The PLA shakedown (Obama exec ordered Project Labor Agreements)

The federal government is building a new $35 million Jobs Corps Center in Manchester, N.H. And true to its word, the Obama administration is requiring it to be built under a "project labor agreement," better known as a PLA.

PLAs pervertedly are touted as giving taxpayers more bang for their buck. Union labor supposedly assures "greater quality" because "fair" wages must be paid, which promotes "labor peace" and efficiency.

Actually, it's nothing but bribery, extortion, collusion, discrimination and restraint of free trade all rolled into one putrid ball

Press Release

ABC Member Files Protest Against U.S. Department of Labor Project Labor Agreement

Contract Discriminates Against Majority of New Hampshire's Construction Workforce

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) member company North Branch Construction, a Concord, N.H.-based general contractor, Oct. 5 filed a bid protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) against the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The complaint accuses the DOL of violating federal law by mandating the use of a project labor agreement (PLA) -- a controversial contract that strongly favors union-signatory contractors, increases the cost of construction up to 18 percent, and restricts competition from nonunion contractors and their qualified workforce -- in its bid specifications for the construction of a federal DOL Job Corps center in Manchester, N.H.

The complaint states that the DOL's inclusion of the PLA, "unduly restricts competition, is wholly unsupported and violates the Competition in Contracting Act, Executive Order 13502, the Small Business Act, and numerous procurement regulations," and requests that the GAO order the DOL to remove any PLA requirement from the solicitation.

"PLAs are special interest handouts that deny taxpayers the accountability they deserve from government contracts," said Ken Holmes, president of North Branch Construction. "This DOL PLA discriminates against New Hampshire's qualified and experienced nonunion employees and businesses, such as North Branch Construction, who all deserve a fair opportunity to provide the public with the best construction product at the best price."

A PLA is a contract that discourages competition from nonunion contractors and their nonunion employees by requiring a construction project to be awarded only to contractors and subcontractors that agree to recognize unions as the representatives of their employees on that job; use the union hall to obtain workers; obey the union's restrictive apprenticeship and work rules; and contribute to union pension plans and other funds in which their employees will never benefit unless they join a union.

"More than 91 percent of New Hampshire's construction workforce does not belong to a labor union, and since August 2008, New Hampshire's construction workforce has suffered an 18.6 percent increase in unemployment," said Holmes. "A PLA on this project is bad economic policy, especially because a PLA will unnecessarily increase the cost of construction of this taxpayer-funded project, and it will prevent nonunion workers from competing - possibly increasing unemployment in our state."

The legal challenge is expected to heighten tensions over the federal government's recent shift in federal procurement policy concerning the use of discriminatory and costly PLAs. On Feb. 6, President Obama signed Executive Order 13502, which repealed a 2001-2008 prohibition on federal PLAs and encourages agencies to require PLAs on federal construction projects whose total costs exceed $25 million. The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council is in the process of reviewing public comments on its controversial July 14 proposed rule that would implement Executive Order 13502 into federal procurement code. The DOL PLA is believed to be the first government-mandated PLA on a federal construction project since Executive Order 13502 was issued, despite the fact that a final rule has not been implemented by the FAR Council.

North Branch Construction's bid protest is supported by ABC's Construction Legal Rights Foundation and the ABC New Hampshire/Vermont Chapter.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national association with 79 chapters representing 25,000 merit shop construction and construction-related firms with two million employees. Visit us at www.abc.org. For more PLA-related information or to view the complaint, visit www.TheTruthAboutPLAs.com or www.abc.org/pla.

SOURCE Associated Builders and Contractors

Gail Raiman, +1-703-812-2073, or Gerry Fritz, +1-703-812-2062, both of Associated Builders and Contractors

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/10/07/obama_kowtows_to_labor_unions/

Obama kowtows to labor unions
By David G. Tuerck
October 7, 2009

LAST YEAR as a presidential candidate, Barack Obama told the Building Trades National Legislative Conference that “we need to make sure the government uses project labor agreements to encourage completion of projects on time and on budget.’’ He complained that project labor agreements had been banned by the Bush administration.

PLAs require construction firms to follow union work rules and to hire their workers through a union hiring hall. Workers hired under PLAs have to pay union dues whether they belong to the union or not.

[...] The real purpose of PLAs is to discourage nonunion contractors from bidding on public projects. It’s a matter of the 16 percent of construction workers who belong to unions protecting their jobs and perks from the other 84 percent.

[...]

Obama has made good on his campaign promise by lifting the ban on PLAs imposed by President Bush. The Obama administration will permit PLAs on federal construction projects costing $25 million or more.

It turns out, however, that Obama is fixing a contracting process that was never broken. If PLAs are really effective for avoiding labor disputes, then there should have been dozens of such disputes over the course of the PLA-free Bush administration. [...there weren't any...]

[...]

While we couldn’t find any projects initiated under the Bush administration that were delayed or that ran over budget because of the absence of a PLA, it is easy to find projects that suffered from delays or cost overruns despite the presence of a PLA. The granddaddy of all of these is the Big Dig, notorious for its delays, cost overruns, and shoddy workmanship. An Iowa Events Center has a similar history. The City of Fall River had to cancel its plans to build schools under a PLA when the result was to attract only a few bidders and when the bids submitted were way over budget.

[...]

David G. Tuerck is chairman and professor of economics and executive director of the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University.

A few added points from a blog entry about the North Branch Construction protest....

http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs...

Oct 06 2009 2:50pm EDT
Live Union or Die

A construction project in New Hampshire has become the latest battleground in the power struggle between business and labor.

North Branch Construction, a nonunion contractor in Concord, New Hampshire, filed a bid protest [...]

[...]

President George W. Bush had barred agencies from requiring PLAs on federal contracts, but President Obama—in his third week on the job—repealed Bush’s executive order. Obama issued a new order, encouraging agencies to use PLAs on large construction projects. [...]

[...]

ABC believes this contract is the government’s first mandated PLA since Obama issued his executive order. The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council in July issued a proposed regulation that would codify the order, but it’s still reviewing comments on the proposal. It has not issued a final rule.

[...]

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