ABC Wins Another Challenge Against Government-Mandated Project Labor Agreements on Federal Construction Projects
TheTruthAboutPLAs.com is pleased to share a news release about ABC’s latest win against anti-competitive and costly federal government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs). ABC, ABC members and TheTruthAboutPLAs.com continue to lead the fight against special interest PLA schemes on behalf of the construction industry, concerned taxpayers and supporters of the principles of fair and open competition […]
Malkin: Taxpayers Beware of White House Gifts to Big Labor
ICYMI, check out political pundit Michelle Malkin’s blog. It links to a piece on www.TheTruthAboutPLAs.com and warns the public about more special interest gifts to Big Labor via anti-competitive and costly project labor agreements (PLAs) (“Watch Out: More Obama union pay-offs in the works,” 12/20): On Friday, President Obama mollified Big Labor bosses at the White […]
Millions of Stimulus Dollars Wasted on Lafayette Building’s Project Labor Agreement Gift to Big Labor
How much does a government-mandated project labor agreement (PLA) add to a $52.3 million construction project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) in Washington, D.C.? At least $3.3 million. That’s the cost of a change order the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) paid to a federal contractor to ensure renovations to the […]
Video Documents Big Labor’s Project Labor Agreement Shakedown in Lansing
Take a look at this outstanding video posted by The Mackinac Center that explains the grip of Big Labor’s powerful special interests on some members of the Lansing City Council. We’ve covered this story before, but basically, Lansing City Council members beholden to Big Labor’s anti-competitive and costly agenda issued threats to halt both the cleanup […]
Union Fund Gets $90,000 through Project Labor Agreement with Northern California Utility and Then Gives $50,000 to Campaign Against Chula Vista Ballot Measure
How are California construction unions able to make $50,000 political contributions to local campaigns? In one case, a union trust fund that made such a contribution in California received funding from ratepayers of a publicly-owned utility through a mandated payoff included in a Project Labor Agreement. A year ago (November 2, 2009), the 20 commissioners […]
More Evidence That Project Labor Agreements Reduce Competition and Increase Costs
Big Labor Bosses and their hand-picked political puppets claim that anti-competitive and costly government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) are in the public’s best interest. In reality, PLAs are crony contracting schemes implemented by corrupt elected officials that funnel lucrative public works contracts to union contractors and their union employees in exchange for political support. Numerous […]
Divisive Vote Near Los Angeles for Project Labor Agreement: Three School Board Members Defy Community and Reward Union Campaign Contributors
Big Labor politics in Los Angeles was on brazen display at the San Gabriel Unified School District in the City of San Gabriel (ten miles east of downtown Los Angeles) on the evening of Wednesday, November 10. In front of more than 100 irate local residents who packed the meeting room, the elected Governing Board […]
Do Project Labor Agreements Ensure Compliance with Labor Laws?
It is a myth that anti-competitive government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) — schemes public officials beholden to Big Labor’s special interests execute to funnel lucrative public construction contracts to unionized contractors and union members in return for continued political support — ensure compliance with labor and employment laws and regulations.
An audit found violations by 55 contractors working on a $150 million Los Angeles Unified School District high school under construction in San Fernando, Calif., subject to a government-mandated PLA. The violations include failure to pay prevailing wages and inadequate supervision of apprentices. Four of the contractors had expired or suspended licenses.
The audit results demonstrate contractors working under a government-mandated PLA violate labor laws, yet PLA proponents frequently perpetuate the myth that a PLA prevents labor law infractions on PLA projects. This example shows how the presence of a PLA does little to ensure compliance with labor laws and the arguments in support of PLA mandates are weak.
Solano County in California Uses Erroneous Citation of State Law to Justify Project Labor Agreement
Associated Builders and Contractors’ (ABC) government affairs staff in California knows the state’s labor laws and public contracting laws, inside and out. So ABC representatives immediately spotted the error when they read the Solano County Department of General Services staff report for the September 28, 2010 Board of Supervisors meeting that justified the use of […]
New Billboard Tells Gov. Patrick to Halt the Assault on Taxpayers
The Massachusetts Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) has launched a new billboard telling Gov. Deval Patrick (D) to halt the assault on Massachusetts small business. In June, the UMass Building Authority approved a requirement that all construction contractors must enter into a wasteful project labor agreement (PLA) with Big Labor in order to […]