PLAs | The Truth About PLAs

House Defends Principles of Fair and Open Competition with Passage of Amendment Restricting Government-Mandated PLAs on NDAA Authorized Projects

May 21, 2012 – 12:23 pm

It was a historic week for the merit shop contracting community in the U.S. House of Representatives. Thursday, by a bipartisan vote of 211 to 209, the House passed an amendment offered by Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) and cosponsored by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2013 [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged AGC, American Council of Engineering Companies, Business Coalition for Fair Competition (BCFC), Construction Industry Round Table, Executive Order 13502, Federal Construction, Federal Contracting, House PLA Votes, Independent Electrical Contractors, Merit Elevator Contractors Association of America, National Association of Women in Construction, National Black Chamber of Commerce, National Federation of Independent Business, National Right to Work, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, President Obama, Project Labor Agreements, Rep. Flake, Rep. Gingrey, Rep. Guinta, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, Rep. Tim Walberg, Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, Sullivan, The Politics of PLAs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Union-only PLAs harm local workers, Women Construction Owners and Executives | Comments (3)

U.S. House Appropriations Committee Passes Amendment Restoring Fair and Open Competition on MilCon/VA Construction Contracts

May 16, 2012 – 6:36 pm

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations on May 16 passed an amendment via voice vote to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon/VA) Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2013 that prevents federal agencies from requiring contractors to sign anti-competitive and costly project labor agreements (PLAs) as a condition of winning federal construction contracts. [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged AGC, American Council of Engineering Companies, Business Coalition for Fair Competition (BCFC), Construction Industry Round Table, Executive Order 13502, Federal Construction, Federal Contracting, House PLA Votes, Independent Electrical Contractors, Merit Elevator Contractors Association of America, National Association of Women in Construction, National Black Chamber of Commerce, National Federation of Independent Business, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, Rep. Flake, Rep. LaTourette, Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Women Construction Owners and Executives | Comments (0)

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 $16 Billion in the Red

May 13, 2012 – 9:50 am

While many states have found ways to balance their budgets, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) reported yesterday that California has a $16 billion mid-budget cycle deficit. Nearly all 50 states, including California, are required to balance their budgets, so this news will likely trigger some combination of spending cuts and significant tax increases. Here are [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 20 in 2010, ABC California, Ballot Initiative, California, Chula Vista, Fresno, Gov. Brown, local legislation, Oceanside, PLAs, PLAs Cut Competition, Sacramento, San Diego, San Diego County, State Legislation | Comments (0)

Prop. A Face-off on KPBS in San Diego

May 11, 2012 – 4:25 pm

Must see video from San Diego. Eric Christen, executive director of the Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction (CFEC) recently debated former San Diego City Council Member Donna Frye on the merits of Proposition A, which would ban government-mandated project labor agreements on city funded projects. To learn more, visit their website www.fairandopencompetition.com or their [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC California, Ballot Initiative, California, Chula Vista, PLA Video, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, Project Labor Agreements, San Diego, San Diego County, Union-only PLAs harm local workers | 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)

Virginia Passes Law Curtailing Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreement Schemes

April 24, 2012 – 9:54 am

In a win for taxpayers and Virginia’s merit shop construction industry, on April 9, Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) signed the Fair and Open Competition in Government Contracting Act (HB 33) into law. H.B. 33 prohibits the Commonwealth of Virginia and recipients of state assistance from mandating project labor agreements (PLAs) and enacting PLA preferences discriminating [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC Virginia, Barbara Comstock, Dennis Martire, Dulles Transit Partners, Fair and Open Competition in Government Contracting Act (HB 33), Fairfax County, Gov. McDonnell, local hire, Loudoun County, Metro Washington Airport Authority, Michael Curto, MWAA, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, Ray LaHood, Silver Line, State Legislation, The Politics of PLAs, Tim Hugo, Union-only PLAs harm local workers, Virginia, Virginia Chamber of Commerce | Comments (1)

The Dismal Future of Construction Industry Multiemployer Pension Plans

April 23, 2012 – 2:53 am

Construction unions attempt to entice merit shop craftspeople and new industry entrants into joining a union with promises of generous pension plans. They also convince elected officials in charge of procuring taxpayer-funded projects why union contractors and union workers deserve special treatment through various schemes like government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) because of the public [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Credit Suisse, featured, Pension Withdrawal Liability, pensions, PGBC, PLAs, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, President Obama, Project Labor Agreements, The Politics of PLAs, Union-only PLAs harm local workers, Wall Street Journal | Comments (0)

Idaho Legislature Shows Commitment to Taxpayer Value; Rejects Federal District Court’s Decision

April 19, 2012 – 12:05 pm

Last week, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter (R) signed S.B. 1337, which is the legislature’s second attempt to ban wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA) mandates on taxpayer-funded construction. The prior piece of legislation (S.B. 1006 of 2011) Gov. Otter signed on March 3, 2011 to ban these taxpayer-funded handouts was invalidated in December 2011 [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Executive Order 13202, Gov. Terry Branstad, Idaho, Iowa, Lawsuit, Michigan, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, Project Labor Agreements, State Executive Order, State Legislation | Comments (0)

GSA Wasted Millions on Union Handout: Where’s the Outrage?

April 10, 2012 – 1:30 pm

Eight senior U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) officials have been disciplined, fired or forced to resign since last Monday’s release of a scathing report by GSA Inspector General (IG) Brian Miller, whose staff spent a year reviewing waste, fraud and abuse related to $823,000 in spending to entertain 300 GSA employees at a regional conference held at [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1800 F Street, Executive Order 13502, Federal Construction, Federal Contracting, GSA, Lafayette Building, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Increase Costs, President Obama, Project Labor Agreements, Susan Brita | Comments (8)