Unions’ Unfair PLAy in California
by Bret JacobsonSome elected leaders in California are coming up on a tough decision: do they do what’s right for taxpayers, or take from the poor and give to rich union officials?
The story: Working Americans — taxpayers — have taken it on the chin in a tough economy. And now union are increasingly pushing special-interest laws known as “project labor agreements” that ensure that taxpayer-funded projects cost more because they can only use union labor. (watch video for a good explanation of the issue)
Now officials in Riverside, California are looking to slap a costly project labor agreement (see here) on $350 million of construction efforts at the community college district. This after they have have already raised tuition by 30 percent this year passed a major tax increase. Not to load you down with math but PLA’s add about 20 percent in costs — meaning that tuition goes up, taxes go up to pay for the construction bond, and unions skim about $50 million in added costs.
Before Riverside leaders cast their votes, they ought to know that there’s an ugly history of PLAs in California. Unions have turned to “greenmail” — virtual extortion dressed up as environmentalism — to push PLA requirements on projects. And there’s evidence from the state that they even fail to deliver on the promises/alleged benefits of using a PLA.
Perhaps those are among the reasons that in November the Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed an ordinance banning PLAs to ensure that taxpayers got the best deal.
Will Riverside’s elected leaders do the same?
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51 Comments
Unions turning to "greenmail'?
Right out of the Saul Alinskey playbook. Sound familiar? ACORN used the same playbook, in demanding loans for those who could ill afford it, picketing in front of Banks, that were ill prepared to fight their thug tactics. This modus operandi has cratered the American Economic system.
Chris Dodd and Barney Frank continued to vouch for the soundness of Fannie Mae and Fredie Mac, while the junk paper was bundled and sold across the pond. Now we wonder why the whole world is pissed at US?
It sounds like unions in California are now using the tactics unions always used back in Pa., N.J., and N.Y. (not to mention thugusm.) It would seem unconstitutional. Private sector unions were almost dead in this country. Then the rise of public sector unions. About the only hope is to vote the bums out. I still have little hope for a state like California, but after Massachusetts, who knows?
Unions are the root of the weed that is Obama and the progressives! Union leaders need to be exposed for what they are. VICTIMHOOD PIMPS!! Extortion is their primary weapon. The reason they do it is because they can. The term GREENMAIL is especially appropriate when you throw in the environ-mental cases. The EPA needs castration.
The EPA needs eliminated.
Along with OSHA, Homeland Security, and a host of other idiotic alphabet institutions.
They all need shut down, send their minions to a halfway house for rehabilitation and re-indoctrination to teach them how to live in a capitalist society.
I agree. Look to any CERCLA Superfund site and you'll see that the money goes to attorneys (it's paid my mortgage for 15 years), consultants, mediators, etc.–I'd bet that more is spent on the process than is cleaning up anything. The EPA is good in theory, and bad in real life. The scary thing is that my rental car a few days ago was tuned to a liberal talk show and the guy was urging Obama to entact CERCLA like legislation upon the banking industry in an effort to force the banks to pay for everyone's losses during the recession (ignoring who made the banks make bad loans).
My question is if the states have, dpt of eniv, dpt of edu, their own investigation branchs, and own fed banks why do we need federal overseers? Just wondering why we duplicate everything? If the fed doesn't trust the states then who is watching the fed?
Union's are nothing more then a parasite to any company or project they work for/on.. I've seen it first hand, on one jobsite I was approched by a union member ( Carpenters Union ) saying "Hey brother you need to slow down your making your fellow brothers look bad".. Yeah they thought I was union, the outfit I worked for wanted it that way and for good reason, I was just doing my normal work pace !!! I never went back to that site as I was worried they might find out I was non-union and feared the outcome if they knew..
I totally agree!
Unions were and are the progressive movement in America, out to destroy our country like Islam! Hey, wasn't obama raised in Islam?
ive lost having any pity for the people inj states like CALI NY NJ MASS ILL or any other state where the people keep voting in the dems who are big lovers of unions nope dont feel sorry for them at all get what you vote for
And if we get Jerry Brown as our governor again he will shut all construction down in the name of global warming. I wonder how the unions will justify endorsing him because everyone know they will! And I wonder if union workers will be stupid enough to vote for him and they cry when he puts them all out of work.
I work for a general contracting company in SC. Right now we are at the BMW manufacturing site doing alot of the expansion work for them. When it started the project was so big that some union crews were here working from up north. They kept making up all these rules every day trying to get non-union shops thrown off the job for safety violations. They spent so much time doing this they slowed down thier work more than normal and kept missing deadlines. Now, there are no union outfits left and we are still working.
This seems to have turned into a “union-bash.” My I join?
Imagine, a $60 million, state of the art, one of a kind electronic system used to test the most advanced military aircraft avionics. Now vision union workers uncrating this system outside, in August, in a southern state just as the afternoon thunder storms are forming. But, wait, it’s lunch time, and the union forklift driver takes-off and rain is starting to fall. When asked to stay and move the equipment in doors, (10 more minuts of work,) using his forklift, the union driver says, and I kid you not, “I don’t care if it is going to rain, take it up with my boss.” And off he walks.
I've got an idea. Let's make it illegal for union labor to be involved in any publicly funded project period. Why should tax payers pay more, or pay to support a union they could care less about. It's our money and our stuff that's getting built after all. Andy Stern would have a heart attack and die on the spot.
Don't forget the TSA.
I've seen it happen.
I don't even care about California anymore. The loons have run the place down and turned large swaths of the state into 3rd world hell holes. I remember noCal very fondly still, I think I'll not ever go there again and preserve the memory as it was.
The point is simple, Californians can fix thier problems. They just aren't irritated enough about being shafted to do anything about it. In my area the unions are quite tolerable compared to elsewhere, but the tactics that succeed elsewhere would fail here. To many of us willing to take it to the pavement, small population, etc.
I have a very difficult time feeling bad for Cali, let them sort their state out from within.
You're right. They are so insignificant I forgot all about them.
Unions workers built my house in Illinois. After we were hit by a tornado, the reconstruction revealed numerous "errors" the builders made. Short-cuts, shoddy workmanship, and all at a steep price. A commercial that runs here touts something like "hire union workers for a job done right". The only thing they guarantee is that it will cost more!
i guess everyone would be happier if undocumented mexicans were doing the construction on the schools that your kids will learn in. count the dollars, and then ask yourself if you want someone who completed a 5 year apprenticeship, has kept up to date with the current codes and technology and is an american or trust that jose knows how to ground an electric panel and wont kill anyone. i doubt if anyone here knows a fair days work or has a single callous on your hands. unions represent workers who pay taxes and buy american products.
Sparky.. PLAs, or their equivalent, exist all over the country. In our state, school contracts are issued at "prevailing wage" which is essentially, from a cost perspective, the same thing as a union-only contract. The goal here is not to reward unions, but to keep construction jobs local. (Otherwise a contractor can simply bid low and bring in an outside crew.) On the face of it, it seems like a good idea.
However, when it comes to paying the workers, "prevailing wage" is defined as where the workers come from, not where the job takes place, provided that the workers come from in state. So, a contract is bid at local rates, but the contract pays the crew's location rates. In other words, the contractor bids higher than he actually needs to.
Now, while they can legally get away with this, they're not stupid (otherwise they'd get to do this once, and then never get awarded another contract bid again), so instead they bring in in-state-but-not-local crews at a cheaper rate, but they bring in more workers than they technically need. This allows them to finish the job faster… and pocket a fat bonus for finishing early.
At the end of the day, the property-tax payers get screwed over because they're paying more than they needed to. The work was still done by highly skilled American workers, but the local tax payer still pays more, and local workers still didn't get the job…
And yes, this does happen — it just happened with our new high school! Cost us SIX MILLION BUCKS!
Let's start by banning unionizing any publicly funded workplace (schools, govt., etc.). Unions are supposed to protect workers from big, bad, evil businesses, not the tax payer!
And a lot is duplicated or money is otherwize wasted following the state agency directives, which only get changed when the Feds come in. It is a mess. But because much of these issues (like CERCLA cleanups) are so slow and boring, the citizens really have no idea how much is wasted. And, most of the state workers, once they learn the skills, then leave to the private firms to make much more money.
Yes, my California should fix itself. Yet, our Senate passes a single payer bill. This state is a mess!
Seems to be a different issue–my non-union contractor fixing my old house knows the codes, and yet keeps my costs fair. Plus, SEIU wants to unionize those undocumented laborers, too (there's a lot of undocumented from places other then Mexico–El Salvador, Russia, Armenia, England (just go to Santa Monica for those), etc.). As for callous on my hands, I had those when I put myself through school. My two years as a Teamster led me to distrust, not trust, the union leadership.
It would be a lot funnier except California is currently borrowing the money to pay thier unemployment insurance from the federal government while manipulating the law to protect the union thugs who own the state.
Hey Sparky…….No callouses, but that doesn't make a fairs day work. I'll match my job being responsible for monitoring 100 million dollars of server gear and being on call 24×7 against your so called "fair days work" any day. Oh, I can hear you now "24×7? Why if you joined a union you wouldn't have to put up with that!". Maybe not, But I would have to put up with union boss leaches picking my pocket to support causes and candidates I don't agree with and telling me who to vote for. And to slow down so I don't make my "Brothers" look bad. Screw that . If the Telecommunications workers of America ever show up at an IT shop I work at, I'll be in the face of their reps every chance I get telling them they are not welcome.
Do you like how your tax dollars and union dues are being spent? Astroturf website attempts to smear tea parties. http://dailycaller.com/2010/01/29/labor-union-mon...
hey sparky, you don't know shit about callous on the hands…I've spent 30 years moving furniture with the only guarantee is if I do a good job, I get to continue…set your ass on one of my jobs, tell me you won't help me with moving a hide-a-bed until your 'break' is over, I'd kock you in the head with the damn sofa…and if your boss is stupid enough to take issue, I'd knock him in the head also, roll you both up in it, toss it in the trash and buy the customer a new one since the old one would be 'shit stained and soiled'…p.s. did you get the moniker cause you keep hooking up the wrong wires?
ENOUGH with the union crap already….unions are like politicians, they are both necessary evils. WTF over.
I am just an uneducated joe-six pack but why do we put up with this, fight back, are we so afraid of the PC media that we have lost the ability to kick ass.
Isn't it ironic that Unions became exactly what they were created to defend against?
The added cost may be even bigger. Massachusetts used "prevailing wage" language for projects like the Big Dig, and it was repeatedly pointed out that the figures used were higher than even union-agreed wages.
I live up here in Northern California… Alot of us are joining the State of Jefferson… We are tired of paying for all the crap that Southern California abuses from water to land. Fireman and Police, but don't blame all of us who have nothing to do with Hollywood or Vineyards, just like alot of the States OUR VOICES ARE NOT BEING HEARD! They have shut down the pumps there is no water going to the Delta Farmers and since California supplys 20% of the food supply of this country all should worry !Pelosi Boxer and our Dear Leader has now stated for the people of California that our water rights are not a RIGHT NOW BUT A PRIVLIDGE THE VOTER'S AND TAX PAYER'S WELL VOTE THESE IDIOTS OUT!
Chris Dodd and Barney Frank did more economical damage to America then Wall Street could ever do; at least, until they(Wall Street) got taken out by our Marxist takeover of America (who voted for it believe it or not)!
The only thing I dislike about Jefferson State is that it's so far north. You go, folks!
Thery'll be a 'swell' down here in CenCal, but the State is soooo locked down by union votes and non-informed urbanites, it'll be years before reform occurs.
A lot of union bashing going on here. 99% of it is not true. Unions are not entitled to PLA's. PLA's mandate that prevailing wages be paid nothing else. Read the freaking things idiots.
I'm a union electrician but am a true conservative. We do not walk off of jobs until they are done are can be wrapped up.
I don't like the fact that unions contribute to Democrats either but get your facts straight. Educate yourselves before you mouth off so ignorantly.
San Diego Unified is having the same problem.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jan/25/la...
Here's my favorite line from the article. Duh, of course organized labor would love these agreements.
"Organized labor calls the agreements a way to ensure that projects are done on time and on budget by qualified local workers who are compensated fairly."
Do we even need unions anymore?
I was in the tinknockers union on one large commercial job I had to help two other apprentices unload some AC units but because they were electrical we needed the electrician union also they had water running to them plumbers union had to be there because they were on skids that would need to be cleaned up afterwards the laborers union had to be there. When all was said and done there were 16 apprentices standing around to offload 4 50 pound pieces of equipment.
First, is there even such a thing as post racial? How do you get there? How many people must be unable to see racial difference to get there? It is good to know he understood for the last 3 yrs or so that Odumblo is black. That is uncanny ability if I ever saw it.
if you live in california and want to change things, go to reformcal.com. sign the petition to CUT THE STATE LEGISLATURE TO PART TIME WITH A 50 PERCENT PAY CUT. also go to unplugthepolitcalmachine.com to sign the petion that BARS UNIONS FROM MAKING POLITICAL DONATIONS FROM DUES TAKEN WITH OUT CONSENT.
I am an EX UNION CARPENTER/CEMENT MASON and was stiffed on the PREVAILING WAGES. Went to the Union, they did nothing.
As an ex UNION tradesman, I say the UNIONS ARE CORRUPTED, the use of the perfomance bond is a big contributor to the corruption. The should be caps on the amount of money paid on performance bonds, and there should be government OVERSIGHT on PREVAILING WAGE LAWS, as it stands now certified payroll, means the person in payroll certifes that the tradesman was or is being paid the prevailing wage, there are NO agencies doing audits on the certifed payroll. In my case, the Company was collecting the prevailing wage, and paying me half what it was, all the time lying on the certified payroll reports. The union says they are going to do something, they do nothing, Dvision of Bureau and Labor Standards Enforcement does no investigation, because the unions file no claim. The signatory companies find ways to exploit the prevailing wage laws. Many do so by hiring ILLEGALS. The electricians union not so much, but the carpenters and cement masons are rife with ILLEGALS. SO the Unions' claim that they look out for the worker is a bunch of BullSh*t
project labor agreements favor Union shops. The use of performance bonds drives up the cost of tax payer funded projects. A performance bond is a bond, the the contractor has to put up in order to bid on the project. If the contractor does not get the jobdone by an agreed deadline, he is fined X amount of dollars, if he beats the deadline the contract price goes up exponentially. Thats a good thing to point but when it starts going into millions and millions of taxpayer dollars, well we all know who has to pay. This also puts non umion contractors at an unfair advantage, a Union company can call the union hall and get an unlimited amount of labor at the beckon call of the contractor. The non union company may not have the same advantage. So the prevailing wages laws and PLA's only ensure Union domination.
Very.
Remember everyone, we are after all talking about California.
Union leadership in the Big Bear state takes it a much higher level.
If you think Obama took care of the union leadership for the UAW in Detroit, wait till you see what he does for them in Konan's California.
Printing monopoly money for votes, what a helluva concept.
Government meddling in construction wages has been around for a long time. The Davis-Bacon Act is required for all projects that have federal funding involved.
In Chicago, you have certain construction projects that are called "Target Market" and only minority companies are allowed to competitevly bid on them. You also have "residency requirements" to hire a certain percentage of people from the City of Chicago and many minority requirements in hiring subcontractors/suppliers….
My main point is that when government doles out the funds for projects it is not unusual that they have all kinds of labor requirements that drives up the cost and that I'm not in the least surprised by this in California.
I worked for UPS for a while. I had to join the Union to get the job. I received no benefit from that, but my paycheck was smaller. Thankfully, that didn't last too long.
The union people would have you believe they are the only ones that know how to do anything. Of course they do know how to drag a job out an make it last twice as long an twice the price as it should be.
I had my dealings with unions years ago driving trucks. Stay as far away as you can from them. There are plenty of smart white an black U.S. legal people that know how to do the job right an get it done promptly.
Sure, Sparky. I'll take illegals over union any day, and I grew up in a union family (ILWU). Theft and slowdowns by the longshoremen are /why/ the shippers went to containers, and the unions lost 90% of the hire.
I wasn't real popular for warning people they were shooting themselves in the foot.
The illegals that make it up here to Alaska are usually the hard workers, not city loafers.
The posts you object to refer to specific incidents.
I can add one murder and two attempts, on the order of the union bosses.
PLAs CAN mandate that prevailing wages are paid.
But if the construction project is federally funded, the project is already subject to federal prevailing wages via the Davis-Bacon Act. In other words, the project is already governed by prevailing wages so a PLA (and all of the other discriminatory garbage that goes along with it) is not necessary. The same thing is true for projects governed by state or local prevailing wage laws.
The fact remains that PLAs are special interest giveaways that only benefit Big Labor and harm taxpayers and nonunion employees and their employers.
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