The Fresno Bee Calls on California Gov. Jerry Brown to Lead in Reforming Environmental Law used to Exploit Construction Owners
The Fresno Bee published an editoral on Sunday, August 5, 2012 calling for Governor Jerry Brown to take a leadership role in reforming the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA (California Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq.) so that unions can’t exploit it to block proposed projects until the owner signs a project labor […]
California’s Environmental Laws: A Weapon to Crush Potential Competition and Extort Developers
Legal exploitation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for purposes unrelated to environmental protection continues unabated throughout California, according to an article in the November 14 Los Angeles Times (“Firms Turning to Environmental Law to Combat Rivals”). This news is 25 years old, but it’s always good to see the news media remind people […]
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 […]
New California Legislation Targets Union Abuse of Environmental Laws Meant to Squeeze Project Labor Agreements Out of Private Developers
When Governor Ronald Reagan signed the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, (now comprising California Public Resources Code Sections 21000-21177) into law in 1970, many California state legislators believed the law would only apply to public projects, such as highways. The courts decided otherwise, and now unions routinely victimize private developers by abusing and exploiting […]
It’s Out in the Open: Project Labor Agreement a Costly Possibility for San Diego Convention Center Expansion
The Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction (CFEC) held a press conference on February 22 to oppose the rumored plan to require contractors to sign a project labor agreement (PLA) to work on construction of the proposed $700 million San Diego Convention Center Expansion. Accompanied by more than 50 construction workers, the organization unveiled its […]
Newspaper in Mojave Desert: “Nobody with Half a Brain” Believes Construction Unions Fear Environmental Risks from Solar Power
An editorial in the February 14, 2011 Barstow Desert-Dispatch (“Greenmail” a Threat to Energy Projects) is blunt about the union “greenmail” scheme to exploit the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and block permits for the construction of solar and other renewable power plants in the Mojave Desert: …we now have another reason to be concerned […]
San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Votes 3-0 to Reject Union Appeal of Solar Project
At its February 8, 2011 meeting, the San Bernardino County (California) Board of Supervisors voted 3-0 to reject a scheme by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 477 to block a permit to build a 40-megawatt solar photovoltaic generating facility in the Mojave Desert, near Kramer Junction. The San Bernardino County Planning Commission […]
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Union Blocks Yet Another Solar Project
Tomorrow (February 8, 2011) the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors will discuss the environmental objections of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local No. 477 to a 40-megawatt solar photovoltaic generation facility proposed by LightSource Renewables for construction in unincorporated San Bernardino County near Kramer Junction in the Mojave Desert. Neither the San […]
Los Angeles is Laboring Under Greenmail
The January 17 Los Angeles Business Journal includes an opinion piece (Laboring Under ‘Greenmail’) by thetruthaboutPLAs.com blogger Kevin Dayton of Associated Builders and Contractors of California explaining that Los Angeles-based construction unions are exploiting the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and other environmental laws to hold up permits until the private developers of proposed projects […]