Navy and Army Corps of Engineers Request Feedback on Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Projects
The Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) issued three surveys requesting information from the construction industry on the potential use of project labor agreements (PLAs) on projects in the San Diego region, where just last week San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) internal documents revealed how a new SDUSD PLA mandate policy is reducing competition and […]
Virginia Construction Industry Supports Legislation Ensuring Fair and Open Competition On Public Construction Contracts
Yesterday, ABC Virginia issued a press release supporting the Fair and Open Competition in Government Contracting Act (HB 33) pre-filed this Monday in Richmond (see the full release below). HB 33 prohibits Virginia and recipients of state funding or assistance from requiring or prohibiting contractors to enter into union agreements, such as a project labor agreement (PLA), as […]
Is Phase 2 of the Dulles Metrorail Silver Line Subject to a Government-Mandated Union Project Labor Agreement?
Will a recent deal to save the multi-billion dollar Phase 2 Dulles Metrorail Silver Line project in Northern Virginia force prime contractors to agree to an anti-competitive and costly project labor agreement (PLA) with labor unions in order to win construction contracts? What level of protection will Virginia’s right-to-work law offer to the state’s nonunion […]
San Diego Unified School District PLA Reduced Competition and Increased Costs
On Dec. 7, 2011, TheTruthAboutPLAs.com explained how government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) reduce competition and increase costs. Yesterday, the Free Enterprise Coalition released this press release (see below) about documents recently obtained from the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD). They prove government-mandated PLAs reduce competition and increase costs. Note: SDUSD calls these union agreements Project Stabilization […]
Reduced Competition Increases Costs
One fundamental economic principle is rarely wrong: Reduced competition increases costs. It is a fairly intuitive premise. Unfortunately, some government officials (often controlled by special interests) fail to grasp this basic economic concept. They often unwittingly—or even worse, knowingly—implement policies that unfairly cater to special interests or address both legitimate and erroneous public policy concerns at the […]
Project Labor Agreements Are Evidence of Moral Breakdown
Rarely mentioned in public policy discussions about Project Labor Agreements are the moral implications of using the government as an agent to prod contractors and their employees into union agreements. Is it right for a government to require contractors to make employee fringe benefit payments to union-managed trust funds and obtain their workers from a […]
NAVFAC Issues Project Labor Agreement Surveys for Maryland and Virginia Projects
The Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), which manages construction of U.S. Navy shore facilities, recently issued surveys for four federal construction projects, exceeding $25 million in total costs, in Maryland and Virginia. ABC members and construction professionals are encouraged to respond to the PLA surveys. Tell NAVFAC’s Washington District that government-mandated PLAs injure competition, increase costs, […]
On the Money: Sacramento CBS Affiliate Breaks Down the Added Cost of PLAs
In their “On the Money” segment, Sacramento’s CBS affiliate exposes what PLA mandates on school construction mean for taxpayers. Government-mandated PLAs have a negative impact on local construction workers and taxpayers. These special interest handouts to Big Labor line the pockets of union bosses at the expense of average Americans. Californians throughout the state have […]
MWAA Officials Understimate Economic Impact of Phase 2 PLA
In July, the TruthAboutPLAs.com wrote about correspondence and public statements from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) officials indicating they do not fully understand the potential negative economic impact of its April 6 resolution mandating a union-favoring project labor agreement (PLA) contractors are required to agree to in order to win construction contracts on the $3.5 billion Phase 2 […]
WSJ Editorial Blasts California SB 922
TheTruthAboutPLAs.com has been reporting for weeks about the perils of SB 922 and other California legislation catering to Big Labor’s special interests by promoting anti-competitive and costly government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs). After sailing through the California legislature via a deceptive gut and amend legislative vehicle originally about tuberculosis screening, Governor Jerry Brown (D) signed SB 922 […]