Union side of Project Labor Agreements
October 7, 2008
Our friend, Gregg Feere, of the Contra Costa Building and Construction Trades Council, Ccd us in an e-mail concerning Nicole Goehring’s recent appearance at a Contra Costa Taxpayers breakfast meeting that we had posted as a calendar item:
“I see that you (CoCo Tax) had an anti-project labor agreement presentation from Nicole Goehring of the Associated Builders and Contractors. As far as I know Ms Goehring has never participated in an apprenticeship program, never worked on a construction site, and has no construction contracting experience. For that matter I don’t know if she’s ever been on a construction site. That being said I am attaching the latest unbiased report on project labor agreements which totally contradicts Ms Goehring’s statements. Enjoy the reading!
Construction Careers for our Communities
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3 Responses to “Union side of Project Labor Agreements”
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To The Editor:
The Wall Street Journal on June 10, 2008, published an editorlal on the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931. The act set sets a floor on wages for federal construction projects. Basically, the Davis-Bacon Act requires union wages — which means higher wages — rather than free-market wages.
The Journal’s editorial stated that in suburban New York City, “Davis-Bacon requires a minimum wage for brickmasons of $49.67 an hour, though the more common area wage for that work is $25.50.”
Project Labor Agreements (PLA’s) operate similarly to the Davis-Bacon Act.
PLA’s can discriminate againsrt firms owned by women and minorities.
With a PLA, you will get 50 miles of highway rather than 80 to100 miles of highway.
Why pay more?
Richard Colman
Orinda, CA
Oct. 7, 2008
I’m confused . If the study above is indeed “unbiased”, how come the commenter took the time to scrub the name of the producing entity from the document. Who wrote and funded this study?
I think this study is the product of the Miguel Contreras UC Labor Institute, the union think tank that the Governor finally found to be so biased, he stopped allowing public funds to go towards its activities.
I’m always suspicious when people try to steer you away from the issue. Isn’t the issue Project Labor Agreements, what does the question of Ms. Goehring’s experience on a jobsite or visiting of a jobsite have to do with the impact of a PLA or her position on PLA’s?
I’ve never cooked poached eggs, but I know what good ones and bad ones taste and look like. I’ve never jumped off the roof of a building, but I know what will happen if I do. Am I an expert in either of those areas, no but I know what the outcome can be.
I have had experience in a survey from a Municipal Owner considering a PLA. That Owner polled 20 preselected contractors with a questionnaire about the impacts of a PLA for a project that Owner was putting out to bid. Of the 20 contractors selected by the Owner, 11 said a PLA would increase costs, (6 of the 11 were union contractors).
So if we want to rely on “jobsite experience”, we have to listen to the contractors themselves who say PLAs increase costs. [BTW the Owner voted against using a PLA].