Stanislaus County Supervisors Vote to Approve Open Competition Ordinance

1 July 12, 2011  State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

Today, the elected Board of Supervisors for Stanislaus County, Calif., voted 5-0 for a Fair and Open Competition ordinance. This will be the eighth local government in California to ensure taxpayers get the best quality construction at the best price by banning government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on county-funded construction projects.

Lawmakers at all levels of government are starting to see the negative impact of these Big Labor handouts and are voting to ensure value on taxpayer-funded construction. The people of Stanislaus County deserve the best construction at the best price and their local elected officials seem to be doing everything they can to make this a reality.

Stanislaus is the eighth local jurisdiction in California to ban government-mandated PLAs and joins the nine states (soon to be 11) to do so overall. This list includes the cities of Chula Vista and Oceanside and San Diego County, where voters overwhelmingly approved ballot initiatives banning government-mandated PLAs.

A list of all of the state and local jurisdictions to ban government-mandated PLAs is available here.

Back to Stanislaus County. We also think it is important to bring some attention to interesting facts that came to light in The Modesto Bee’s reporting on June 29 after the first of two votes necessary to enact the ordinance.

Rules for Labor Ignite a Debate with Stanislaus Supervisors

The strong objections of union officials clearly indicate their interest in pressuring the county to require contractors to sign PLAs. In fact, the head of the local building trades council claimed to already have been involved in 10 negotiations for project labor agreements. The supervisors’ decision to ban government-mandated PLAs on county-funded construction will have an immediate impact for taxpayers.

Here is the Associated Builders and Contractors Golden Gate Chapter’s press release:

Stanislaus County Protects Fair and Open Competition for Local Taxpayers

Today, Stanislaus County became the 8th local government in California to prohibit the use of union-exclusive Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) on public projects funded by taxpayers. The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to enact a Fair and Open Competition ordinance that will maximize its taxpayer dollars by using the most qualified contractors at the best price. Stanislaus County is the 4th county in California to enact a Fair and Open Competition ordinance following the 2nd and 3rd largest counties of Orange and San Diego and also Placer County.

“Today is a great day for Stanislaus County. No longer will Project Labor Agreements stifle the opportunity for local contractors to bid work. I encourage all local governments in Stanislaus County and the Central Valley to join the 8 local governments in California and 9 states in enacting a Fair and Open Competition ordinance,” said Gary Amerine, longtime President of Amerine Systems, Inc. located in Oakdale.

For more information about how to enact a Fair and Open Competition ordinance, contact [email protected].

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Nicole Goehring is the Government Affairs Director of Associated Builders and Contractors Golden Gate Chapter. Visit www.thetruthaboutplas.com for the latest news, facts, studies and current information about PLAs before you make any decisions to limit competition for public contracts.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national association with 75 chapters representing more than 23,000 merit shop construction and construction-related firms with nearly two million employees. Visit us at www.abcggc.org or www.thetruthaboutplas.org

Merit Shop is a way of doing business in which companies reward employees based on performance and encourage them to reach their highest level of achievement, and in which contracts are awarded based on safety, quality, and value, regardless of labor affiliation.

 

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One Response to Stanislaus County Supervisors Vote to Approve Open Competition Ordinance

Scott July 13, 2011 at 2:26 pm

Thank you to the Board of Supervisors for using common sense and protecting the taxpayers!

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