Jerry Gorski: White House Prevents Competition in Construction
Today’s Washington Examiner ran an outstanding Op-Ed questioning President Obama’s Executive Order 13502 and the White House’s support of discriminatory and costly project labor agreements (PLAs) from Jerry Gorski, president of Gorski Engineering in Collegeville, Pa. and the 2009 National Chairman of Associated Builders and Contractors. President Obama and many others are using popular words like “choice” and […]
Orange County Ordinance Prohibiting Project Labor Agreements on County Projects Passes
It’s official. The nation’s fifth largest and perhaps most famous county has said NO to discriminatory and costly project labor agreements (PLAs). Yesterday, the Orange County (CA) Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an ordinance prohibiting government-mandated PLAs on county-funded construction projects. The ordinance was approved 5-0 last week, but had to be heard a second time yesterday […]
Orange County Says No to Project Labor Agreements
Yesterday, the Orange County (CA) Board of Supervisors held a hearing and 5-0 approved an ordinance prohibiting government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on county-funded construction projects. The ordinance would prohibit the requirement of PLAs unless mandated by California and/or federal law and contractors are free to voluntarily enter into PLAs. Accoding to the Los Angeles Times, ordinance sponsor […]
PA: Benner Township Prison Project Delayed Because Bids “Unacceptably High”
The Pennsylvania Department of General Services (DGS) has delayed construction of the State Correctional Institution at Benner Township because of “unacceptably high bids,” according to state officials. In fact, Benner Township state Senator Jake Corman told local media that “the bids were tens of millions of dollars over the state’s estimated $200 million cost for the […]
FOX News Report Exposes Union Greenmail
During the August 7 edition of FOX News’ Happening Now, William La Jeunesse exposes union attempts to monopolize green construction through exploiting state and local environmental permitting processes – a tactic known as greenmail. Don’t be fooled by Big Labor’s attempts to portray themselves as protectors of the environment. As this report shows, the […]
The Perils of Slavish Devotion to Organized Labor
In a 7/19 commentary, part of a Pittsburgh Tribune series on how to fix Pennsylvania’s economy, Jake Haulk from the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy and Matthew J. Brouillette from the Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives don’t hold back in outlining the negative impact of big labor’s “political stranglehold on legislation in Pennsylvania despite representing less than two […]
SD Union-Tribune Urges SD Unified School District to “Scrap Union Payoff”
In a July 6 editorial, the San Diego Union-Tribune continues to hammer the San Diego Unified School District’s decision to utilize a wasteful and discriminatory union-only project labor agreements on school construction paid for by the $2.1 billion Proposition S. Here is an excerpt: Approving a PLA would be a betrayal of San Diego Unified’s […]
ABC of California Appears on FOX News and Union Greenmail Exposed by New York Times
Following The New York Times piece exposing greenmail — a union tactic to hijack green construction and implement wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements on energy related projects in California (“Labor Sees Green in Solar Plants in California: A Move to Put the Union Label on Solar Power Plants,” 6/19) — FOX News Channel’s Neil Cavuto did […]
Update: Labor Dispute Saves More Proposition S Construction from PLAs
VoiceofSanDiego.org is reporting that union disputes will allow more Proposition S funded construction to move forward without a project labor agreement. This is great news for the citizens funding the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD). Apparently, “Jurisdictional problems” between the carpenters union and other construction unions have delayed the signing of the PLA between […]
Merit Shop Victory: Open Competition Saved on San Diego Airport Expansion
Today the Board of Directors of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority decided to move forward on a $500 million expansion of Terminal B and other work at San Diego International Airport without requiring contractors to sign a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with construction unions. At its previous meeting on May 20, the board […]