Kevin Dayton

Done Deal: Unions Will Control Construction on California High-Speed Rail with Project Labor Agreements

1 December 16, 2012  Federal Construction, State & Local Construction, Transportation & Infrastructure

An article in the December 7, 2012 Fresno Bee newspaper (‘Needy’ Workers Will Get Jobs on High-Speed Rail) reports that all five design-build consortiums that are pre-qualified to bid on contracts for the first segment of California’s High-Speed Rail have signed a Project Labor Agreements (PLA) with construction trade unions: Five teams of contractors have been invited to […]

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The Fresno Bee Calls on California Gov. Jerry Brown to Lead in Reforming Environmental Law used to Exploit Construction Owners

1 August 6, 2012  State & Local Construction, Transportation & Infrastructure

The Fresno Bee published an editoral on Sunday, August 5, 2012 calling for Governor Jerry Brown to take a leadership role in reforming the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA (California Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq.) so that unions can’t exploit it to block proposed projects until the owner signs a project labor […]

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California Supreme Court Sides with Charter Cities on Prevailing Wage; Decision Could Impact Local PLA Neutrality Laws

1 July 26, 2012  State & Local Construction

In a landmark decision, the California Supreme Court on July 2 upheld the right of California’s 121 charter cities to establish their own policies governing when to apply the state’s prevailing wage law to city construction projects. In this case, the city of Vista asserted that by becoming a charter city, it had the ability […]

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Big Labor Claims Prove Unfounded

0 June 12, 2012  School Construction, State & Local Construction

In the wake of the overwhelming voter support for Proposition A, which bans government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on city projects in San Diego, union boss Lorena Gonzalez has said repeatedly that Big Labor was outspent 7-1 by corporate interests supporting Proposition A. Here is a video of Gonzalez making the claim on a local […]

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Victory for Taxpayers – Fair and Open Competition Saved in Ventura County: Disagreements Among County Supervisors Kills Project Labor Agreement Proposed for $250 Million Hospital

1 March 13, 2012  State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

At a special meeting this morning (Tuesday, March 13), the Ventura County Board of Supervisors rejected (on a 2-2-1 vote) a motion from the board chairman to require contractors to sign a project labor agreement (PLA) oriented toward the demands of the Tri-Counties Building and Construction Trades Council in order to work on a $250 […]

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Out of Nowhere: Project Labor Agreement and Community Benefit Agreement Tacked on End of Motion for New Sacramento Kings Basketball Arena

2 March 9, 2012  State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

On March 6, when Sacramento City Councilman Robert King Fong made the motion to the Sacramento City Council for approval of a new $391 million arena for the Sacramento Kings professional basketball team, he generally read the posted agenda item verbatim, but then tacked on an additional, obviously pre-prepared provision out of nowhere: …and lastly, […]

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County Hospitals Are Prime Targets for Project Labor Agreements: Ventura County is the Latest in California

1 March 6, 2012  State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

The first government-mandated project labor agreement (PLA) in California (following the Boston Harbor decision at the U.S. Supreme Court) was imposed in the spring of 1994 by the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors for a county hospital construction project. Last year, unions managed to squeak out (on a 3-2 vote) their first PLA for […]

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Scandal-Tainted California Politician Voted for Project Labor Agreements in Two Different Lives!

0 March 1, 2012  School Construction, State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

This story is not unusual in California nowadays: an ambitious elected official is tangled up in a bizarre personal incident (see Supervisor Nadia Lockyer, Wife of California Treasurer, Acknowledges Substance Abuse, Affair – Contra Costa Times/Bay Area News Group – February 14, 2012). But this case is noteworthy from the perspective of TheTruthaboutPLAs.com because the elected […]

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Bill to End Union Abuse of Environmental Laws Fails in California Assembly Committee

0 January 11, 2012  State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

On January 9, 2012, the California State Assembly’s Natural Resources Committee considered Assembly Bill 598, a bill sponsored by ABC of California and introduced by Assemblywoman Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) that would give authority to file lawsuits under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) solely to the California Attorney General. The hearing was an opportunity for […]

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Petitions Submitted to City Clerk for Fair and Open Competition Ballot Measure in City of Sacramento

0 December 28, 2011  State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

On Tuesday, December 27, representatives of the Fair and Open Competition – Sacramento campaign submitted petitions to the Sacramento City Clerk with more than 49,000 signatures of Sacramento voters calling for a vote on a ballot measure to require fair and open competition for construction contracts of the City of Sacramento. The campaign needed to […]

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