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 […]
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 […]
A Genuine California Union Conspiracy: Senate Bill 790 and the California Building Trades Council’s Ratepayer-Funded Political Slush Fund
In California, a mini-public relations campaign is underway to defend Senate Bill 790, a bill now at Governor Jerry Brown’s desk dealing with “community choice aggregation” for electric consumers. Defenders of the bill are trying to downplay an obscure but controversial unrelated provision attached to the end of the bill that allows public utilities to […]
Fair and Open Competition Measure Easily Qualifies for Ballot in City of San Diego
The San Diego City Clerk announced late this afternoon that a proposed ballot measure for a Fair and Open Competition ordinance easily qualified for the next city election ballot. The well-organized, experienced campaign executive committee of local business owners and association representatives submitted their petitions on September 2, well ahead of the deadline, with far […]
California Bills Designed to Turn Back the Will of the Voters Reach Gov. Jerry Brown’s Desk
With two of the three bills designed to kill California voters’ rebellion against project labor agreements (PLAs) reaching Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk on Friday afternoon, this is a good opportunity to again urge Gov. Brown to veto this obvious and appalling handout to Big Labor. This is also a good opportunity to review the numerous […]
Unions Unveil Last-Minute Legislative Schemes in California to End Local Fair and Open Competition Policies and Promote Project Labor Agreements
On the afternoon of September 2 – the Friday before Labor Day weekend – the California State Building and Construction Trades Council finally revealed its plot to terminate local efforts throughout the state to guarantee the best quality construction at the best price for taxpayers. Bills in the California State Legislature were “gutted and amended” […]
San Diego County Voters Overwhelmingly Approve Ban on Project Labor Agreements
Voters in San Diego County (the fifth most populous county in the country) approved Proposition A by a whopping 75.67 percent of the vote according to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters website. Prop A- SAN DIEGO COUNTY CH. Amdmt. Fair-Open Competition YES 443,314 75.67% NO 142,534 24.33% This ballot measure amends the San Diego […]
San Diego Voters Have the Chance to End Taxpayer-funded Handouts
San Diego County voters have the chance to end taxpayer-funded handouts to Big Labor today, as Proposition A is on the ballot for voters to consider. Proposition A would solidify a ban on government-mandated project labor agreements on county-supported projects. More information on Proposition A is available in our earlier posts. Also, check out ABC […]
Palmdale Water District (in Los Angeles County) Votes to Ban Project Labor Agreements
Tonight (Wednesday, October 27, 2010), the Palmdale Water District in northern Los Angeles County became the seventh local government in California and the first water district in California where fair and open competition for ratepayers is guaranteed and project labor agreements (PLAs) are prohibited. On a 3-2 vote, the elected board of directors adopted a resolution to […]
San Diego’s Major Newspaper Reports on Proposition A to Prohibit Project Labor Agreements
The October 26, 2010 San Diego Union-Tribune reports on the issues concerning Proposition A, a measure on the November 2, 2010 ballot that would amend the charter (constitution) of San Diego County to prohibit the county from entering into contracts that require its construction contractors to sign project labor agreements (PLAs) with construction unions. The article […]