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Unions Fail to Execute Project Labor Agreement on East Bay Municipal Utility District Chabot Dam Project
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Despite much behind the scenes work we failed to stop the EBMUD Board of Directors from approving a pilot PLA on the Chabot Dam project. Despite testimony at the January 12th meeting where the PLA was approved (even though no PLA was ready to be viewed due to one not being agreed to yet) by CFEC's Eric Christen and ABC NorCal's Nicole Goehring showing the PLA would reduce bidders, increase costs, and discriminate against workers, the board voted unanimously for the PLA. However, as staff had informed the board, they were on a tight timeline and some of the language staff had actually had inserted into the PLA to make it more fair, was problematic for unions. The Building Trades did not execute for two reasons:
1.
The PLA included language consistent with Public Contract Code 2500 requiring that all qualified contractor and subcontractors be able to bid and be awarded work on the project without regard to whether they otherwise were parties to collective bargaining agreements.
2.
The PLA included language requiring waiver of union initiation fees for core workers upon request if such core workers did not want to join the union.
The Building Trades tried to get the Board to direct staff to re-negotiate on these points. The Board did not do so and the agreement was not executed.
Since the PLA was not executed by the Building Trades, the Chabot Dam Project will be bid and awarded without a PLA.
Great news!
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Southwestern Community College District PLA Fails Miserably to Attract Bidders-Projects Re-Bid Without PLA
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When this college's school board brilliantly decided to discriminate against workers and apprentices to placate union boss demands by way of a PLA, we warned them what this would do to their bid results. To protect themselves the college actually included in its PLA a provision that allows for any project not receiving at least three bids on a particular bid package to re-bid that portion of the project PLA-free.
Their first project under the PLA has now gone out to bid and it has been a disaster.
The college's Higher Education Center project is a 19,000 SF Classroom/Laboratory building with (4) new laboratory classrooms; Microbiology/MLT, Chemistry, Anatomy, and a medical practice facility for the Medical Lab Tech program. Also included in the project is the renovation of approx. 16,000 SF of existing building space for the Small Business Development and Contract opportunities offices in the existing Higher Education facility on the campus.
Sufficient bidders were not received on the following bid packages:
* BP 01 - Surveying
* BP 02 - Final Clean
* BP 03 - Earthwork & Site Demo
* BP 04 - TI Demo
* BP 06 - Masonry
* BP 10 - Misc Metals & Stairs
* BP 11 - Non-Lab Casework
* BP 14 - Sheet Metal
* BP 18 - Flooring
* BP 24 - Elevator
* BP 25 - Fire Protection
More evidence of what a PLA gets you.
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Pinole-Hercules Water Pollution Control Plant Project PLA Reduces Bidders from 10 to 1
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| Another predictable disaster has occurred on this Bay Area project where 10 bidders were pre-qualified to bid this $39 million project. Despite our warnings and despite the fact that their partners in this project (the City of Hercules) voted against a PLA, the Pinole City Council negotiated one anyway. The results?
The 10 bidders were reduced to 2 when the project actually went out to bid. Why? Staff reports that, among other reasons, many of the bidders "prefer to work without PLAs." Stunning.
The cost went from a $39,850,00 engineers estimate to a $43,143,000 bid from Kiewit!
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City of Davis Planning Massive New Development and Unions are Greenmailing It
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Greenmail is the tactic used by union bosses to hold up a project until the owner "agrees" to a PLA on it. They and their South San Francisco law firm (Adams, Broadwell, Joseph, and Cardoza) make millions every year off this extortion and now that have a new target.
The City of Davis Planning Commission will hold two public hearings on Mace Ranch Innovation Center on March 9th and 23rd before making a recommendation to the City Council. The council will hold two public hearings in April on dates to be announced. On January 14, 2016 the City of Davis released the Final Environmental Impact for the Center. Letter #45 is a key document.
Here is the letter and the city's response.
It is the November 12, 2015 comments of the law firm of Adams Broadwell Joseph & Cardozo, submitted on behalf of "Davis Residents for Responsible Development." They are identified as "an unincorporated
association of individuals and labor organizations that may be adversely
affected by the potential public and worker health and safety hazards and environmental and public service impacts of the Project. The
association includes Patrick O'Brien, Jorge Gomez, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 340, Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 447, Sheet Metal Workers Local 104, and their members and their families who live and/or work in the City of Davis and Yolo County."
We will continue to track this threat and deal with it accordingly.
Stay tuned.
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Massive San Francisco Project a Potential PLA Target
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Last month the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the $1 billion 5M project and accompanying EIR. The city/county did NOT require a Project Labor Agreement, but you'll see a Workforce Agreement, First Source Construction Hiring Agreement (including use of union-affiliated CityBuild program), First Source Hiring Agreement for Business, Commercial, Operation and Lease Occupancy of the Building, Local Business Enterprise Utilization Plan, Prevailing Wage, and developer payment of $250,000 to the union-affiliated CityBuild pre-apprenticeship program here.
We will monitor to see if there is a separate PLA signed by the developer.
Listed supporters of the project include International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local No. 6 and San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council.
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Center Street Renovation Project in Berkley Approved by City Council and Covered by City PLA
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This $5+ million project was released for bids on November 6, 2015, and bids opened on December 8, 2015. Five bids were received with D.L. Falk Construction, Inc. of Hayward, California the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. The City's PLA or, "Community Workforce Agreement", applies to this project because the estimated value of the project exceeds $500,000. As a result, the successful bidder and all subcontractors will be required to sign the PLA.
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