Minority Contractors and Business Associations Take Leadership Role in Fighting Project Labor Agreements in California Coastal Cities
Minority contractors and minority business associations in California are taking a political leadership role in Los Angeles and Oakland to oppose proposed project labor agreements (PLAs). LOS ANGELES COUNTY On March 1, 2011, Small Business United (SBU), described as “a coalition of small business groups and professional associations representing a diverse set of constituencies from […]
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 […]
Los Angeles Times Exposes How Unions Misuse Environmental Laws to Block Solar Projects and Extract Project Labor Agreements
An article in today’s Los Angeles Times (“Labor Coalition’s Tactics on Renewable Energy Projects Are Criticized” February 5, 2011) exposes how a union front group called California Unions for Reliable Energy (CURE) has exploited environmental laws to block permits for solar thermal power plants until the developers sign project labor agreements. Objecting to this environmental […]
Los Angeles Tangled Up in Project Labor Agreements in 2010
The web site for the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau describes Los Angeles as a “union-friendly city” and declares that “Meeting professionals who plan union meetings often end up in Los Angeles, a city built by union labor. L.A.’s world-class buildings – Walt Disney Concert Hall, STAPLES Center, L.A. LIVE and the Cathedral of […]
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 […]
Divisive Vote Near Los Angeles for Project Labor Agreement: Three School Board Members Defy Community and Reward Union Campaign Contributors
Big Labor politics in Los Angeles was on brazen display at the San Gabriel Unified School District in the City of San Gabriel (ten miles east of downtown Los Angeles) on the evening of Wednesday, November 10. In front of more than 100 irate local residents who packed the meeting room, the elected Governing Board […]
Do Project Labor Agreements Ensure Compliance with Labor Laws?
It is a myth that anti-competitive government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) — schemes public officials beholden to Big Labor’s special interests execute to funnel lucrative public construction contracts to unionized contractors and union members in return for continued political support — ensure compliance with labor and employment laws and regulations.
An audit found violations by 55 contractors working on a $150 million Los Angeles Unified School District high school under construction in San Fernando, Calif., subject to a government-mandated PLA. The violations include failure to pay prevailing wages and inadequate supervision of apprentices. Four of the contractors had expired or suspended licenses.
The audit results demonstrate contractors working under a government-mandated PLA violate labor laws, yet PLA proponents frequently perpetuate the myth that a PLA prevents labor law infractions on PLA projects. This example shows how the presence of a PLA does little to ensure compliance with labor laws and the arguments in support of PLA mandates are weak.
Palmdale Water District (in Los Angeles County) Votes to Ban Project Labor Agreements
Tonight (Wednesday, October 27, 2010), the Palmdale Water District in northern Los Angeles County became the seventh local government in California and the first water district in California where fair and open competition for ratepayers is guaranteed and project labor agreements (PLAs) are prohibited. On a 3-2 vote, the elected board of directors adopted a resolution to […]
San Diego’s Major Newspaper Reports on Proposition A to Prohibit Project Labor Agreements
The October 26, 2010 San Diego Union-Tribune reports on the issues concerning Proposition A, a measure on the November 2, 2010 ballot that would amend the charter (constitution) of San Diego County to prohibit the county from entering into contracts that require its construction contractors to sign project labor agreements (PLAs) with construction unions. The article […]
This is a Stick-up!
There is an interesting story on Fox & Hounds Daily (California politics and business blog) about big Labor and their allies push for costly project labor agreements (PLAs) even on privately funded projects built to benefit society – like museums. Here are the highlights with our emphasis added (L.A. to Eli Broad: ‘Stick ’em Up’, […]