Project Labor Agreements under Attack as Non-Union Contractors Try to Pick Off Public Jobs

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.labornotes.org/2010/11/project-labor-agreements-under-attack-non-union-contractors-try-pick-public-jobs

Jenny Brown | December 13, 2010

Idled by the housing bust, non-union contractors are attacking agreements that building trades unions have used to defend their work for the last two decades.

Residential and light industrial construction, dominated by non-union firms, is still flat on its back. Construction employment is at a 14-year low, the Department of Labor reported in October. But some publicly funded work is still going ahead, thanks to federal stimulus funds and to state and local spending.


Project Labor Agreements are negotiated between the employer and unions to set wages and work rules on many large, publicly funded jobs. In return, unions promise not to strike or engage in other job actions for the duration of the project. Photo: Jim West


Now, non-union construction firms, fighting for market share, want to bring their low wages and bad work rules to those taxpayer-funded jobs.

Associated Builders and Contractors, an employer group, is crowing about its latest victory—a November 2 ballot measure that passed by 75.8 percent in San Diego County, California. ABC is vowing a “50-state strategy” to ban Project Labor Agreements.

The ballot strategy may be dangerous for construction union job standards because PLAs, unlike prevailing wage laws, are confusing and opaque to the general public. Prevailing wage laws can be defended by saying that public dollars shouldn’t encourage low-wage work. PLAs can sound more like a backroom deal.

FULL story at link.

[Arctic Dave]

1. More race to the bottom idiots.

Maybe they should join a union instead of crying about PLAs. If I remember correctly even if they are not union they can still work on the project but they have to do it under union rules which to me seems would benefit these guys if they are getting less then what they are making through the union. If I had to guess this is another astroturf front group for the GCA wanting to union bust.