Op-Ed: Project Labor Agreements Discriminate Against New Jersey’s Minority Businesses and Workforce
A powerful Black History Month op-ed by the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey CEO John Harmon makes the connection between New Jersey’s project labor agreement policy and discrimination against minority businesses and workers. It’s a common complaint against PLA schemes echoed by the National Black Chamber of Commerce and other stakeholders. Check […]
New Jersey Court Rules Toll Bridge Commission’s Project Labor Agreement Scheme Illegal
On April 4, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court ruled (pdf) that a commission authorized by New Jersey and Pennsylvania law to build and maintain Delaware River bridges lacked the authority to require controversial project labor agreements. At issue were a contractor’s allegations that the Delaware Joint Toll Bridge Commission violated its […]
African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey Speaks Out Against Proposed PLA Act Expansion in Joint Statement with ABC New Jersey
In what should come as no surprise, New Jersey’s history of favoring costly and discriminatory government-mandated project labor agreements over sensible policies favoring fair and open competition has reared its ugly head once again. Pro-PLA lawmakers in the state legislature, including known PLA fanatic Senate President Stephen Sweeney, have shown they continue to value the granting […]
Union Leaders and Contractors Oppose Government-mandated Project Labor Agreements Too
The debate surrounding controversial government-mandated project labor agreements is often framed by the media, elected officials and policy wonks as a dispute pitting construction unions against nonunion contractors in a battle about whether the government should be enacting PLA preference and mandate policies that ultimately steer taxpayer-funded construction contracts to unionized contractors and create jobs […]
Study: Project Labor Agreement Mandates Inflate Cost of New Jersey School Construction by 16.25%
A study released in August by the Beacon Hill Institute found that New Jersey schools built under controversial government-mandated project labor agreements cost 16.25% more than schools that were bid and constructed through fair and open competition, free from PLA requirements. The study, which looked at 107 schools built in New Jersey since 2002, found that those built under […]
Lawsuit Says Union-Signatory Contractor Excluded by Project Labor Agreement Mandated on Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission Scudder Falls Bridge
Joseph N. DiStefano, columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, knows a good story about corruption and waste at the expense of hardworking taxpayers when he sees one. In a column published August 12, 2019, DiStefano takes aim at a fishy project labor agreement scheme on a bridge construction project, mandated by an interstate bridge commission, that […]
U.S. District Court Knocks Down Jersey City Project Labor Agreement Ordinance
In June, the U. S. District Court for the District of New Jersey found that a 2007 Jersey City ordinance requiring project labor agreements (PLAs) on private projects receiving tax abatements is preempted by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The case involved a Jersey City ordinance encouraging private developers to invest in the city by […]
Federal Appeals Court Finds NLRA Could Preempt Jersey City Project Labor Agreement Ordinance
A federal appeals court has reversed the New Jersey District Court’s decision to uphold a Jersey City project labor agreement (PLA) ordinance that forced developers to enter into a PLA with construction trade unions as a condition of recieving tax abatements on certain projects. The decision paves the way to repeal Jersey City’s discriminatory and costly pro-PLA […]
Respond to USACE Project Labor Agreement Survey for Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Construction MATOC by Feb. 10
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Philadelphia District is requesting comments from the construction community addressing a potential government-mandated project labor agreement (PLA) on a 100% SDVOSB Set-Aside Multiple Award Task Order Contracts (MATOC) in support of construction at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. Tell the USACE that government-mandated PLAs reduce competition, increase costs, and […]
USACE Project Labor Agreement Survey Due Sept. 22 For New Jersey Beach Erosion Control Contract
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New York District is requesting comments from the construction community addressing a potential government-mandated project labor agreement (PLA) for a large-scale, federal contract to complete a beach erosion control project from Sea Bright to Manasquan Beach in New Jersey. To review and learn how to respond to the PLA survey, […]