PLA activity in California continues at a fevered pace on public and private projects alike. Each week CFEC monitors more than 300 public entity agendas looking for any trace of a PLA. Finding PLAs on private projects is even more difficult. All of this takes time and resources and requires your support to keep it going. If you would like to help CFEC please consider donating today with a credit card by going here. Or you can send a check to PO Box 1627, Poway CA 92074.
To the PLA Update:
Educational
Cabot-Las Positas Community College District: This college continues to be a target for PLA proponents as you can see from this meeting minutes from a recent board meeting:
At this time, we do not have a Project Labor Agreement for Measure A. However, we have had meetings with the Alameda County Building Trades Commission to discuss what a project labor agreement might look like so that an agreement could be formulated before Measure A begins construction. We still have time to create a project labor agreement since the first projects for Measure A are not scheduled to begin for another 2 to 2.5 years from now. If you would like to help fight his PLA contact CFEC today.
Salinas Union High School District: The debacle that is this District's new high school continues unabated.
At their recent board meeting the school board was presented with a new cost associated with the PLA,
that being to hire a project consultant to help them salvage a project now more than 7 months behind schedule.
Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District: CFEC's Eric Christen spoke at the District Trustee meeting on April 17th to remind the board what a disaster their PLA was becoming for them. Two projects have now been bid (three total are scheduled to be bid under the PLA). The first project was 20% over the engineers estimate and is failing to meet even the District's meager "local hire" goals. The second project was just sent out to bid and the results were so bad that they have decided to re-bid the project. You can view the presentation that was made by the District's "Director of Labor Relations/PLA Administrator" (Gafcon, Inc.) which adds God only knows what to the District's costs. You can view their PowerPoint
here.
Cities
City of Concord: At a recent City Council meeting a union representative from the IBEW spoke in favor of placing a PLA on the Concord Naval Weapons Station project. This project has long been a target for PLA proponents and we will continue to monitor. If you would like to help push back against union pressure for a PLA please contact CFEC today.
City of San Diego: Cisterra is getting close to announcing settlement with the unions on their CEQA suit which means union greenmail appears to once again be paying off. Cisterra intends to break ground later this year on the block bounded by 7th, 8th, Market and Island (just north of the new Sempra HQ building)-with a tentative completion Q4 2021. This will be downtown San Diego's first five-star hotel. Ritz for-sale residences will occupy the top third of the hotel tower-and market-rate along with low-income rental units will occupy the lower third of the tower-with the Ritz Carlton Hotel being in the middle. There will be an office tower on the southeast corner of the block with views into the ballpark-and Whole Foods has signed up for the entire second floor of the project. Want to help stop this abuse of CEQA and help keep these projects open for all to bid and work on? Then contact CFEC today and learn how.
City of Chula Vista: The City and Port of San Diego appear anxious to invite a lawsuit. With the Port and City of Chula Vista having formally approved the development funding for the Gaylord Resort it is clear the City of Chula Vista is directly violating Prop G
which voters approved in 2010 banning the use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) on any project paid in whole or in part with city monies.
Ten years ago the construction unions drove Gaylord out of San Diego because of their "PLA or the highway" mentality. Now that the project is back the developer "agreed" to a PLA so as to keep unions from using the CEQA process, their allies on the Port of San Diego and the California Coastal Commission from holding it up again. The problem is we passed this ordinance in the intervening years and will now seek to enforce it. If you would like to help CFEC enforce our PLA ban the please contact us today. Stay tuned.
Counties
Marin Clean Energy: As CFEC has been explaining for months, the push by left-wing activist groups to take over the electricity market in California through "Community Choice Aggregation" entities is being used by PLA proponents to get all work that takes place on them to be placed under a PLA. The MCE has already agreed to a union PLA as you can see here. As these CCAs continue to spread throughout California be aware that a union PLA will be part of the mix. Stay tuned.
Airports
San Jose International Airport: The City of San Jose has an RFP out for a project at the Norm Mineta International Airport. The City has included the following language in the RFP:
We are working to find out where this language came from and to make sure it is not part of any final bid. If this is a project you are interested in working on please contact CFEC today.
State
Senate Bill 825: Good news on the legislatures attempt to place PLAs on state prison work. Senate Bill 825 would require the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to sign a 10-year community workforce agreement (Project Labor Agreement) for all construction of $500,000 or more. After having held two hearings on the bill where PLA proponents were forced to endure hours of testimony from workers opposed to PLAs, the Senate has placed the bill in "suspension" due to, surprise, the costs associated with doing this. This bill will no doubt be back and we need your help to battle it. Please contact CFEC and learn what you can do!
Workers Lined up for the SB 825 CA State Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee Hearing
Assembly Bill 3119: Former union boss Lorena Gonzalez never stops working to generate welfare for her former employers. Her latest attempt was
this bill the goal of which is/was to place all construction occurring at the airport under the Port of San Diego and out of the hands of the San Diego Airport Commission. Why? Because the Airport Authority will not place a PLA on the upcoming $2 billion expansion and renovation that the airport is looking to undertake while the Port of San Diego has a much greater canine affection for union bosses. AB 3119 has now been shelved due to incredible blowback from local entities in San Diego County. Great news!
Sacramento Court House: The state agency that is in charge of building state courthouses has a long record of building them PLA-free. There have been, however, three notable exceptions to this (Long Beach, El Centro, and San Diego, the later of course being delayed in its opening due to poor workmanship). The AOC now appears, despite previous promises, to be trying to sneak another PLA on to its latest project
in Sacramento. CFEC is actively engaged in seeing this does not occur. If you are interested in bidding this work please contact CFEC today.
