County Hospitals Are Prime Targets for Project Labor Agreements: Ventura County is the Latest in California
The first government-mandated project labor agreement (PLA) in California (following the Boston Harbor decision at the U.S. Supreme Court) was imposed in the spring of 1994 by the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors for a county hospital construction project. Last year, unions managed to squeak out (on a 3-2 vote) their first PLA for […]
California Union Boss/Community College District Trustee Not Big on Disclosure
It isn’t hard to see that Big Labor is engaged in an organized effort to get union bosses elected and appointed to local governing entities, i.e. school boards, community college commissions, county councils, etc. This strategy has paid dividends in a number of communities, where labor leaders have pushed these governing bodies into requiring wasteful […]
ABC Empire State Chapter Urges Gov. Cuomo to Unshackle the Economic Power of Public Construction
Stephen Lefebvre, president of the Empire State Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) had some thoughts on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s state of the state address last week. The ABC Empire State Chapter issued the press release below on January 5, where he wished Gov. Cuomo the best in 2012 and asked him […]
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 […]
Philly Mayor Opens Door to Waste and Discrimination with Pro-PLA Executive Order
Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter issued Executive Order 15-11 on Nov. 29, 2011, re-establishing the use of anti-competitive and costly union-favoring government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on city projects costing more than $5 million. According to Philly’s press release, the order does not mandate PLAs on all projects, but it creates a PLA evaluation procedure that opens the door […]
California’s Environmental Laws: A Weapon to Crush Potential Competition and Extort Developers
Legal exploitation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for purposes unrelated to environmental protection continues unabated throughout California, according to an article in the November 14 Los Angeles Times (“Firms Turning to Environmental Law to Combat Rivals”). This news is 25 years old, but it’s always good to see the news media remind people […]
Democratic National Convention Committee Demands Project Labor Agreements; Host City Mayoral Candidate Scott Stone Wants to See the Agreements
Regardless of one’s political leanings, it is impossible to deny the economic development opportunities that come to a city when it hosts one of the two major political party conventions every four years. Unfortunately, the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) has decided to make union favoritism a key criteria for selecting vendors for their 2012 […]
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 […]
California Governor Signs Union-Backed Senate Bill 922, Intended to End Local Project Labor Agreement Bans
California Governor Jerry Brown announced on Sunday, October 2 that he has signed Senate Bill 922. He even included a signing message that declared SB 922 to be “fair” and “democratic.” This is the most dramatic attempt to date by unions and their political cronies to suppress the Fair and Open Competition movement that started […]
Taxpayers Lose Twice: 54-46 and 52-48
It’s rare to see elected officials repeal a bad decision. It’s usually easier to let taxpayers pay for the mistake. But taxpayers had a second chance on September 12 when the Sacramento Regional Transit (RT) District Board of Directors debated the repeal or amendment of a 2009 resolution requiring construction contractors to sign a Project […]