Op-Ed: Gov’s Insistence on PLAs Excludes Majority of State’s Skilled Labor
The controversy over Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s (D) decision to require contractors to sign a wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA) as a condition of performing work on the $285 million reconstruction of I-95’s Whittier Bridge continued to attract attention and remind Bostonians of past PLA failures in their community this week. Greg Beeman, president of […]
TheTruthAboutPLAs.com Gets a Facelift
Since our inaugural post in April 2009, TheTruthAboutPLAs.com has provided taxpayers and the merit shop contracting community with 683 posts of new content, fresh research and reliable analysis on anti-competitive and costly project labor agreements (PLAs) mandated on federal, state and local construction projects by wayward lawmakers.
That’s a lot of wear and tear, so TheTruthAboutPLAs.com needed a facelift.
We hope you like the new look. Our goal is to provide visitors with the same informative content but with a new user-friendly experience. The updated layout and feel allows users to browse the latest blog posts; sort information based on topic area; and see the most common arguments against PLA mandates so you can promote the benefits of fair and open competition when educating lawmakers, the media and neighbors about the negative impact these special interest schemes have on your community.
Kansas Becomes 14th State to Guarantee Fair and Open Competition
On May 25, Gov. Sam Brownback signed H.B. 2157, which bans government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on state and local construction projects in Kansas. Enactment of this law brings the number of states that have banned PLA mandates on state-funded projects to 14 and makes Kansas the 10th state to do so since January 2011. […]
U.S. House Appropriations Committee Passes Amendment Restoring Fair and Open Competition on MilCon/VA Construction Contracts
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations on May 16 passed an amendment via voice vote to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon/VA) Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2013 that prevents federal agencies from requiring contractors to sign anti-competitive and costly project labor agreements (PLAs) as a condition of winning federal construction contracts. […]
San Diego Union-Tribune: Vote for Prop. A – Don’t Let Bullies Win
The editorial staff of the San Diego Union-Tribune Saturday announced their support for Proposition A, which would ban government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on city funded construction projects in San Diego. This support comes despite union claims that if Proposition A is adopted, the city risks losing future state construction funding due to a new […]
California $16 Billion in the Red
While many states have found ways to balance their budgets, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) reported yesterday that California has a $16 billion mid-budget cycle deficit. Nearly all 50 states, including California, are required to balance their budgets, so this news will likely trigger some combination of spending cuts and significant tax increases. Here are […]
Prop. A Face-off on KPBS in San Diego
Must see video from San Diego. Eric Christen, executive director of the Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction (CFEC) recently debated former San Diego City Council Member Donna Frye on the merits of Proposition A, which would ban government-mandated project labor agreements on city funded projects. To learn more, visit their website www.fairandopencompetition.com or their […]
Oklahoma Becomes 13th State to Ban PLA Mandates; State Leaders Continue to Stand Up for Free Enterprise
On April 25, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed H.B. 3043, which bans wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA) mandates on taxpayer-funded construction in the state. Oklahoma is the ninth state to ban these Big Labor handouts since January 2011, and the 13th state to do so overall. While Oklahoma does not have […]
California Lawmakers Pay Back Their Big Labor Allies, Take Steps to Deprive Charter Cities of Local Control
Elected officials in California have again taken their focus away from solving the troubled state’s problems to give a handout to their Big Labor enablers. From 2000 to 2011, the merit shop construction community helped local leaders and voters across the state understand that government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) deprive taxpayers of the opportunity to […]
Boston Globe: Patrick Shouldn’t Bar Non-Union Workers on Longfellow Bridge
Two taxpayer-funded bridge projects in Mass. illustrates the stark contrast between the benefits of fair and open competition versus anti-competitive and costly government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) advanced by well-connected special interests.