May 1, 2010

Corona Chamber Opposes Project Labor Agreement Despite Approval
 

The Corona Chamber of Commerce opposed a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) before the Riverside Community College District Board of Trustees and launched an aggressive letter writing campaign to urge a “NO” vote. The Riverside Community College District Board of Trustees approved the PLA despite the Chamber’s efforts to secure wide community opposition.

“At a time when job creation is crucial, the Riverside Community College District should not use taxpayer-money to exclude certain workers by imposing painstaking labor requirements on non-union workers and contractors,” stated Cynthia Schneider, Chair of the Chamber Legislative Action Committee.

“The Chamber is concerned that many small business contractors in our region will be unfairly excluded from the opportunity to bid on the work due to the mandate a PLA places on businesses to hire union workers,” stated Bobby Spiegal, President/CEO of the Corona Chamber. Spiegal attended the vote and hand-delivered the letters of opposition.

Jobs are scarce and small businesses are doing everything they can to stay in business. Mandating who businesses should and should not hire is another attempt to prevent job providers and job seekers from getting our economy moving again. Most importantly, this PLA has the potential of excluding contractors that could get the projects done at a more economical cost.

Below is a recent Press-Enterprise editorial outlining the drastic impact of the PLA.

The Riverside Community College District has a public duty to protect taxpayers’ $350 million investment in new facilities. That duty requires the district to seek the best deal on new construction, not give labor unions an effective monopoly on the work.

The district Board of Trustees should reject the “project labor agreement” on the agenda tonight. Instead, the district should opt for a truly competitive bidding process that seeks the best value for public construction dollars. District voters approved Measure C in 2004 to renovate aging buildings and provide room for expansion, not so that board members could hand favors to union supporters.

The agreement between the college district and labor unions would cover all construction projects of more than $1 million financed by Measure C. The pact would basically force all contractors — union and nonunion alike — to follow union rules and pay union fees and benefits. The goal is to wipe out any competitive advantage nonunion construction firms might have.

That approach serves union interests at the public’s expense. The bidding process for the jobs cannot be truly competitive when the rules are slanted to favor union companies — usually the highest-priced labor around. Why should the district want an agreement that stands to inflate the cost of new construction? Furthering a union agenda comes nowhere close to meeting trustees’ responsibility to spend tax money wisely.

The Union Membership and Coverage Database, built on federal statistics, finds that only about 18 percent of California private-sector construction workers were covered by union contracts in 2009. What sense is there in the college district excluding companies that compose four-fifths of the state’s construction labor force?

The pact says that the provisions would help avoid work stoppages or delays. But the only real threat of work stoppages comes from the unions themselves. The agreement is a promise by the unions not to cause trouble if the district plays by labor’s rules — a thinly disguised form of blackmail, not a means of public-spirited cooperation.

March 16, 2010

Submit Your Letter TODAY BY 2PM: Oppose Riverside Community College District Proposed Project Labor Agreement

The Corona Chamber of Commerce is opposed to the Project Labor Agreement (PLA) before the Riverside Community College District Board of Trustees TONIGHT March 16, 2010 and has urged them to vote NO.
 

Why The Corona Chamber Opposes The PLA

At a time when job creation is crucial, you should not use taxpayer-money to exclude certain workers by imposing painstaking labor requirements on non-union workers and contractors. The Corona Chamber of Commerce is concerned that many small business contractors in our region will be unfairly excluded from the opportunity to bid on the work due to the mandate a PLA places on on businesses to hire union workers.

Jobs are scarce and small businesses are doing everything they can to stay in business. Mandating who businesses should and should not hire is another attempt to prevent job providers and job seekers from getting our economy moving again. Most importantly, this PLA has the potential of excluding contractors that could get the projects done at a more economical cost.
 

Take Action: Click here to submit your letter.

Riverside Press-Enterprise Editorial - March 15, 2010

The Riverside Community College District has a public duty to protect taxpayers’ $350 million investment in new facilities. That duty requires the district to seek the best deal on new construction, not give labor unions an effective monopoly on the work.

The district Board of Trustees should reject the “project labor agreement” on the agenda tonight. Instead, the district should opt for a truly competitive bidding process that seeks the best value for public construction dollars. District voters approved Measure C in 2004 to renovate aging buildings and provide room for expansion, not so that board members could hand favors to union supporters.

The agreement between the college district and labor unions would cover all construction projects of more than $1 million financed by Measure C. The pact would basically force all contractors — union and nonunion alike — to follow union rules and pay union fees and benefits. The goal is to wipe out any competitive advantage nonunion construction firms might have.

That approach serves union interests at the public’s expense. The bidding process for the jobs cannot be truly competitive when the rules are slanted to favor union companies — usually the highest-priced labor around. Why should the district want an agreement that stands to inflate the cost of new construction? Furthering a union agenda comes nowhere close to meeting trustees’ responsibility to spend tax money wisely.

The Union Membership and Coverage Database, built on federal statistics, finds that only about 18 percent of California private-sector construction workers were covered by union contracts in 2009. What sense is there in the college district excluding companies that compose four-fifths of the state’s construction labor force?

The pact says that the provisions would help avoid work stoppages or delays. But the only real threat of work stoppages comes from the unions themselves. The agreement is a promise by the unions not to cause trouble if the district plays by labor’s rules — a thinly disguised form of blackmail, not a means of public-spirited cooperation.