Vigorous Debate Expected Between Top California Spokespeople For and Against Project Labor Agreements
Eric Christen, executive director for the Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction, will face off against Lorena Gonzalez, secretary-treasurer of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, in a radio debate on San Diego County’s Proposition A on Thursday, October 14 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Eric Christen will be speaking in support of […]
Momentum Builds for Passage of Proposition A in San Diego County
San Diego County voters are preparing to vote YES on Proposition A, which would amend the county charter to prohibit the county government from entering into contracts that require construction companies to sign Project Labor Agreements with unions. On October 9, the San Diego Union-Tribune noted that Proposition A “might be the easiest decision on […]
Candidates Opposed to Project Labor Agreements Win Key Endorsements in Riverside County, California
The Riverside Press-Enterprise newspaper published an editorial (“3 for RCC,” 9/21/10) endorsing three candidates (two incumbents and a candidate running for an open seat) for the board of trustees of the Riverside Community College District, which serves residents of Riverside County, California. The editorial explicitly connected its endorsements to the “fiscal sobriety” of these three […]
San Diego County Voters Will Have Chance to Ban PLAs on County Construction Projects
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted on July 13 to “put the people in charge” and “give voters a voice” by placing a measure (now designated as Proposition A) on the November 2 ballot that would amend the county’s charter to prohibit the county from entering into contracts that require contractors to sign […]
Sacramento Publically-Owned Utility Lets Staff Make Key Contracting Decisions – Including PLA Mandates – with No Board or Ratepayer Scrutiny
Last night (September 2), the board of directors of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) had an unexpected and unscheduled hour-long inquiry into its contracting practices, including district mandates for contractors to sign project labor agreements (PLAs) with unions in order to work on two specific large projects. We learned that the elected board of […]
Yet Another California County Bans Project Labor Agreements
A third county in California has now prohibited project labor agreements (PLAs) on taxpayer-funded construction projects. On a 3-2 vote on August 24, the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution adding a provision to its contracting policies that states “the County shall not require a contractor on a County public project to execute […]
People vs. Unions: Struggling for Open Competition in California
FOX News’ Special Report with Bret Baier is the latest to cover the grassroots effort to bring quality and accountability to taxpayer-funded construction by preventing the use of government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) in California. Here is the video from the July 21 edition of Special Report: The FOX News Liveshots blog also covered this […]
Chula Vista and Oceanside Reject Big Labor Handouts: Proposition G and Measure K Overwhelmingly Approved
Voters in Chula Vista, Calif., and Oceanside, Calif., approved ballot initiatives that prohibit local entities from requiring project labor agreements (PLAs) on city-funded construction projects. Chula Vista and Oceanside join the City of Fresno, Orange County and San Diego County in prohibiting PLAs on locally funded work. These two initiatives mark the first time voters […]
Chula Vista and Oceanside Fair and Open Competition Ballot Initiative Update
Voters in both the City of Oceanside and Chula Vista, California each had the opportunity to put an end to the use of wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) on construction projects funded by their cities yesterday. While there are no official results yet, early returns indicate that voters in both cities said NO […]
Election Day in California
Today, the citizens of Chula Vista and Oceanside, California will have an opportunity to vote on two measures – Proposition G in Chula Vista and Measure K in Oceanside – that will end the kind of backroom deals that leave taxpayers paying for four bridges, schools and roads for the price of five. As we […]