Phase 2 Silver Line Bids Below Budget Without Project Labor Agreement Scheme
Last week the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) announced the award of a key contract to build the majority of Phase 2 of the controversial Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, known as the Silver Line. The $1.178 billion design/build Package A contract was awarded May 14 to Capital Rail Constructors, a joint venture consisting of Clark […]
Data Shows Project Labor Agreement on Phase 2 of Silver Line Could Hurt Virginia’s Construction Industry
New evidence suggests a union-favoring project labor agreement (PLA) on Phase 1 of the Silver Line Metrorail project may be responsible for the creation of fewer jobs for Virginia’s construction workforce. Dulles Transit Partners (DTP), the prime contractor building Phase 1 of the Silver Line, recently shared data with the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (MWAA), the […]
Virginia Passes Law Curtailing Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreement Schemes
In a win for taxpayers and Virginia’s merit shop construction industry, on April 9, Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) signed the Fair and Open Competition in Government Contracting Act (HB 33) into law. H.B. 33 prohibits the Commonwealth of Virginia and recipients of state assistance from mandating project labor agreements (PLAs) and enacting PLA preferences discriminating […]
Virginia Construction Industry Supports Legislation Ensuring Fair and Open Competition On Public Construction Contracts
Yesterday, ABC Virginia issued a press release supporting the Fair and Open Competition in Government Contracting Act (HB 33) pre-filed this Monday in Richmond (see the full release below). HB 33 prohibits Virginia and recipients of state funding or assistance from requiring or prohibiting contractors to enter into union agreements, such as a project labor agreement (PLA), as […]
Is Phase 2 of the Dulles Metrorail Silver Line Subject to a Government-Mandated Union Project Labor Agreement?
Will a recent deal to save the multi-billion dollar Phase 2 Dulles Metrorail Silver Line project in Northern Virginia force prime contractors to agree to an anti-competitive and costly project labor agreement (PLA) with labor unions in order to win construction contracts? What level of protection will Virginia’s right-to-work law offer to the state’s nonunion […]
MWAA Officials Overlook Cause of Potential Phase 2 Project Labor Agreement Cost Increases
Recent correspondence from Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) officials indicate that despite months of education and discussion with local stakeholders and the business community, MWAA does not fully understand the potential negative economic impact of its April 6 resolution mandating a union-favoring project labor agreement (PLA) that contractors are required to agree to in order […]
ABC Virginia Tells MWAA Phase 2 Metro Rail Construction Project Labor Agreement Scheme Will Increase Costs and Hurt Virginia’s Construction Workforce
The Virginia Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC VA) continues to raise objections to the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority’s (MWAA) resolution mandating a union-favoring project labor agreement (PLA) on $3.5 billion worth of Phase 2 construction for the Dulles Metro Rail Project. On Friday, ABC VA sent a letter (pdf) to MWAA chair Charles Snelling […]
Big Labor Crashes Dulles Metro Rail Press Conference, Stifles Objections to Costly Project Labor Agreement Scheme
On April, 18 Laborers Union (LIUNA) Local 657 and other members and paid astroturfers guests of the Washington Metropolitan Council, AFL-CIO, bused in disruptive protestors from Washington, D.C., and Maryland to crash a press conference held by U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf concerning $3.5 billion worth of construction for Phase 2 of the Dulles Metro Rail project […]