ABC Members Testify in Support of Legislation Restoring Fairness in Federal Contracting
On June 3, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform Subcommittee held a hearing, “H.R. 735 and Project Labor Agreements: Restoring Competition and Neutrality to Government Construction Projects.” The subcommittee, chaired by Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.), heard testimony about the negative impact of President Obama’s controversial Executive Order 13502 […]
Waterbury Board of Education Gives Taxpayers Half a Loaf of Good Government
In a head fake in the direction of good government, the Waterbury, CT Board of Education rejected proposals requiring contractors to enter into wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) with union bosses on 2 of 3 upcoming school construction projects totaling $105 million in taxpayer funds. Unfortunately, the board did approve a PLA requirement […]
Op-Ed: Labor Agreements Raise Construction Costs
In a guest op-ed published by the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (“Labor Agreements Raise Construction Costs,” 8/28/10), Marci Miller of the Empire State Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors has some thoughts on the impact of wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) on local construction projects. Here are the highlights: Despite some claims to […]
Middletown, NY School Board Rejects Crony Contracts for Future Construction
The Middletown, NY School Board rejected a proposal to require contractors to sign a wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA) in order to work on the upcoming construction of a new elementary school. Here is the coverage from the July 2 edition of the Middletown Times Herald-Record (“School Board Vote Rejects Project Labor Agreement,” […]
Columbus Dispatch Examines Value of PLAs, OSFC Director Loosens Corrupt Grip on Ohio Schools
With Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland’s appointed director of the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC), former Big Labor boss Richard Murray, under investigation for pushing school districts to use union-favoring project labor agreements (PLAs) as a condition of receiving funding from the OSFC, the media stands ready scrutinize these corrupt and wasteful agreements. A recent Columbus Dispatch points to evidence that PLAs in Ohio […]
The Most Infamous PLA Job: Lessons from Boston’s Big Dig
Boston newspaper editorials point out that Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick’s recent use of PLA mandates in exchange for Big Labor’s support during November’s gubernatorial election makes little fiscal sense for Mass. taxpayers and stinks of political favoritism – especially considering the $22 billion Big Dig’s well-documented record of missed deadlines, cost-overruns, construction defects (including a motorist fatility due to a collapsed tunnel ceiling panel), and reports of union workers visting methadone clinics, sleeping and drinking heavily on the job.
Funded by federal and Massachusetts taxpayers, the Big Dig is the most expensive and infamous government-mandated PLA job of all time.
WSJ Editorial Blasts Obama Gift to Big Labor, Calls Project Labor Agreements “Crony Contracts”
Today’s Wall Street Journal editorial blasts President Obama’s pro-project labor agreement (PLA) Executive Order 13502 that was implemented into federal procurement regulations thanks to the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council’s final rule issued yesterday (“Crony Contracts. Want federal business? Better be a union shop.” 4/14/10). This editorial is one for the ages. Let’s hope federal agencies and […]
Poll: MA Public Opposes Key Mandate of PLAs
According to a press release by the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University, in Boston Mass., a new poll of Massachusetts voters indicates the public opposes a key provision of typical PLAs. A new survey conducted by the Suffolk University Political Research Center for the Beacon Hill Institute shows that 69% of Massachusetts voters oppose a […]
Cato Journal: Why Project Labor Agreements Are Not in the Public Interest
A compelling article critical of government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) by David G. Tuerck, executive director of the Beacon Hill Institute for Public Policy Research, appears in the current issue of the Cato Journal (Volume 30 Number 1, Winter 2010, “Are Unions Good for America?”). “Why Project Labor Agreements Are Not in the Public Interest” […]
Op-Ed: Beware of Big Labor Paybacks in PA
The Central Penn Business Journal’s Op-Ed by Gus Perea warns of the economic consequences of Big Labor paybacks via Executive Order 13502 and project labor agreements (PLAs) (“Pennsylvania Taxpayers and Employers: Beware of Big Labor Paybacks,” 12/17). On the rare occasion that a nonunion contractor wins a PLA contract, the order would bully its employees into joining […]