Arkansas Adopts Bipartisan PLA Reform Legislation
Gov. Asa Hutchison is the 18th governor since January 2011 to sign legislation or an executive order banning wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA) mandates on taxpayer-funded construction projects. Arkansas is one of 21 states in total that limit the ability of public entities to require contractors to enter into a PLA as a […]
Gov. O’Malley Issues Executive Order Encouraging the Use of Apprenticeship Programs and Local Hiring Plans in Maryland Public Contracting
On Monday, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) issued an executive order that changes how state government procures taxpayer-funded construction contracts. According to an O’Malley administration press release, Executive Order 01.01.2013.05 (pdf) issued Sept. 23, 2013, directs entities “under the control of the governor” that procure contracts for construction services to adopt new procurement guidelines: “The procurement […]
The Top 10 Stories of 2012
Happy New Year from TheTruthAboutPLAs.com In 2012, construction industry advocates of fair and open competition in public contracting defied a difficult political environment and economy to create more opportunities for qualified merit shop contractors and their skilled employees. President Obama’s Feb. 6, 2009, Executive Order 13502 encouraging federal agencies to mandate project labor agreements (PLAs) […]
The Merit Shop Goes to Washington
Members of the merit shop contracting community, welcome to Washington, DC, and ABC’s 2012 Legislative Conference. If you are here, you already understand the importance’s of ABC’s motto, “Get Into Politics or Get Out of Business!” As construction industry leaders, you will be talking with your peers and lawmakers on Capitol Hill about the negative […]
Understanding Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements and the Law
Lawmakers, the media, taxpayers and members of the construction industry frequently inquire about government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) and the law. They question how such blatant favoritism and cronyism is legal. In the 1993 landmark Boston Harbor case, the Supreme Court of the United States held that government-mandated PLAs are not prohibited by the National Labor Relations […]
Project Labor Agreements: Not What We Need, Not What We Deserve
Today, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) released a new video explaining the negative impact of union-favoring government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on taxpayers and the vast majority of the construction workforce that chooses not to join a labor organization. This video is just one more resource in the fight against wasteful government-mandated PLAs. Supporting facts […]
Updated: ABC Hawaii Chapter Blasts Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s PLA Directive
Update: This afternoon, TheTruthAboutPLAs.com received a copy of Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s Administrative Directive 12-05, which encourages state agencies to require the use of a wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement on projects costing more than $25 million and specifies the criteria for doing so. The directive looks very similar to President Barack Obama’s 2009 Executive […]
Idaho Legislature Shows Commitment to Taxpayer Value; Rejects Federal District Court’s Decision
Last week, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter (R) signed S.B. 1337, which is the legislature’s second attempt to ban wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA) mandates on taxpayer-funded construction. The prior piece of legislation (S.B. 1006 of 2011) Gov. Otter signed on March 3, 2011 to ban these taxpayer-funded handouts was invalidated in December 2011 […]
Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad’s Open Competition Executive Order
Despite the attempts of lawmakers in California to override the will of local voters and their elected officials, not all of the news on wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA) mandates from the states last week was bad. On Sept. 7, a federal District Court judge in Iowa dismissed a lawsuit filed by the […]
Illinois: Where Raising Taxes Isn’t Enough
Illinois taxpayers are having a rough go of it lately. While leaders in many states have reshaped their state governments to use public funds more efficiently and provide some relief to taxpayers, Illinois lawmakers have decided to go the other way on this issue. Illinois lawmakers went after people’s pocketbooks directly in early 2011, enacting […]