Columbus Dispatch: OSFC Director’s Union Bias is Inexcusable
Today The Columbus Dispatch published another editorial blasting Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) director Richard Murray for engaging in numerous acts of “union bias” and steering lucrative school construction contracts to union contractors and union members via project labor agreements (PLAs). Murray has been the subject of an investigation by the Ohio Inspector General’s office TheTruthAboutPLAs.com covered here and here. […]
Ethics Complaint Raises Questions About UMass Crony Contracting Scheme
Yesterday, The Boston Globe reported that a group of nonunion contractors filed a complaint with the State Ethics Commission alleging that a project labor agreement (PLA) favoring union labor on $750 million worth of construction at the UMass Boston campus violated the state’s conflict of interest law when it was approved by a board that includes two […]
Misfeasance: Ohio IG Report on OSFC PLA Scheme Continues to Gain Traction; Calls for Murray to Resign Grow
The media attention over the August 5 release of the Ohio Inspector General’s review of Richard Murray’s tenure as head of the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) and his efforts to strong-arm local communities into wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) continued to gain traction over the weekend. Readers of TheTruthAboutPLAs.com know that Murray […]
Ohio Inspector General Report Exposes Gov. Strickland Appointee in Crony Contracting PLA Scheme
Today’s report from the Ohio Inspector General and article in the Columbus Dispatch provides a glimpse into the corrupt underbelly of public construction contracting (“Inspector general: School facilities chief too close to unions,” 8/5/10). Here, Big Labor bosses all-too-frequently shakedown public officials and school boards for lucrative construction contracts. In this instance, TheTruthAboutPLAs.com has covered how former Big Labor boss Richard Murray, Ohio […]
Bids Reveal Increased Costs for Ohio School’s Crony Contracting Scheme
TheTruthAboutPLAs.com has covered how former Big Labor Boss Richard Murray, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland’s (D) appointed Director of the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC), is under investigation for forcing school districts to utilize anti-competitive project labor agreement (PLA) schemes that funnel lucrative school construction contracts to unionized contractors and union labor after these special interest groups have contributed […]
Investigation into Ohio School Facilities Commission Continues
As reported by the Columbus, Ohio NBC affiliate on July 1, more details about the Ohio School Facilities Corporation Executive Director Rich Murray’s efforts to strong arm school districts into requiring wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) are coming to light. Murray’s behavior on behalf of the Strickland administration’s Big Labor allies has led […]
Columbus Dispatch Examines Value of PLAs, OSFC Director Loosens Corrupt Grip on Ohio Schools
With Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland’s appointed director of the Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC), former Big Labor boss Richard Murray, under investigation for pushing school districts to use union-favoring project labor agreements (PLAs) as a condition of receiving funding from the OSFC, the media stands ready scrutinize these corrupt and wasteful agreements. A recent Columbus Dispatch points to evidence that PLAs in Ohio […]
Gov. Strickland Official Investigated for Pay-to-PLA Contracting
The Columbus Dispatch reports that Ohio Inspector General Thomas P. Charles is investigating whether Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) Director Richard Murray behaved inappropriately by “pushing districts to use union labor through project labor agreements” (PLAs) (“School Facilities Commission director probed for pushing union use,” 6/20/10): Murray formerly was the head of Ohio LECET, a group that assists […]
Gov. Strickland’s Cronyism Delivers Construction Contracts for Big Labor
An article in The Columbus Dispatch explains how the revolving door shuffling Big Labor’s special interest lobbyists into Ohio government positions is helping funnel lucrative construction contracts to Big Labor through project labor agreements (PLAs) (“Unions get deaf, blind schools contract,” 6/14). It’s a corrupt practice that will increase the cost of construction and deny taxpayers the […]
Letter to the Editor: Project Labor Agreement Hinders Banks Work
In a May 25 letter to the editor (“Project Labor Agreement Hinders Banks Work,” 5/25/10) published by the Cincinnati Enquirer, Robert Strobel of Lithko Contracting, Inc. points out the real reason that Big Labor is pushing for PLAs on all future Banks riverfront development projects. Here is the letter to the editor: Project Labor Agreements […]