Transportation & Infrastructure

ABC Western Pennsylvania President’s Letter Blasts Labor Boss’ Tired Pro-Project Labor Agreement Op-Ed

0 October 14, 2015  Federal Construction, State & Local Construction, Transportation & Infrastructure

On Sunday, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published a strong #NoPLAs letter to the editor by ABC Western Pennsylvania President Pete Gum in response to a pro-project labor agreement (PLA) op-ed submitted by Dennis Martire, vice president and Mid-Atlantic regional manager of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA): Government-mandated project labor agreements are anti-competitive and costly […]

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Project Labor Agreement Failure: Is Seattle’s Tunnel the West Coast’s Big Dig Boondoggle?

0 March 13, 2015  Featured, State & Local Construction, Transportation & Infrastructure

Bad news continues to plague Washington state’s Highway 99 tunnel mega-project underneath Seattle’s downtown waterfront, contradicting a number of key points lawmakers and construction union lobbyists use to sell government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) to owners, taxpayers and the media. It has not been a model government-mandated project labor agreement, as media reports indicate the job […]

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California Gov. Jerry Brown Signs Bill Mandating the Use of PLA

0 October 2, 2014  Transportation & Infrastructure

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) this week signed legislation designed to expedite the construction of a critical water infrastructure project in the Salinas Valley. Unfortunately, provisions in the bill require the authority procuring the project to mandate the use of a wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA). As a result, the local agency has decided […]

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Phase 1 of the Silver Line Opens Tomorrow: Let’s Recap Phase 2’s Project Labor Agreement Controversy

0 July 25, 2014  Featured, Transportation & Infrastructure

Phase 1 of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, commonly known as the Silver Line, opens tomorrow. This milestone is a great opportunity to revisit the project labor agreement (PLA) controversy surrounding Phase 2 of the project. While the final numbers aren’t in yet, Phase 1 cost about $2.9 billion, or $150 million more than initially planned. Phase […]

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California Legislature Poised to Issue First Local PLA Mandate in State History

0 July 14, 2014  State & Local Construction, Transportation & Infrastructure

The California Legislature is set to break new ground and taxpayers should be very concerned. For the first time in state history, the Legislature is posed to require a local government entity to mandate a project labor agreement (PLA) on a local construction project. If Assembly Bill 155, sponsored by Assemblyman Luis Alejo (D), is […]

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Project Labor Agreement Fails On Tappan Zee Bridge Construction; Jobs Outsourced to Robots

1 June 9, 2014  Featured, State & Local Construction, Transportation & Infrastructure

The $3.9 billion project to replace New York’s Tappan Zee Bridge is being built by union labor and robots. The $3.1 billion construction contract is subject to a government-mandated project labor agreement (PLA) pushed by Albany’s pro-union lawmakers and New York Gov. Cuomo (D) because it will result in a huge windfall of political contributions to the Empire […]

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Project Labor Agreement on Seattle Tunnel Mega-Project Fails to Deliver on Many Promises

0 January 23, 2014  Featured, Federal Construction, State & Local Construction, Transportation & Infrastructure

Bad news continues to plague Washington state’s $2 billion Highway 99 tunnel project underneath Seattle’s downtown waterfront, contradicting a number of key points lawmakers and construction unions use to sell government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) to owners, taxpayers and the media. Despite promises by Big Labor and advocates of these union-friendly deals that allegedly prevent costly […]

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They Want it All: Juneau Project without PLA Mandate Disturbs Labor Unions

1 October 22, 2013  State & Local Construction, Transportation & Infrastructure

Construction union bosses in Juneau, Alaska, want all publicly funded projects to be subject to wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA) mandates, and they are not shy about voicing their objections when someone ignores their demands and allows fair and open competition for public projects, as did Juneau Port Director Carl Uchytil. The Associated […]

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Project Labor Agreement on Iowa State Penitentiary Fails to Fulfill Local Hiring Promises

0 October 16, 2013  Featured, State & Local Construction, Transportation & Infrastructure

The Des Moines Register reported the $132 million Iowa State Penitentiary project in Fort Madison, Iowa, has created jobs for a large number of out-of-state union workers, despite promises by advocates of project labor agreements (PLAs) that these union-favoring pacts create jobs primarily for Iowa’s taxpayers and construction workforce (“Many prison project jobs went to non-Iowans,” 10/12/13): “When […]

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