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Merit Shop Firms Collaborate to Deliver $1.4 billion Federal Project to USACE Without Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreement
The joint venture of Balfour Beatty Construction and Clark Construction on the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Campus East Headquarters at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, epitomizes successful partnering and delivery of a complicated large-scale federal construction project. These merit shop titans collaborated to build the largest U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) project since the Pentagon and […]
Project Labor Agreements Raise Costs on Ohio Schools 13 Percent, Study Finds
A study by the Beacon Hill Institute has shown that when mandated by the government on taxpayer-funded construction projects, project labor agreements (PLAs) increase the costs of construction 13.12 percent. The study examined 88 schools across Ohio that were built since 2000 and found government-mandated PLAs cost $23.12 per square foot more (13.12 percent) than projects built […]
2017 Update: ABC’s Fight Against Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements
In 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order 13502, which encourages federal agencies to mandate project labor agreements (PLAs) on large-scale federal construction projects exceeding $25 million in total cost on a case-by-case basis. Many merit shop advocates of fair and open competition predicted the order would steer billions of dollars’ worth of federal construction contracts to […]
ABC’s Fight Against Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements Produces Impressive Results
In 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order 13502, which encourages federal agencies to mandate project labor agreements (PLAs) on large-scale federal construction projects exceeding $25 million in total cost on a case-by-case basis. Many merit shop advocates of fair and open competition predicted the order would steer billions of dollars’ worth of federal construction contracts to […]
U.S. Department of Labor Job Corps Center Opening Demonstrates Value Of Open Competition
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of its $32 million Job Corps Center in Manchester, N.H. The on-time and on-budget delivery of the federal project is a reminder of the benefits of fair and open competition, free from anti-competitive and costly union-favoring project labor agreement (PLA) mandates. TheTruthAboutPLAs.com readers […]
Victory in Idaho: Appeals Court Upholds Idaho Law Protecting Fair and Open Competition on Public Construction Projects
Big news out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit: Idaho’s law restricting state agencies or political subdivisions from requiring contractors to enter into project labor agreements (PLAs) as a condition of performing public work stands. There are no legal challenges against any of the enacted 23 state anti-PLA mandate laws or executive […]
NYC Union Strike Shuts Down Project Labor Agreement Jobsites Again
Earlier this month, New York City jobsites were shut down after unions failed to honor their project labor agreement’s (PLA) no-strike promise. It is at least the third time since 2011 various NYC unions blatantly violated no-strike provisions in controversial PLAs, which steer construction contracts to unionized contractors and provide jobs exclusively for union members […]
Federal Court Upholds Louisiana Law Prohibiting Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements
Another union-backed legal challenge to a state law protecting fair and open competition for taxpayer-funded construction contracts has failed. It is another big win for free enterprise and builds on existing case law permitting states to restrict these crony contracting schemes. A federal court in the Eastern District of Louisiana May 27 ruled that Louisiana’s […]
Election Day Resources from ABCVOTES.ORG
Happy Election Day. Check out ABCVOTES.org for resources to help elect candidates supporting the merit shop contracting community.
ABC Is Still Winning the Fight Against Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements in Federal Contracting
In 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order 13502, which encourages federal agencies to mandate project labor agreements (PLAs) on large-scale federal construction projects exceeding $25 million in total cost on a case-by-case basis. Many merit shop advocates of fair and open competition predicted it would lead to billions of dollars’ worth of federal construction contracts being […]
ABC Members Named to Engineering News-Record’s Top 400 Contractors List
ABC member contractors took 55 out of the top 100 spots on Engineering News-Record’s (ENR) Top 400 Contractors list for 2014, which ranks companies according to 2013 construction revenue in millions of dollars. Proponents of government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) and their pals in government often erroneously claim PLAs are needed to ensure experienced and quality contractors perform public works […]