The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association endorsed Proposition A yesterday (September 7).  They Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association joins the San Diego County Taxpayers Association (see their comprehensive analysis here), the Oceanside Taxpayers Association, the La Mesa Taxpayers Association, the Chula Vista Taxpayers Association, and the San Diego Tax Fighters in support of Proposition A.

Visit the Yes on Proposition A web site at www.fairandopencompetition.com.

The Proposition A Facebook page is here: Yes on A: The Fair and Open Competition Initiative for San Diego County | Facebook

A video in support of Proposition A is here: YouTube – Fair and Open Competition – Yes on A

It’s great radio and they really do an outstanding job of touching on why PLAs are a bad deal for San Diego.

Catch the entire interview here.

Here are the highlights (Links added):

Unemployment stands at 12.4 percent. The state is facing un-ending multi-billion dollar deficits. The city of Vallejo has declared bankruptcy and other cities and counties are considering following suit. But that hasn’t stopped Big Labor lobbyists from pushing costly, job-killing special interest Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) that will cost hard-working taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. The problem for San Diego is that local union bosses are trying to make an art of it.

Project Labor Agreements are special interest kickback schemes that end open, fair and competitive bidding on public work projects. PLAs deny nearly 85 percent of California’s construction workforce the ability to do public work projects, reducing competition and significantly driving up costs to taxpayers. With government budgets stretched to the breaking point and essential services being cut, it is critical that taxpayers get the best quality work at the best price. Always. PLAs put special interests ahead of the public interest by restricting the bidding process to ONLY contractors backed by big labor unions — denying others the opportunity to do a better job at a better price.

This is an outrage — especially in San Diego where unemployment in the construction industry stands at an astounding 25 percent. Big Labor is pushing for special interest PLAs on San Diego’s new City Hall, downtown library, Convention Center expansion, new Charger stadium, and the latest Chula Vista bay-front project. San Diego has already paid the price of costly PLAs.

Last year, Gaylord Entertainment withdrew its plan to build a $1 billion resort and convention center in Chula Vista after being blackmailed by Big Labor. The owner was told to agree to a PLA or face the threat of costly lawsuits. Gaylord spent three years and millions of dollars trying to bring 2,000 construction jobs and millions in annual revenue to the region (couldn’t we use those about now?) but finally threw up its hands and moved the project to Mesa, Ariz.

Unfortunately, PLAs raise ethical concerns. After getting $400,000 in union political contributions, three San Diego School Board members voted to impose a PLA on SDUSD’s $2.1 billion Proposition S construction bond. Rather than spending money for better schools, more classrooms and more educational opportunities for our children, three of the board members — Shelia Jackson, Richard Barerra and John Lee Evans — voted to spend more money on higher construction costs.

Just last week the extent of the damage became evident. The first project to go out to bid with a PLA had 66 percent less bids than another San Diego School Distict project without a PLA kickback scheme attached to it. Worse yet, the bid was 35 percent over budget. To add insult to injury, the job was awarded to a bidder from Los Angeles. So much for the “local hire” propaganda pushed by PLA proponents.

Taxpayers demand and deserve the best quality work at the best price. Denying the vast majority of San Diego firms the opportunity to even bid on projects makes no sense. Only fair and open competition can ensure taxpayers get the best bang for their buck.

Fortunately, taxpayers in San Diego have the opportunity to end the special interest kickback schemes. In 2010 there are no fewer than four entities in San Diego County who will be voting to ban PLAs and codify into law support for open competition.

The cities of Chula Vista and Oceanside will have measures on the June ballot. We are also currently working with the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to do the same thing. And in the city of San Diego, California’s second largest city, we are currently collecting signatures that would amend the city charter to protect taxpayers from these costly backroom deals. We need to collect 100,000 valid signatures by the end of April to have this placed on the November ballot. You can help to accomplish this by going to reformsandiego.com.

Help us protect taxpayers by putting the public interest ahead of the big labor special interests that have harmed working men and women, taxpayers, children, and the business climate for too long.

This Op-Ed comes on the heels of a San Diego County Board of Supervisors’ vote to prohibit PLAs on county projects.

There is no question that after years of politicians giving handouts in the form of PLAs to their Big Labor cronies at the taxpayers’ expense, Californians are fighting back against corruption and special interests.

If you support open competition and accountability on taxpayer funded projects, please visit reformsandiego.com.

San Diegans for Fair and Open City Contracting is the group collecting the 100,000 signatures necessary to put fair and open competition on the ballot for the city of San Diego.  They are currently in the middle of an effort to raise $48,000 in 48 hours to support their efforts.  This is a golden opportunity to end these sweetheart deals in the city of San Diego once and for all.

Please visit www.reformsandiego.com to contribute to the “48K in 48 Hours” effort.

And be sure to tell them that TheTruthAboutPLAs.com sent you!

This is a problem for unions, who become irate and frustrated when the public learns about proposals to impose project labor agreements (PLAs) on taxpayer-funded construction.

Sunshine is a powerful disinfectant against the plague of PLAs.

Union officials are especially aghast at the proliferation of ballot initiatives in California as part of the ongoing 20 in 2010 campaign in California to ban PLAs this year at twenty local governments. Ballot initiatives subvert the typical union strategy of winning monopolies on public works construction by first supporting the election campaigns of candidates in places where few people normally pay attention to civic affairs.

This frustration was evident on February 23, when the San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to ban PLAs in county-funded projects. One proposal from a county supervisor at this meeting was to allow voters to make the decision to ban PLAs through a ballot initiative. The San Diego Union-Tribune February 23 reported the union response:

Evan McLaughlin of the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council said the debate was too complicated for voters.

“Voters don’t know anything about these issues,” he told the board. “You are the policymakers.”

Here is a test for you to try: next time you’re with a group of people who do not follow politics closely, fairly and honestly describe PLAs and the arguments for and against them. The typical response will be this: “I think unions are needed to protect workers, but this PLA thing that they’re doing is wrong.” Then they’ll say this: “Who’s voting for these PLAs? I guess all they care about is the unions instead of the people paying taxes. I want to vote them out of office.”

Union arrogance aside, the media has done an outstanding job of covering this win for taxpayers.

The local ABC affiliate did an outstanding story and shows that they really understand the issue.  Video of their story is available here.

In addition to the San Diego Union-Tribune story linked above (and here), the San Diego Daily Transcript also covered the victory.

This is a huge win for the people of San Diego County.  Kudos to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors!

We noted yesterday that this vote was covered in the North County Times (”County Moves to Restrict Union Labor Requirement“, Feb 9), the San Diego County News (”Ensuring Fair and Open Competition For County Contracts“‏, Feb 9) and SignonSanDiego.com (”County Considering Ban on Labor Deals, Public Works Projects Would not Require Hiring Through Union Halls“, Feb 9).

The vote was also covered by KUSI San Diego.  The KUSI video is available through their website.  This video is worth watching.  It is clear that the reporters from KUSI understand the issue and the impact of PLAs on their community.

As predicted, the PLA has already failed to deliver on Big Labor’s promises:

WINNING BID IS FROM LOS ANGELES COMPANY AND 35% OVER BUDGET!

Big Labor Promises of “On Budget” and of “Local Jobs” Ring Hollow as Bid is Awarded on First Prop. S Project with PLA
       
San Diego – The bid results are now in and they are devastating for Big Labor special interests and their SDUSD Board Member allies Richard Barerra, Shelia Jackson, and John Lee Evans. 

Yesterday at 2pm the bid results were opened for SDUSD’s Hoover High School New Woodshop Building. This is the first Proposition S project bid with a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) covering it. CFEC and others have warned for more than a year the results of a PLA would be disastrous in a city where 90% of the construction workforce is union-free but the three union controlled school board members would have none of it and shoved a PLA through with little study and no understanding of what it would mean to taxpayer dollars.  Now we know.

Total Bidders:

In this economy similar size projects, $2.8 million, have at least 15 bidders on them. For instance, the Auto Tech Careers Center Project at Miramar College for the San Diego Community College District had 17 bidders on it less than one month ago.  But San Diego Unified’s Hoover High School New Workshop Building had only FIVE BIDDERS!

Cost:

In this economy it is unheard of to see a job not come in UNDER budget.  That same project, the Auto Tech Careers Center for San Diego Community College District which was estimated at $2.8 million came in at $2,195,000. SDUSD’s Hoover High School New Workshop Building’s estimate was $2.5-$3.5 million; however, the low bid was $4 million. THAT IS 35% OVER THE ESTIMATE! This is exactly what we warned the district the cost increases would be.

Local Work:

Perhaps worst of all for PLA proponents was the complete and total undermining of their chief claim for why a PLA was so needed: “Local Jobs”.  The winning bidder for this job is USS Cal Builders, a Los Angeles based firm! 

“This is a complete and total repudiation of these three board members and their special interest allies in Big Labor” said CFEC’s Eric Christen. “In these tough times where taxpayers are demanding the best product at the best price SDUSD has instead given special interests a monopoly agreement that will result in children and taxpayers getting three schools built when they could have had four.  These three board members at their next board meeting need to take care of two orders of business before they do anything else: First they need to repeal the PLA and then they need to resign.”

San Diego taxpayers supported the $2.1 billion Proposition S school construction bond in November of 2008.  At their first school board meeting in January of 2009, three board members heavily supported by unions  (Jackson, Barerra, and Evans) had as their first order of business, a PLA for all Prop S work.  The PLA mandates that all workers have to pay union dues and into union benefit programs and it excludes non-union apprentices.  CFEC has also learned it is costing the district more than $600,000 per year just to administer.  The public outcry over this monopoly giveaway to Big Labor special interests was unanimous with the Associated Builders and Contractors, the Associated General Contractors, Western Electrical Contractors Association, the San Diego County Taxpayers Association, the Black Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Minority Contractors, and countless other community groups opposing such discrimination and waste.  Two board members, Katherine Nakamura and John DeBeck also agreed it was unnecessary  Their prescient predictions were ignored.

Now, if only someone had told the SDUSD this would happen.  Oh wait, they did. 

This is just one more example of local officials putting their political friends’ interests ahead of the people they represent.

Additional TheTruthAboutPLAs.com coverage of this debacle is available here.

Project labor agreements (PLAs) came to the forefront in San Diego in the wake of the San Diego Unified School District’s decision to require PLAs on all projects funded by Proposition S, a $2.1 billion bond approved by voters in November 2008.

Here is an excerpt from the San Diego News Network’s coverage of Monday’s press conference:

“This measure imposes clear rules for open and fair contracting within city government,” DeMaio said at a news conference outside City Hall, flanked by about two dozen non-union trade workers.

It would also ban project labor agreements on developments being undertaken by the city, according to DeMaio.

A project labor agreement mandates that government contracts for public construction projects go only to union contractors. There isn’t currently a project labor agreement before the city, but San Diego is exploring several large projects, including a downtown stadium for the Chargers, a new central library, redeveloping City Hall and expanding the Convention Center.

“We need to ensure that if these taxpayer-funded projects do proceed, that all San Diegans are allowed to apply for the jobs that they would create,” DeMaio said.

The event’s speakers included members from Associated Builders and Contractors of San Diego, Associated General Contractors of San Diego, the National Association of Minority Contractors and local apprentices.  The apprentices at the event are trained professionals that could be prohibited from working on projects funded by their own tax dollars by government-mandated PLAs.

Video of the event is available on YouTube and pictures are also available.

This event was covered by a number of local news outlets, including:

Here is an excerpt from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation press release:

The discrimination against nonunion construction workers is facilitated by a so-called “Project Labor Agreement” (PLA) – essentially a collective bargaining agreement signed by contractors as a condition of performing work on a government-funded construction project. Arguing that the PLA between the school district and various unions (including the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters and San Diego Building & Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO) illegally discriminates against construction workers who exercise their right to refrain from union membership, Foundation attorneys are defending the interests of the vast majority of construction employees in California who have opted against unionization.

Last November, San Diego voters approved a $2.1 billion school bond, called Proposition S. California law requires that all qualified contractors’ employees complete state-mandated “apprenticeship” programs, but it is illegal under federal law to discriminate against workers or businesses on account of union association. The discriminatory PLA, however, requires workers to go through union-run apprenticeship programs (disqualifying high quality training programs run by employers and other groups), and the subcontracting clause further attempts to coerce even more workers into union ranks.

This is the second legal challenge filed against the SDUSD since adopting the project stabilization agreement requirement in May.

Read the San Diego Source’s October 13 article titled, “Another Discrimination Claim Against School Bond Measure,” or the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation’s October 7 press release for more information.

San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) Superintendent Terry Grier’s decision to take a new job in Houston, TX is no surprise to the San Diego Union-Tribune editorial board, who blame the local teachers union and their labor allies for pushing Mr. Grier to look for greener pastures after less than two years on the job.  Here is an excerpt from the Union-Tribune’s August 21 editorial:

As far as San Diego Education Association boss Camille Zombro is concerned, the district’s 130,000-plus students are little more than props necessary to receive state funding for a union jobs program. Board members Shelia Jackson, Richard Barrera and John Lee Evans — elected with heavy union support last fall — share Zombro’s extreme views.

This is evident in how the board majority has dealt with the two biggest issues to come before it this year: the implementation of Proposition S, the $2.1 billion construction and renovation bond approved by voters last fall, and the crafting of a 2009-10 budget.

With Proposition S, Jackson, Barrera and Evans forced through a “project labor agreement” requiring the use of union labor on most bond-funded projects and mandating that non-union workers pay union fees.

In the 2008 campaign for the bond, plans for such a union payoff were never mentioned. The board majority adopted the PLA before it had been subject to even cursory independent scrutiny by either district staff or members of the bond oversight committee.

The certain result, based on the history of PLAs, is that far less will be done with the $2.1 billion bond than was promised to taxpayers.

In other news, there is a potential greenmail situation developing on San Diego’s new $21 million cruise ship terminal on Broadway Pier. Here is an excerpt from the SignonSanDiego.com story:

The San Diego Navy Broadway Complex Coalition’s attorney served the port with a “cease and desist” letter Friday.

Environmental attorney Cory Briggs argues that the terminal is out of sorts with the port’s master plan, which shows public space on the pier and a 79,000-square-foot oval park at the base of the pier. The group is expected to file a lawsuit on this issue next week.

The port held a groundbreaking for the terminal Aug. 4, but construction had already begun.

Would this citizen coalition have the same problem with this project if it were build with a PLA, or is this just another example of Big Labor holding up an important project because they didn’t get their slice?

• San Diego radio station KPBS has an online report detailing the “bad news” that the San Diego Unified School District received last week from Associated General Countractors – San Diego President Jim Ryan.   It looks like trying to discriminate against 80 percent of California’s private construction workforce is an easy way for a school district to find itself in court.