Here A PLA, There A PLA, Everywhere A PLA
Posted by: Kevin Korenthal | 05/18/2008 10:40 PM
The Los Angles/Orange County Building Trades Council is just about set to win whatever you call one more than a trifecta of union-only labor agreements. The City of Long Beach as well as the City of Los Angeles, the Port of L.A. and the Community Redevelopment Agency are all about to get Project Labor Agreements. Greedy, union-sponsored pols abound in these municipalities and they are unabashed in their zeal for putting these discriminatory union giveaways in place.
The Long Beach Press Telegram seem to share this blogger's perception of union only agreements as they so eloquently explain in their May 18th Editorial which I print in its entirety here, just in case they still don't archive older online material.
Read the full article here.
The Long Beach Press Telegram seem to share this blogger's perception of union only agreements as they so eloquently explain in their May 18th Editorial which I print in its entirety here, just in case they still don't archive older online material.
The Costs of a PLA
An agreement could be costly to taxpayers, not to mention unfair.
Article Launched: 05/18/2008 06:46:57 PM PDT
Unless there are five Long Beach City Council members willing to stop it, a PLA is coming to town.
It could be expensive. A PLA (project labor agreement) is reminiscent of another gift council members almost made to a union several months ago, then reneged. That was a planned hotel "labor peace agreement," which would have forced hotels on city property to unionize, whether employees wanted to or not.
A PLA also is a gift, in this case to the Building Trades Council, which represents about 100,000 union workers in L.A. County and Orange County who build roads, hospitals and schools. The City Council has directed city staff members to negotiate with the Trades Council on a PLA.
Such an agreement would mean that any contractor who wants to bid on a city project would either have to be unionized or hire its workers through a union hall and pay into the union's benefit fund.
Why, you might ask, is City Hall negotiating for a union deal like that? Ask several council members, all of whom have received contributions from the Trades Council.
Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga, who is running for Assembly District 54, already has decided she wants the agreement even before the details have been spelled out. In fact, she says it's embarrassing that it hasn't already been done. (The council approved pursuing a PLA three years ago.)
Read the full article here.
This city council has two members running for union cash, I mean state assembly, so the unions only needs three more votes out of the demos left on the council. O'Donnell has already come out and said derogatory things about anyone against it so that leaves two more votes from the other Lowenthal, Andrews, Schipske, Gabelich and Lerch. Lowenthal needs to vote for it so mommy in-law gets the money she needs from the unions; down to one. Schipske is only in office because of union money--particularly teacher union money--so she owes them at least one. There are the 5 needed votes. Screw you taxpayers, we are in a deficit but will give raises and benefit increases to the unions that work for the city and not only that we will pad the contracts for future projects by 35-30% so we can continue to have pipeline from their treasuries to our pockets. Your interest as a tax payer does not trump my interest and vanity at public office so shut up and deal with it.