Michigan Again Bans PLA Mandates on Taxpayer-Funded Construction
Determined to ensure that taxpayers get the best construction at the best price, Michigan’s elected leaders have again enacted legislation (Public Act 238) that will ensure government neutrality with regard to project labor agreements (PLAs) on taxpayer-funded construction in the Great Lakes state. Although Michigan adopted a similar bill in 2011, a federal district court […]
MI Open Competition Act Protecting Taxpayers and Merit Shop Construction Workers
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed S.B.165 on July 19 and it is already having an impact for taxpayers and the vast majority of the construction workforce that chooses not to join a labor union. This week, Wayne State University cancelled an RFP for the renovation of a softball locker room that contained a requirement that […]
BREAKING: MI Gov. Snyder Signs Bill to Ban Government-mandated PLAs
Gov. Rick Snyder (R) has signed Michigan S.B. 165, which will prohibit the use of wasteful and discriminatory government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on state, local, university and state assisted construction in Michigan. This will have serious implications in places like Ann Arbor, Detroit, Macomb County and Michigan State University, where past PLA requirements have […]
Michigan Lawmakers Seek Labor Reform
As part of a survey of the labor reforms proposed in the Great Lakes State in 2011, The Daily Caller recognized that lawmakers are also taking on government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) too. Here are the highlights (Our emphasis added): Republicans control both houses of the Michigan legislature and the governor’s mansion, but passage of any […]
Michigan Senate Committee Hears Bill to Guarantee Open Competition on Taxpayer Funded Work
The Michigan Senate Reforms, Restructuring and Reinventing Committee heard S.B. 165 this morning, which would prohibit the state and local government entities from prohibiting or requiring contractors from entering into wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) as a condition of performing public construction. The Lansing State Journal covered the hearing around mid-day today. The […]
Detroit News Editorial: Break the Barriers
The editorial board of The Detroit News has once again come out against job killing policies that line the pockets of one special interest group at the expense of Michigan taxpayers. This issue was discussed in the context of The Detroit News urging the newly-minted Snyder administration to remove the government-imposed hurdles to job creation […]
Detroit News Editorial Calls for Fair Bids
In an outstanding editorial published today (“Editorial: Fair Bids,” 12/7/10), the Detroit News calls on Michigan’s leaders to eliminate government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on state, local and university projects in the state. Here are the highlights: The contractors association says that some state universities, community colleges and local units of government are requiring their […]
Editorial: Obama Doing Labor’s Bidding
Another newspaper editorial, this time The Detroit News, is critical of President Obama’s scheme to funnel federal construction contracts to Big Labor through project labor agreements (PLAs) via Executive Order 13502 (“Obama Doing Labor’s Bidding,” 5/17). “In Barack Obama’s Washington, a union card is a gold card. The president is skewing policy to give the 12 percent […]
Mackinac Center: Is MSU Hyping Project Labor Agreements
In an October 5 commentary titled, “Is MSU Hyping Project Labor Agreements,” Paul Kersey from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy wonders if an October 13 conference held by the Michigan State University (MSU) School of Labor and Industrial Relations is promoting PLAs without examining the wasteful and discriminatory impact of these special interest handouts. Here’s an excerpt: A […]