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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 2, 2013 03:58 PM |
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| From: | Representative George Dunbar |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Introduction of Legislation to Prohibit Project Labor Agreements |
| Please find the attached copy of legislation that I will be introducing in the near future to prohibit the use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) on public projects. A PLA is a comprehensive agreement singed by a builder and local craft union under which a defined construction project is agreed to be completed by workers referred from those craft union hiring halls, in return for the union's guarantee of no strikes, a steady labor supply, and general labor peace. Such agreements state that the craft unions are to be recognized as the collective bargaining representative of workers on the project, and normally include detailed work rules that the workforce is to follow. In situations where a PLA involves a public project, when the public body issues its bid specifications for a project, it includes a stipulation that all bidding contractors abide by the PLA. PLAs also normally have a "core worker" clause that permits bidding contractors to use a core of their normal employees, typically 10% or less. It is important to note that the use of PLAs by public bodies in not specifically prohibited under state law. It is my view that PLAs discriminate against non-union contractors and that they discriminate again a vast majority of construction industry workers, 80% of which belong to non-union shops. PLAs force non-union contractors to work on a project with workers with whom they have had no previous relationship, and force them to discard their normal employees. Also, PLAs force non-union contractors to abide by union work rules and subject their company to union "salting" tactics to unionize their entire workforce. In addition, I believe that PLAs drive up the cost of public projects because they drive away qualified non-union companies from bidding on such projects, thus lessening competition and raising project costs. In fact, there are many studies that indicate that PLAs raise public project construction costs. For example, a 2011 study of 551 school constructions projects completed from 1996-2008 in California found that PLAs increase construction costs anywhere from 15%-18% My legislation would create a freestanding act know as the "Open Contract Act", and this act would also prohibit the use of PLAs by public bodies. There is no reason why public tax dollars should be used to discriminate against 80% of construction workers. |
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