Courts Rule in Favor of #NoPLA Laws Promoting Fair and Open Competition
Proponents of government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) have unsuccessfully challenged federal and state laws and executive orders that prevent lawmakers and agencies from imposing anti-competitive and costly union-favoring PLA requirements on taxpayer-funded construction projects. When mandated by government entities, PLAs have a dismal track record of increasing costs, reducing competition, and discriminating against experienced construction companies […]
ABC Delaware Fighting Costly Pro-Project Labor Agreement Legislation
The merit shop is under attack in The First State. ABC Delaware is engaged in a fight to defeat House Bill 283, which requires government agencies to “directly negotiate in good faith a project labor agreement with one or more labor organizations engaged in the construction industry; or condition the award of a contract to […]
Victory in Idaho: Appeals Court Upholds Idaho Law Protecting Fair and Open Competition on Public Construction Projects
Big news out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit: Idaho’s law restricting state agencies or political subdivisions from requiring contractors to enter into project labor agreements (PLAs) as a condition of performing public work stands. There are no legal challenges against any of the enacted 23 state anti-PLA mandate laws or executive […]
Nevada Becomes the 23rd State to Ban PLA Mandates, Is Ohio Next?
Gov. Sandoval signed legislation last week to make Nevada the 23rd state to restrict the ability of state and local government entities to implement wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA) mandates on taxpayer funded construction projects. Nevada is the 20th state to take action on the issue since President Barack Obama issued his executive […]
Federal Court Upholds Louisiana Law Prohibiting Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements
Another union-backed legal challenge to a state law protecting fair and open competition for taxpayer-funded construction contracts has failed. It is another big win for free enterprise and builds on existing case law permitting states to restrict these crony contracting schemes. A federal court in the Eastern District of Louisiana May 27 ruled that Louisiana’s […]
West Virginia Becomes 22nd State Against Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements
West Virginia became a bit more wonderful today for taxpayers, the contracting community, and supporters of fair and open competition. By signing SB 409 this morning, West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin became the first Democrat Governor in the nation, and the 19th governor since January 2011, to sign legislation or an executive order banning wasteful […]
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 […]
Arkansas Senate Passes Bill to Strengthen PLA Reform Executive Order
The Arkansas Senate today unanimously passed S.B. 426, which codifies and strengthens a 2005 executive order issued by then-Gov. Mike Huckabee that bans project labor agreement (PLA) mandates on taxpayer-funded construction. In contrast to the partisanship in Washington, D.C., senators from both parties stood together to reject these handouts to Big Labor bosses. The bill approved by the […]
California Gov. Jerry Brown Signs Bill Mandating the Use of PLA
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) this week signed legislation designed to expedite the construction of a critical water infrastructure project in the Salinas Valley. Unfortunately, provisions in the bill require the authority procuring the project to mandate the use of a wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA). As a result, the local agency has decided […]
California Legislature Poised to Issue First Local PLA Mandate in State History
The California Legislature is set to break new ground and taxpayers should be very concerned. For the first time in state history, the Legislature is posed to require a local government entity to mandate a project labor agreement (PLA) on a local construction project. If Assembly Bill 155, sponsored by Assemblyman Luis Alejo (D), is […]