Metro Washington Airport Authority

ABC Western Pennsylvania President’s Letter Blasts Labor Boss’ Tired Pro-Project Labor Agreement Op-Ed

0 October 14, 2015  Federal Construction, State & Local Construction, Transportation & Infrastructure

On Sunday, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published a strong #NoPLAs letter to the editor by ABC Western Pennsylvania President Pete Gum in response to a pro-project labor agreement (PLA) op-ed submitted by Dennis Martire, vice president and Mid-Atlantic regional manager of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA): Government-mandated project labor agreements are anti-competitive and costly […]

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Phase 1 of the Silver Line Opens Tomorrow: Let’s Recap Phase 2’s Project Labor Agreement Controversy

0 July 25, 2014  Featured, Transportation & Infrastructure

Phase 1 of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, commonly known as the Silver Line, opens tomorrow. This milestone is a great opportunity to revisit the project labor agreement (PLA) controversy surrounding Phase 2 of the project. While the final numbers aren’t in yet, Phase 1 cost about $2.9 billion, or $150 million more than initially planned. Phase […]

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Phase 2 Silver Line Bids Below Budget Without Project Labor Agreement Scheme

2 May 23, 2013  Featured, Open Competition Works, Transportation & Infrastructure

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 […]

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Investor’s Business Daily Editorial: Peace for PLA is Big Labor’s Implicit Threat Behind Promotion of Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements

0 June 15, 2012  Federal Construction, State & Local Construction

An Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) editorial exposes the truth about government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) and chronicles political efforts to restrict and impose PLA mandates in California, Virginia, New Hampshire and San Diego on local, state and federal construction projects (“Public Wakes Up To Unions’ PLA Power Play,” 6/14/12). Enjoy this excelent editorial (my emphasis in bold): Unions: […]

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MWAA Drops Discriminatory PLA Preference Policy on Phase 2 of Silver Line Metrorail Project

1 June 6, 2012  State & Local Construction, Transportation & Infrastructure

Today the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) voted 11-1 to remove the union-favoring project labor agreement (PLA) preference policy on Phase 2 of the Silver Line expansion to Dulles International Airport. Dropping the PLA preference policy will ensure fair and open competition for construction contracts on this important $2.7 billion project. Now that the PLA […]

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Data Shows Project Labor Agreement on Phase 2 of Silver Line Could Hurt Virginia’s Construction Industry

0 May 18, 2012  Federal Construction, State & Local Construction, Transportation & Infrastructure

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 […]

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Virginia Passes Law Curtailing Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreement Schemes

2 April 24, 2012  State & Local Construction, Transportation & Infrastructure

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 […]

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Airport Authority Continues Big Labor Favors on Dulles Metro Silver Line

0 February 23, 2012  State & Local Construction, Transportation & Infrastructure

Last week, the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (MWAA) gave Big Labor Bosses a generous Valentine’s Day gift. On Wednesday, MWAA passed a resolution adopting a new policy needlessly favoring contractors that submit proposals promising to use a union project labor agreement (PLA) to construct Phase 2 of the $2.8 billion Silver Line metro extension project […]

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Virginia Construction Industry Supports Legislation Ensuring Fair and Open Competition On Public Construction Contracts

0 December 14, 2011  State & Local Construction, Transportation & Infrastructure, Uncategorized

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 […]

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Is Phase 2 of the Dulles Metrorail Silver Line Subject to a Government-Mandated Union Project Labor Agreement?

1 December 13, 2011  State & Local Construction, Transportation & Infrastructure

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 […]

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