Commonwealth Foundation

Do PLAs Reward Special Interests?

0 March 9, 2010  State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

TheTruthAboutPLAs.com has long maintained that government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) are one of the purest forms of payback to special interests. Sometimes it is hard to believe that PLAs are even legal. And as this example will demonstrate, elected officials go to great lengths to justify their paybacks to special interests. Matthew J. Brouillette, president […]

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Delays and Increased Construction Costs Plague PA Prison

0 March 4, 2010  State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

Pennsylvania’s Graterford Prison project labor agreement (PLA) controversy is in the Philadelphia newspapers again. No progress has been made on the construction of this important project. Looking for something to blame? It’s the PLA, stupid! Looking for someone to blame? Blame Big Labor’s lobbyists for pushing costly, job-killing special interest PLAs and blame public officials for allowing these […]

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Pennsylvania: An Unequal Employer

1 November 18, 2009  State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

Commonwealth Foundation fellow Adam Cole published a great commentary discussing wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) on November 17 titled, “Pennsylvania: An Unequal Employer” While this commentary covers many of the main arguments against these Big Labor handouts, that government-mandated PLAs increase construction costs and discriminates against women, minorities and nonunion construction workers, it […]

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ABC Keystone Chapter Criticizes PLAs on “The Box” Radio Program

0 September 23, 2009  State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

ABC Keystone chapter president Jack Zimmer and government affairs director Steve Swarney slammed PLAs on “The Box” radio program hosted by Matt Brouillette.  Mr. Brouillette is president and CEO of the Commonwealth Foundation, which is “dedicated to advancing state-level public policies based on our nation’s founding principles of limited government, economic freedom and personal responsibility.”  Mr. […]

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The Perils of Slavish Devotion to Organized Labor

0 July 22, 2009  State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

In a 7/19 commentary, part of a Pittsburgh Tribune series on how to fix Pennsylvania’s economy, Jake Haulk from the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy and Matthew J. Brouillette from the Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives don’t hold back in outlining the negative impact of big labor’s “political stranglehold on legislation in Pennsylvania despite representing less than two […]

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