School Construction | The Truth About PLAs

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)

On the Money: Sacramento CBS Affiliate Breaks Down the Added Cost of PLAs

November 1, 2011 – 6:01 pm

In their “On the Money” segment, Sacramento’s CBS affiliate exposes what PLA mandates on school construction mean for taxpayers. Government-mandated PLAs have a negative impact on local construction workers and taxpayers. These special interest handouts to Big Labor line the pockets of union bosses at the expense of average Americans. Californians throughout the state have [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC California, Ballot Initiative, California, Chula Vista, Kevin Dayton, local legislation, Oceanside, PLA Video, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Increase Costs, Sacramento, Sacramento City Unified School District, Sacramento Regional Transit (RT) District Board of Directors, San Diego, School Construction, State Legislation, Union-only PLAs harm local workers | 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)

California Bills Designed to Turn Back the Will of the Voters Reach Gov. Jerry Brown’s Desk

September 19, 2011 – 4:14 pm

With two of the three bills designed to kill California voters’ rebellion against project labor agreements (PLAs) reaching Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk on Friday afternoon, this is a good opportunity to again urge Gov. Brown to veto this obvious and appalling handout to Big Labor. This is also a good opportunity to review the numerous [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 20 in 2010, 2010 Election, ABC California, Ballot Initiative, California, Chula Vista, Editorial, Greenmail, Kevin Dayton, local legislation, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, San Diego, SB 922, School Construction, State Legislation, The Politics of PLAs, Union-only PLAs harm local workers | Comments (1)

California Governor Jerry Brown Will Decide Fate of Local Voter Rebellions Against Project Labor Agreements

September 15, 2011 – 3:14 pm

The California legislature has approved and sent to Governor Jerry Brown three bills that construction union lobbyists are demanding in their quest to use the power of government to gain greater control over taxpayer-funded construction projects. These are Senate Bill 922, Assembly Bill 436, and Senate Bill 790. Receiving the most attention is Senate Bill [...]

By Kevin Dayton | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC California, Ballot Initiative, California, Chula Vista, Contra Costa Times, Kevin Dayton, Merced Sun-Star, Modesto Bee, North County Times, Oakland Tribune, Oceanside, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, Sacramanto Bee, Sacramento, Sacramento Bee, San Diego, SB 922, School Construction, State Legislation | Comments (0)

Strong Opposition Quickly Emerges to Union-Backed California Bills Suppressing Local Project Labor Agreement Bans

September 9, 2011 – 11:59 am

California State Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John Perez took a bill about tuberculosis screening (Senate Bill 922) on the afternoon of Friday, September 2 and turned it into a bill that nullifies current and future Project Labor Agreement bans at local governments and cuts off state funds for charter cities that [...]

By Kevin Dayton | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC California, Ballot Initiative, California, Chula Vista, Editorial, Kevin Dayton, Letter to the Editor, Oceanside, Op-Ed, PLA Video, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Sacramanto Bee, Sacramento, San Diego, San Diego Union Tribune, SB 922, School Construction, State Legislation, The Politics of PLAs, The Sacramento News & Review | Comments (1)

Unions Unveil Last-Minute Legislative Schemes in California to End Local Fair and Open Competition Policies and Promote Project Labor Agreements

September 6, 2011 – 8:04 am

On the afternoon of September 2 – the Friday before Labor Day weekend – the California State Building and Construction Trades Council finally revealed its plot to terminate local efforts throughout the state to guarantee the best quality construction at the best price for taxpayers. Bills in the California State Legislature were “gutted and amended” [...]

By Kevin Dayton | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 20 in 2010, ABC California, Ballot Initiative, California, Chula Vista, City of Los Angeles, Greenmail, Kevin Dayton, local legislation, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Oceanside, Open Competition, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, PLAs Discriminate, PLAs Increase Costs, Prop G, Prop K, Proposition A, San Diego, San Diego County Taxpayers Association, San Gabriel Unified School District, SavePropS.com, SB 922, School Construction, State Legislation, Union-only PLAs harm local workers, Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District | Comments (2)

Project Labor Agreements on California School Construction Raise Costs up to 15 Percent, Study Says

July 27, 2011 – 5:40 pm

According to a new study released by the National University System Institute for Policy Research (NUSIPR), California school construction projects built using project labor agreements (PLAs) experienced increased costs of 13 percent to 15 percent, or $28.90 to $32.49 per square foot, compared to projects that did not use a PLA. Measuring the Cost of [...]

By Ben Brubeck | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC-CCC, California, Direct Mail, National University System Institute for Policy Research (NUSIPR), Op-Ed, PLA Study, PLAs, PLAs Increase Costs, Project Labor Agreements, Sacramanto Bee, Sacramento, School Construction | Comments (0)

San Diego Unified School District PLA Fails to Meet Local Hiring Goals

July 11, 2011 – 1:13 pm

Longtime readers of this blog remember that a PLA requirement was adopted by the San Diego Unified School District for all projects funded by Proposition S, a $2.1 billion voter-approved school construction bond. We have already seen this PLA requirement lead to expensive cost increases. Media reports now find that projects covered by the PLA [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ABC California, Ballot Initiative, California, Chula Vista, local hire, Oceanside, San Diego, SavePropS.com, School Construction, Union-only PLAs harm local workers | Comments (1)

Indiana House Democrats Blocking Open Competition for Public Construction

March 14, 2011 – 6:32 pm

While much of the national media attention has focused on Wisconsin, lawmakers in Indiana have also fled across state lines to keep the newly elected majority in the state House of Representatives from having the opportunity to conduct the people’s business. In Indiana, the Democrats initially left town over proposed Right-to-Work legislation, which would have [...]

By Andy Conlin | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Indiana, Indianapolis, Op-Ed, PLAs, PLAs are political payoffs to union leaders, PLAs Cut Competition, Right to Work, School Construction, State Legislation, The Politics of PLAs, Union-only PLAs harm local workers, Wisconsin | Comments (0)