Prominent Democrats Oppose Policies Mandating Project Labor Agreements
In today’s hyper-partisan political environment, it’s rare for policy to die on its own merits when it is good for party politics. Think about how harmful government-mandated project labor agreements must be if prominent Democrats are thumbing their noses at these Biden-Harris policies and publicly resisting legislation that benefits their most prominent union donors.
Maine Governor Mills Surprises Union Lobby with Veto of Project Labor Agreement Legislation
In a surprising turn of events bucking traditional Democratic Party alliances and controversial Biden administration policies, on June 26, Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) vetoed legislation she introduced related to future offshore wind projects after the bill was amended by the legislature to include anti-competitive and inflationary project labor agreement requirements favored by union lobbyists.
USACE New England District Project Labor Agreement Survey for New England States Due Nov. 18
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has issued a survey soliciting comments from the construction industry about the potential use of a government-mandated project labor agreement (PLA) for a multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) for construction throughout New England awarded to up to 6 offerors, with a total value of up to $90,000,000 total. ABC National […]
USACE Project Labor Agreement Survey for New England MATOC Jobs Due June 2
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New England District is requesting comments from the construction community addressing a potential government-mandated project labor agreement (PLA) for federal Multiple Award Task Order Contracts (MATOC) to build, renovate and repair military and other federal facilities throughout six New England states. Those states include Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode […]
Maine Gov. Paul LePage Criticizes Private PLA Mandate
Last week, Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) strongly came out against a project labor agreement (PLA) mandate proposed by Summit Natural Gas on the Kennebec Valley natural gas project, which is slated to cost more than $100 million. Gov. LePage’s office released a statement on March 21. Here are the highlights: Governor Expresses […]
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 […]
WSJ Editorial: Government-mandated PLAs “Deserve to be Outlawed”
The title says it all and we completely agree! The editorial board at The Wall Street Journal has again come out against wasteful and discriminatory government-mandated PLAs. Here are the highlights from the editorial (“Project Labor Revolt: The states ban union political bid-rigging. Obama demurs,” 7/19/11): One benefit of the squeeze on state and local […]
Maine Governor Signs Open Competition Bill into Law
Maine is the land of good lobster, fine mustard and now open competition for taxpayer funded construction! Maine Governor Paul LePage (R) has signed L.D. 1257, which will keep government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) off state construction through October 2015. In Maine, more than 9 out of ten construction workers choose not to join a […]
Breaking: Michigan and Maine Legislatures Pass PLA Bans
Today is a huge day for those who think free enterprise and open competition should determine how taxpayer-funded construction contracts are awarded in America. Lawmakers in Maine and Michigan passed bills that ban government-mandated PLAs on state funded construction. Once they are signed into law, they will ensure that taxpayers get the best construction at the […]
Louisiana Bans Government-Mandated PLAs on State Funded Projects
The wave continues! With Gov. Bobby Jindal’s signature yesterday of S.B. 76, Louisiana is now the fifth state to ban government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) to some degree in 2011 and the ninth state to do so nationwide. This is a huge development for taxpayers in Louisiana. This bill guarantees that free enterprise – not Big Labor […]