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Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreement Failures on Federal and Federally Assisted Construction Projects
ABC supports fair and open competition and opposes government-mandated project labor agreements on federal and federally assisted projects because hardworking taxpayers deserve more efficient and effective policies that will encourage all qualified contractors and their skilled workforce to compete to build long-lasting, quality projects at the best price. Just 12.7% of the U.S. construction workforce belongs […]
Lawsuit Says Union-Signatory Contractor Excluded by Project Labor Agreement Mandated on Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission Scudder Falls Bridge
Joseph N. DiStefano, columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, knows a good story about corruption and waste at the expense of hardworking taxpayers when he sees one. In a column published August 12, 2019, DiStefano takes aim at a fishy project labor agreement scheme on a bridge construction project, mandated by an interstate bridge commission, that […]
U.S. District Court Knocks Down Jersey City Project Labor Agreement Ordinance
In June, the U. S. District Court for the District of New Jersey found that a 2007 Jersey City ordinance requiring project labor agreements (PLAs) on private projects receiving tax abatements is preempted by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The case involved a Jersey City ordinance encouraging private developers to invest in the city by […]
NYC Union Strike Shuts Down Project Labor Agreement Jobsites Again
Earlier this month, New York City jobsites were shut down after unions failed to honor their project labor agreement’s (PLA) no-strike promise. It is at least the third time since 2011 various NYC unions blatantly violated no-strike provisions in controversial PLAs, which steer construction contracts to unionized contractors and provide jobs exclusively for union members […]
Jersey City Project Labor Agreement Policies Fail to Deliver Local Jobs
Jersey City residents are upset jobs on construction projects subject to government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) are not going to local minority residents, despite promises made by unions and lawmakers promoting PLAs. A video, Jersey City Need Not Apply, released last week by the Jersey City Political Action Committee (JCPAC), documents how Jersey City policies […]
NYC Carpenters Union Breaks Project Labor Agreement’s No-Strike Promise at 4 WTC Jobsite
According to a press release by the New York City District Council Carpenters Union, hundreds of carpenters union members went on strike Monday—affecting major construction projects around New York City and New Jersey, including some covered by project labor agreements (PLAs). According to the New York Daily News (“Nailing down a contract: Carpenters’ strike would affect […]
Merit Shop Firms Collaborate to Deliver $1.4 billion Federal Project to USACE Without Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreement
The joint venture of Balfour Beatty Construction and Clark Construction on the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Campus East Headquarters at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, epitomizes successful partnering and delivery of a complicated large-scale federal construction project. These merit shop titans collaborated to build the largest U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) project since the Pentagon and […]
Taxpayers Win Big Without Federal Project Labor Agreement on New Hampshire Job Corps Center
Taxpayers will save more than $6 million on the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Manchester, New Hampshire, Job Corps Center project thanks to the benefits of fair and open competition free from anti-competitive and costly government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs). This important example of a federal project bid with and without a PLA requirement undermines […]
Great Scott: Projects Bid With and Without PLA Mandates Show PLAs Increase Costs and Reduce Competition
While researching the use of government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) in West Virginia in advance of Wednesday’s deadline for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) survey about a potential PLA mandate on a large-scale federal project in Harpers Ferry, W.Va., TheTruthAboutPLAs.com went back in time to revisit another real-world example of how discriminatory PLA […]
Told You So: Project Labor Agreement on Connecticut High School Increased Costs and Reduced Competition
In 2012, the merit shop contracting community and city employees predicted Meriden, Conn., would face increased costs and reduced competition if the city council mandated a union-favoring project labor agreement (PLA) on $220 million worth of contracts to renovate two local high schools. (TheTruthAboutPLAs.com covered the controversy here and here). Despite the warnings, testy public […]