ABC and National Black Chamber of Commerce Form Alliance to Promote Free Enterprise

0 March 11, 2014  Featured

TheTruthAboutPLAs.com readers know The National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) has been a long-time advocate of fair and open competition in government contracting.

Harry Alford, NBCC President and CEO, has been an outspoken critic of President Obama’s pro-project labor agreement (PLA) Executive Order 13502, which encourages federal agencies to require PLAs, on a case-by-case basis, on federal construction projects exceeding $25 million in total costs.  The NBCC has participated in coalitions supporting government neutrality in contracting legislation impacting federal and federally assisted construction contracts. Local NBCC affiliates have also fought state and local PLAs because these union-favoring schemes harm minority-owned firms and skilled tradespeople in the construction industry.

Members of the local and minority contracting community in Jersey CitySeattle, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, New York City,  New Bedford, Detroit, Des Moines, Las Vegas, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Oakland have recently complained about government-mandated PLAs failing to deliver jobs for local and minority contractors and construction workers, despite promises by pro-PLA lawmakers and unions.

The joint resolution discussed in the following news release will strengthen the partnership of advocates fighting anti-competitive, costly and discriminatory PLAs on federal, state and local construction projects funded by taxpayer dollars:

ABC and National Black Chamber of Commerce Form Alliance to Promote Government Neutrality in Contracting

Monday, March 10, 2014 12:19 PM
Contact: Jeff Leieritz (202) 905-2104, [email protected]
For immediate release
March, 10, 2014

Washington, D.C. – Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) and the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) signed a joint resolution March 7, expressing a commitment to promoting fair and open competition on taxpayer-funded construction contracts. The resolution formalizes a long-standing partnership between the organizations who will remain focused on providing value to taxpayers and opportunities for the contracting community by battling government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs), which discourage the vast majority of the construction workforce that chooses not to join a labor union from building our nation’s schools, roads and hospitals.

“ABC is excited to enter into a formal partnership with NBCC so we can continue our work at the local, state and federal levels,” said 2014 ABC National Chairman Dan Brodbeck, president and CEO of Compass Partners, LLC, Brentwood, Tenn. “Our goal is to ensure government neutrality and fairness during the procurement of public construction contracts so that taxpayers get the best bang for their buck. PLAs drive up the cost of taxpayer-funded projects by limiting competition for public works projects to unionized firms that employ just 14.1 percent of the construction workforce. In addition, PLAs prevent the overwhelming majority of qualified merit shop and minority-owned contracting firms, who employ millions of American workers, from competing for these projects unless they sign a union agreement.”

“The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was implemented into the construction industry in 1973,” said NBCC President and CEO Harry C. Alford. “Our former Chairman, Dr. Arthur Fletcher, was in charge of that implementation. Every industry except the unionized construction industry is in compliance with this important law. The time has come to enforce implementation by construction unions in the name of liberty and the tenants of our great constitution. Discrimination is a job killer and a parasite on our economy.”

The resolution will lead to enhanced coordination between ABC and NBCC in promoting free enterprise and open competition within the public works sector of the construction industry. The groups will share resources to combat political, legal, regulatory and legislative initiatives that promote discriminatory union-favoring PLAs and limit nonunion contractors’ abilities to bid on projects.

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Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national construction industry trade association representing 22,000 chapter members. Founded on the merit shop philosophy, ABC and its 70 chapters help members develop people, win work and deliver that work safely, ethically and profitably for the betterment of the communities in which they work. Visit us at www.abc.org.

The National Black Chamber of Commerce was incorporated in May, 1993. Its mission is to economically empower African American communities through entrepreneurship and free enterprise. America’s capitalistic society is the greatest in the world and every entity of our population should utilize this to the maximum. In 1993 there were 300,000 Black owned businesses doing $33 billion in revenue. Today, there are 1.9 million businesses doing $138 billion in sales (US Census Bureau). We have come a long way but there are many miles yet to go. Visit them at www.nationalbcc.org.

Link to Joint Resolution.

 

Capture of NBCC ABC NoPLAs Joint Resolution

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