The West Coast’s Big Dig Boondoggle Woes Continue: Seattle’s Tunnel PLA Job Dangerous For Workers
Bad news continues to plague Washington state’s Highway 99 tunnel mega-project (PDF) underneath Seattle’s downtown waterfront, contradicting a number of key points lawmakers and construction union lobbyists use to sell government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) to owners, taxpayers and the media. According to the AP, the Seattle Tunnel’s injury claims have totaled more than $2.5 […]
Project Labor Agreement on Seattle Tunnel Mega-Project Fails to Deliver on Many Promises
Bad news continues to plague Washington state’s $2 billion Highway 99 tunnel project underneath Seattle’s downtown waterfront, contradicting a number of key points lawmakers and construction unions use to sell government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) to owners, taxpayers and the media. Despite promises by Big Labor and advocates of these union-friendly deals that allegedly prevent costly […]
Despite Project Labor Agreement, Union Dispute Shuts Down Seattle Tunnel Job for Four Weeks
A project labor agreement (PLA) failed to prevent a labor dispute that shut-down a portion of a Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) mega-construction project for more than four weeks. It is one of many recent examples of PLA projects suffering from delays and increased costs resulting from labor disputes and strikes, despite the fact that […]
ABC California Critical of California High Speed Rail’s Union-Favoring Project Labor Agreement
At yesterday’s United States House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials field hearing in Madera, California, on the federally assisted California High Speed Rail project, ABC California submitted a statement for the record and issued a press release in opposition to the union-favoring project labor agreement (PLA) required by the California High Speed […]
PLA Video: The Negative Impact of a PLA Mandate on the Proposed California High-Speed Rail Project
Merit shop advocate Eric Christen from the Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction (CFEC) lays out the facts to LA-area Fox affiliate KKTV about the negative impact of a PLA mandated on the proposed high-speed rail project in California.
Done Deal: Unions Will Control Construction on California High-Speed Rail with Project Labor Agreements
An article in the December 7, 2012 Fresno Bee newspaper (‘Needy’ Workers Will Get Jobs on High-Speed Rail) reports that all five design-build consortiums that are pre-qualified to bid on contracts for the first segment of California’s High-Speed Rail have signed a Project Labor Agreements (PLA) with construction trade unions: Five teams of contractors have been invited to […]
UPDATED: California’s Top Construction Union Officials Love the State’s $100 Billion High-Speed Rail Project
The November 27 Bakersfield Californian newspaper includes an opinion piece written by Bob Balgenorth, head of the California State Building and Construction Trades Council, promoting construction of the state’s proposed $98.5 billion High-Speed Rail as a better alternative to construction of freeways and airports: Bob Balgenorth: Airport, highway expansion impractical; HSR better option. He also […]
Update on Lake Champlain Bridge Project Labor Agreement Controversy
TheTruthAboutPLAs.com covered the controversial proposed project labor agreement (PLA) on the Lake Champlain Bridge project spanning from Crown Point, N.Y. to Chimney Point, N.H. (“A Bridge to Government Waste and Discrimation,” 2/16). Here is an update for readers following this story. On Feb. 12 the Vermont Senate Transportation Committee held a hearing on the Lake Champlain Bridge […]