Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Crushes Fair and Open Competition for Hospital Project
The seven-month battle at the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors over requiring contractors to sign the county’s first government-mandated project labor agreement (renamed on the May 24 agenda as a “Community Workforce Agreement”) came to an end today (May 24, 2011) with a regrettable result for county taxpayers, as well as businesses and their […]
Solano County in California Uses Erroneous Citation of State Law to Justify Project Labor Agreement
Associated Builders and Contractors’ (ABC) government affairs staff in California knows the state’s labor laws and public contracting laws, inside and out. So ABC representatives immediately spotted the error when they read the Solano County Department of General Services staff report for the September 28, 2010 Board of Supervisors meeting that justified the use of […]
Santa Barbara County Business Leaders Rally for Fair and Open Bid Competition
Proponents of fair and open bid competition in Santa Barbara County, California gathered March 10th at the county administrative building to protest a proposed project labor agreement for future county construction. On a 3-0 vote with two absences, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted on February 16 to negotiate a PLA for with […]
California: Land of the Lost
There are few reports available that summarize how local governments across the United States are responding to the challenging economic and political circumstances of the last two years, but we at TheTruthAboutPLAs.com have been tracking the not-altogether-unexpected reaction at local governments in California. Considering the reputation of California as a state where government fiscal irresponsibility […]
Kevin Dayton: Project Labor Agreement is Costly Sellout to Union
The August 5 edition of the Contra Costa Times features an outstanding op-ed written by www.truthaboutPLAs.com blogger Kevin Dayton blasting the three members of the Brentwood City Council who voted to require a wasteful and discriminatory PLA on the construction of their new Civic Center. Here is an excerpt: The Brentwood City Council’s new PLA effectively cuts […]
Brentwood Residents Speaking Out Against PLAs
A July 6 letter to the editor to the Contra Costa Times hits the proverbial nail right on the head. Here’s an excerpt: This [PLA] not only violates the tenets of fairness but places the government in a position of essentially favoring one set of bidders over another. The scale of justice is weighted in […]
California: Brentwood City Council Approves PLA on Civic Center
On 6/19, the Brentwood, California City Council agreed to a project labor agreement (PLA) that will govern the construction of its $65 million downtown Civic Center. You can learn more about the unfortunate decision and details of the discriminatory and costly PLA here and here. This article provides a concise overview of the events leading up to […]