The Top 10 Stories of 2012
Happy New Year from TheTruthAboutPLAs.com In 2012, construction industry advocates of fair and open competition in public contracting defied a difficult political environment and economy to create more opportunities for qualified merit shop contractors and their skilled employees. President Obama’s Feb. 6, 2009, Executive Order 13502 encouraging federal agencies to mandate project labor agreements (PLAs) [...]
First Project under Prince George’s County’s New Pro-PLA Policy a Disaster
Prince George’s County’s first attempt to implement a wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA) mandate under a November 15, 2011, policy (read the Prince George’s County press release on the policy here) is poised to be a costly disaster for county residents. Bids have been submitted for a fire station construction project in Brandywine, Md., [...]
Investor’s Business Daily Editorial: Peace for PLA is Big Labor’s Implicit Threat Behind Promotion of Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements
An Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) editorial exposes the truth about government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) and chronicles political efforts to restrict and impose PLA mandates in California, Virginia, New Hampshire and San Diego on local, state and federal construction projects (“Public Wakes Up To Unions’ PLA Power Play,” 6/14/12). Enjoy this excelent editorial (my emphasis in bold): Unions: [...]
MWAA Drops Discriminatory PLA Preference Policy on Phase 2 of Silver Line Metrorail Project
Today the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) voted 11-1 to remove the union-favoring project labor agreement (PLA) preference policy on Phase 2 of the Silver Line expansion to Dulles International Airport. Dropping the PLA preference policy will ensure fair and open competition for construction contracts on this important $2.7 billion project. Now that the PLA [...]
Virginia Passes Law Curtailing Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreement Schemes
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 [...]
Airport Authority Continues Big Labor Favors on Dulles Metro Silver Line
Last week, the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (MWAA) gave Big Labor Bosses a generous Valentine’s Day gift. On Wednesday, MWAA passed a resolution adopting a new policy needlessly favoring contractors that submit proposals promising to use a union project labor agreement (PLA) to construct Phase 2 of the $2.8 billion Silver Line metro extension project [...]
Virginia Construction Industry Supports Legislation Ensuring Fair and Open Competition On Public Construction Contracts
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 [...]
Is Phase 2 of the Dulles Metrorail Silver Line Subject to a Government-Mandated Union Project Labor Agreement?
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 [...]
MWAA Officials Understimate Economic Impact of Phase 2 PLA
In July, the TruthAboutPLAs.com wrote about correspondence and public statements from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) officials indicating they do not fully understand the potential negative economic impact of its April 6 resolution mandating a union-favoring project labor agreement (PLA) contractors are required to agree to in order to win construction contracts on the $3.5 billion Phase 2 [...]
MWAA Officials Overlook Cause of Potential Phase 2 Project Labor Agreement Cost Increases
Recent correspondence from Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) officials indicate that despite months of education and discussion with local stakeholders and the business community, MWAA does not fully understand the potential negative economic impact of its April 6 resolution mandating a union-favoring project labor agreement (PLA) that contractors are required to agree to in order [...]