Jan
2013 4
2013 4
NJ Senate President Stephen Sweeney, an Ironworker, is Leading the Charge to Ensure that Sandy Reconstruction Provides Good Jobs with Workplace Protections
As New Jersey prepares to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy, Senate President Stephen Sweeney is proposing a bill that would make some of the largest projects eligible for Project Labor Agreements (PLAs). For New Jersey construction workers who experienced high unemployment rates throughout 2012, this is good news as it means good jobs with quality...
Aug
2012 28
2012 28
City, State and Team Inch Closer to Using a PLA for the New Minnesota Vikings Stadium
Since the Minnesota legislature passed funding for a new Vikings football stadium in May, Governor Mark Dayton has promised the project will bring much-needed jobs to Minneapolis. To boot, a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) is likely to be used so the region’s workers are feeling assured that the jobs will stay local. Members of the ...
May
2012 14
2012 14
Court Deems $6 Billion Worth of NYC Project Labor Agreements Fully Legal
A Second Circuit panel has decided that Project Labor Agreements between the City of New York and the Building and Construction Trades Council (BCTC) of Greater New York do not violate federal labor laws. The BCTC, which represents roughly 50 regional unions, has $6 billion of work committed to various PLAs through 2014. These PLAs ...
May
2012 9
2012 9
Vikings Stadium Bill Clears MN Legislature but Team Owners Will Have to Pay Extra $100M
UPDATE: The stadium proposal has passed the Senate as well. See who voted how via IUOE Local 49. Minnesota’s effort to replace the aging Metrodome, where the Minnesota Vikings play, progressed on Monday when the House passed a stadium proposal by a vote of 73-58. It now moves on to the Senate. The $975 stadium ...
Apr
2012 13
2012 13
Important Bill Protecting PLAs in California is Approved, Passes Full Assembly
The following announcement was made by the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California… *** An important Building Trades backed bill that specifically clarifies that local governments that enact a blanket ban on PLAs for public works projects may not receive any state funding for construction, was approved today by the state...
Mar
2012 27
2012 27
4,000 Jobs, $2 Billion in “Economic Impact” Slated for Long Beach Bridge Construction
Construction tradesmen are waiting anxiously to find out who will be awarded a $700 million contract to replace the Gerald Desmond bridge in Long Beach. A Project Labor Agreement that would ensure local and minority hire, as well as safety and wage provisions, has been discussed but not yet approved: Proposals for the new bridge, ...
Mar
2012 21
2012 21
CEO Pens Pro-PLA Piece, Suggests Union and Non-Union Participation on WA Transit Project
A recent opinion piece by Pat McCarthy and Joni Earl in Washington state’s The News Tribune discusses the efficient nature of construction projects when issues are ironed out before construction begins under a Project Labor Agreement (PLA). Speaking about Sound Transit’s new project to build more than $9.5 worth of light rail line,...
Mar
2012 20
2012 20
A Teamsters Apprenticeship Through Helmets to Hardhats Turned an Afghanistan War Vet’s Life Around
The Helmets to Hardhats program, which helps returning service veterans find careers in the construction trades, is often cited as a government program that lives up to its goals. The program is a feature of many Project Labor Agreements, the pre-hire contracts frequently entered into between federal, state and local municipalities when building...
Mar
2012 2
2012 2
“At this time, the county of Ventura has 34 active public works contracts. Three out of five of these contracts are with contractors from outside Ventura County.”
Project Labor Agreements draw the ire of anti-union Republicans because they view them as a union vs. non-union issue. Yet, many demographics benefit from PLAs, including the demographic of ‘people who get their name called thanks to local hiring provisions therein.’ Maricela Morales of the Ventura County Star recently wrote a piece...
Feb
2012 15
2012 15
New York PLA Expected to Save Nursing Home Over $700,000 In Construction Costs
Local workers in Glenville, New York may be headed back to the job site soon as Schenectady County officials have signed a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with the Greater Capital Region Building and Construction Trades Council for work on the Glendale Nursing Home. According to the Times Union, the county has estimated that the deal ...
Feb
2012 7
2012 7
YEAH WRONG: NH Tea Partier Sends Letter to Obama Asking Him to Rescind EO on PLAs
New Hampshire Tea Party Senator Kelly Ayotte has spoken out (again) in opposition to Project Labor Agreements, this time in regards to a proposed Job Corps Center in her home state: In a letter to Obama released Monday, Ayotte asked the President to reverse his executive order requiring federal projects over $25 million to consider ...
Feb
2012 2
2012 2
Virginia, Not Satisfied With Being a Private Sector Wage-Crushing “Right-to-Work” State, Takes Aim at Safety, Wages, Diversity Standards on Construction Projects
Virginia Republicans look to further diminish the power of unions in the already-Right-to-Work Old Dominion with a bill passed by the Senate on Tuesday that would ban the use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) on any project that receives funding from the state. Although there is no specific language stating it, the move was implemented ...
