89 Miles for Worker Freedom
A truly remarkable grassroots effort is underway in York, PA.
After witnessing the impact that wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) have on his employer and the construction industry in Pennsylvania, and angered by federal and state policies promoting the use of PLAs on taxpayer-funded work, John Falk decided it was time to take action.
Falk began circulating a petition urging Congress to overturn President Obama’s pro-PLA Executive Order 13502 and enact legislation to guarantee fair and open competition on federally supported construction. He plans to WALK from York, Pa. to the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. to hand deliver the petition to his member of Congress.
That’s right, walk. He plans to start this Friday, Sept. 17 with a send-off event in York, PA. The map of his route is available here.
This effort is nothing short of inspiring. Mr. Falk is availing himself of a basic America right, the right to petition his government for the redress of grievances. He works in an industry that is already facing high unemployment and economic uncertainty, and he knows that public policy promoting PLAs stands to make things worse.
Additionally, after reviewing his website, it is clear that Falk understands the inherent unfairness of PLAs. These Big Labor handouts funnel taxpayer-funded projects to one special interest group at the expense of the 85 percent of the construction workforce that chooses not to join a labor union.
A website dedicated to Mr. Falk’s journey was launched this week. It tells his story, will chronicle his progress and gives people the opportunity to add their name to his petition. This site is available at www.89milesforfreedom.com.
There is also a Facebook page for this effort, which is available here. We strongly encourage you to visit the website, “like” the Facebook page and send this information out to your contacts. The main website is really well done and people still have the opportunity to sign the petition through the site.
The walk is scheduled to begin this Friday in York, PA. Again, the route is available on his website at http://89milesforfreedom.com/where/.
Bravo Mr. Falk, bravo!
We’ll also be following his progress on TheTruthAboutPLAa. Please check back for updates starting tomorrow.