Maryland Cozies Up to Project Labor Agreement Schemes
Free enterprise is under attack in Maryland and the merit shop contracting community, which employs 88.6 percent of the state’s construction workforce, will be denied a fair opportunity to compete for construction contracts due to the rise of special interest favoritism. Two recent media reports highlight how Maryland lawmakers and the administration of Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) are capitulating to Big […]
Maryland County Says NO to PLA Mandates
State and local leaders continue to say NO to wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA) mandates. The latest to do so is Anne Arundel County, MD, where local leaders adopted a ban on government-mandated PLAs on January 17. Maryland joins California, Texas and Pennsylvania as states in which local government entities have approved […]
Nevada Court Declares Project Labor Agreement to be Favoritism: Strikes Down Mandate for Contractors to Sign with Unions to Build $17 Million Las Vegas Prison
On August 15, State of Nevada District Court Judge Jerry Wiese ruled that a project labor agreement (PLA) imposed on contractors by the elected Clark County Board of Commissioners for a $17 million prison project in Las Vegas violated the state’s competitive bidding laws. The Nevada Supreme Court has asked Judge Wiese to evaluate the […]
The Truth About the Recent PA Supreme Court Ruling
The Pennsylvania Supreme Count issued a preliminary ruling on the Hawbaker, et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of General Services, et al. Several uninformed media outlets have indicated that this ruling is an endorsement of PLAs. This is not accurate. This case stems from former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell administration’s effort to force PLA requirements on […]
89 Miles for Worker Freedom – Update
As we reported last week, John Falk of York, Pa. has started his walk for worker freedom. Falk is walking from York to the U.S. Capitol to deliver a petition urging Congress to repeal President Obama’s Executive Order 13502, which encourages federal agencies to require wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) on federal construction […]
Op-Ed: State’s Union-Friendly Deals Unfair, Too Costly
In an op-ed published in the June 19 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette titled, “State’s Union-Friendly Deals Unfair, too Costly,” Stephen R. Campbell and Vicki Craft Kearns present a well-written overview of the project labor agreement (PLA) issue in Pennsylvania and nationwide. The op-ed also does an excellent job laying out how Big Labor’s support […]
Building Pennsylvania: PLA Forum and Lt. Governor Debate
The Keystone Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors is holding a forum to discuss wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) as part of their May 11 Lt. Governors debate. This event is part of their Save the Endangered Species campaign to educate the public on the true impact of PLAs. TheTruthAboutPLAs.com’s Ben Brubeck is […]
Editorial Calls on Gov. Rendell to End Special Interest PLAs
An editorial in the Williamsport Sun Gazette questions the “source, timing and validity” of Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell’s remarks in his eighth and final budget address that chided “special interest groups for stymieing his legislative efforts to curb special interests” (“Timing suspicious on lobbyist crackdown,” 3/19). It also calls government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) a “rigged […]
Gov. Culver Delivers for Big Labor
In what should be no surprise to anyone, Gov. Chet Culver announced today that the Iowa Department of Administrative Services has been approved to move forward with wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) on two upcoming projects for the Department of Corrections. Here is the text of Gov. Culver’s release announcing the PLAs: Gov. […]
Rendell Administration Love Affair With Big Labor Stalls Prison Construction Projects and Slows Job Growth for Pennsylvanians
There is renewed interest in the delayed construction of over $800 million worth of prison construction in Pennsylvania. As regular readers of TheTruthAboutPLAs.com remember, Gov. Ed Rendell (D) promised the Pennsylvania construction unions in 2008 that the Department of General Services (DGS) would require contractors to sign wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) in […]