Gov. Patrick Pushes PLA on Whittier Memorial Bridge as Big Dig Costs Balloon to $24.3 Billion
Insanity is often described as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick (D) should revisit his position on a costly and unfortunate policy favoring construction trade unions or expect more waste, discrimination and insanity in the Bay State.
Last week, the ballooning costs of the Big Dig grabbed headlines while Gov. Patrick was criticized for restricting competition for construction contracts to build the $285 million Whittier Memorial Bridge across the Merrimack River to firms willing to sign a union-only government-mandated project labor agreement (PLA).
Meanwhile, last week state lawmakers learned Big Dig costs have mushroomed to more than $24.3 billion, harming the state’s ability to fund other critical transportation projects and create additional construction jobs. Funded by federal and Massachusetts taxpayers, the Big Dig is the most expensive and infamous government-mandated PLA job of all time.
Boston Globe: Patrick Shouldn’t Bar Non-Union Workers on Longfellow Bridge
Two taxpayer-funded bridge projects in Mass. illustrates the stark contrast between the benefits of fair and open competition versus anti-competitive and costly government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) advanced by well-connected special interests.
New Billboard Tells Gov. Patrick to Halt the Assault on Taxpayers
The Massachusetts Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) has launched a new billboard telling Gov. Deval Patrick (D) to halt the assault on Massachusetts small business. In June, the UMass Building Authority approved a requirement that all construction contractors must enter into a wasteful project labor agreement (PLA) with Big Labor in order to […]
Ethics Complaint Raises Questions About UMass Crony Contracting Scheme
Yesterday, The Boston Globe reported that a group of nonunion contractors filed a complaint with the State Ethics Commission alleging that a project labor agreement (PLA) favoring union labor on $750 million worth of construction at the UMass Boston campus violated the state’s conflict of interest law when it was approved by a board that includes two […]
No Union Advantage, Gov. Patrick?
h/t Red Mass Group The Boston Herald editorial board summarized this doublespeak nicely (“A Labored Response,” 7/8): Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday seemed baffled by the notion that unions have any advantage in the competition for certain public construction jobs. He should read his own public comments more closely. During his monthly radio appearance on WTKK […]
Boston Globe Editorial Opposes UMass Project Labor Agreement
A Boston Globe editorial opposes the anti-competitive and costly government-mandated project labor agreement (PLA) on $750 million worth of Umass-Boston construction projects (“Public benefits don’t justify labor deal on Umass project,” 7/5). It comes on the heels of intense media coverage, op-eds and editorials in Massachusetts newspapers of the Umass PLA and The Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby’s sharp criticism of […]
Boston Globe Columnist: Labor Agreements Make No Sense
The Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby blasts Mass. Gov. Patrick’s support of anti-competitive and costly government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on Umass-Boston construction projects (“Labor agreements make no sense,” 6/27). THIS IS the kind of thing, Charlie Baker was saying one day last week, that “makes people crazy about state government.’’ The Republican gubernatorial candidate was […]
Boston Herald Editorial: There is No Rationale for Project Labor Agreements
A Boston Herald editorial lampoons the fuzzy logic used by the Patrick Administration regarding their defense and promotion of a project labor agreement (PLA) for a new UMass project TheTruthAboutPLAs.com covered here (“Love song to labor,” 6/17/10). Project labor agreements limit competition, drive up costs and exclude a majority of Bay State tradespeople from working on a […]
PLA Scheme Adopted at UMass: Governor Patrick and Big Labor Continue Cozy Relationship
As reported in the Boston Globe here and here, this week the UMass Building Authority board of directors voted for a project labor agreement (PLA) on the Boston campus’ master plan, a 10-year blueprint with an estimated $750 million in future construction projects. The UMass Building Authority’s vote comes after Mass. Governor Deval Patrick pledged to unions that […]