Rendell

The Truth About the Recent PA Supreme Court Ruling

0 February 1, 2011  State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

The Pennsylvania Supreme Count issued a preliminary ruling on the Hawbaker, et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of General Services, et al. Several uninformed media outlets have indicated that this ruling is an endorsement of PLAs.  This is not accurate. This case stems from former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell administration’s effort to force PLA requirements on […]

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89 Miles for Worker Freedom – Update

0 September 20, 2010  Federal Construction, Uncategorized

As we reported last week, John Falk of York, Pa. has started his walk for worker freedom.  Falk is walking from York to the U.S. Capitol to deliver a petition urging Congress to repeal President Obama’s Executive Order 13502, which encourages federal agencies to require wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) on federal construction […]

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89 Miles for Worker Freedom

0 September 16, 2010  Federal Construction, Uncategorized

A truly remarkable grassroots effort is underway in York, PA. After witnessing the impact that wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) have on his employer and the construction industry in Pennsylvania, and angered by federal and state policies promoting the use of PLAs on taxpayer-funded work, John Falk decided it was time to take […]

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Editorial Calls on Gov. Rendell to End Special Interest PLAs

0 March 19, 2010  State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

An editorial in the Williamsport Sun Gazette questions the “source, timing and validity” of Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell’s remarks in his eighth and final budget address that chided “special interest groups for stymieing his legislative efforts to curb special interests” (“Timing suspicious on lobbyist crackdown,” 3/19). It also calls government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) a “rigged […]

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Rendell Administration Love Affair With Big Labor Stalls Prison Construction Projects and Slows Job Growth for Pennsylvanians

2 March 17, 2010  State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

There is renewed interest in the delayed construction of over $800 million worth of prison construction in Pennsylvania. As regular readers of TheTruthAboutPLAs.com remember, Gov. Ed Rendell (D) promised the Pennsylvania construction unions in 2008 that the Department of General Services (DGS) would require contractors to sign wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) in […]

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Do PLAs Reward Special Interests?

0 March 9, 2010  State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

TheTruthAboutPLAs.com has long maintained that government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) are one of the purest forms of payback to special interests. Sometimes it is hard to believe that PLAs are even legal. And as this example will demonstrate, elected officials go to great lengths to justify their paybacks to special interests. Matthew J. Brouillette, president […]

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Delays and Increased Construction Costs Plague PA Prison

0 March 4, 2010  State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

Pennsylvania’s Graterford Prison project labor agreement (PLA) controversy is in the Philadelphia newspapers again. No progress has been made on the construction of this important project. Looking for something to blame? It’s the PLA, stupid! Looking for someone to blame? Blame Big Labor’s lobbyists for pushing costly, job-killing special interest PLAs and blame public officials for allowing these […]

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Pennsylvania State Senator Lloyd Smucker On PLAs

0 February 23, 2010  State & Local Construction, Uncategorized

Pennsylvania Senator Lloyd Smucker got a chance to offer his thoughts on wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) at a Feb. 16 Senate Appropriations Committee hearing with Department of General Services (DGS) Secretary James Creedon and Dep. Secretary for Procurement/Appropriations Anne Rung. As regular readers recall, DGS lead on effort on behalf of the […]

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