, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Discriminate, Project Labor Agreements, The Politics of PLAs, Union-only PLAs harm local workers
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October 5, 2011 – 10:48 am
TheTruthAboutPLAs.com has been reporting for weeks about the perils of SB 922 and other California legislation catering to Big Labor’s special interests by promoting anti-competitive and costly government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs). After sailing through the California legislature via a deceptive gut and amend legislative vehicle originally about tuberculosis screening, Governor Jerry Brown (D) signed SB 922 [...]
By Ben Brubeck
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Posted in Uncategorized
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Tagged ABC California, Ballot Initiative, California, Chula Vista, Editorial, Fox News, Fresno, Gov. Brown, local legislation, Oceanside, Orange County, Palmdale Water District, PLA Video, Placer County, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, Proposition A, Sacramento, San Diego, San Diego County, SB 922, Stanislaus County, State Legislation, The Politics of PLAs, Wall Street Journal
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