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| Dear Supporter of Fair and Open Competition: |
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It's been a busy two weeks to say the least. CFEC and our allies have fought TEN PLAs in that time across the state on any number of different projects, public and private alike.
But the news to top it all was the defeat Senate Bill 825! This just shows that even in the People's Republic of California there is no reason to ever give up on a PLA fight.
If you would like to help CFEC do everything from track PLA threats (we monitor more than 200 public meeting agendas alone) to fighting them please consider supporting us today by going here and making a credit card donation. Or you can simply send a check to PO Box 1627, Poway CA 92074.
Thank you for your consideration and now on to the update!
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| State |
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Senate Bill 825:
(from WECA's Richard Markuson) Senate Bill 825: Round Seven-Senator Jim Beall came into the Assembly Public Safety Committee meeting last Tuesday, and after looking at the assembled merit shop workers waiting to testify in opposition to his bill, told WECA's state lobbyist that he was "pulling SB 825," meaning it was dead. SB 825 would have required the State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to execute a 10-year PLA with the State Building Trades for all work above $500,000. Beall--who is termed out this year--was the author of SB 1, the gas tax increase that is on the November ballot for repeal. Beall got part of SB 825 as part of the budget package (SB 866). SB 866 creates the Pre-Release Construction Trades Certificate Program which is guided by a joint advisory committee composed of "representatives from building and construction trades employee organizations, the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, joint apprenticeship training programs, the Prison Industry Authority, the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, and any other representatives the department determines appropriate." I will not be holding my breath waiting for the administration to deem unilateral apprenticeship sponsors appropriate. The bill also requires guidelines that "provide for the integration, for all inmate pre-apprenticeship training programs in the building and construction trades, of the multicraft core curriculum implemented by the State Department of Education for its California Partnership Academies pilot project and by the California Workforce Development Board and local boards."
Thank you to all the contractors, workers and associations who sent more than 500 citizens to the capitol over the past
two months to pack meeting rooms and demand their voices be heard! The voice of the working majority in California was aroused and your righteous anger at being singled out for exclusion was heard! A good victory!
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Merit Shop workers lined up to testify at SB 825 hearing.
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| Cities |
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City of San Mateo:
On June 2nd the San Mateo city Council was pressured by big labor special interests to place a PLA on the their new wastewater treatment plant. While staff is pushing back the pressure is intense as you can see by watching the meeting. CFEC is working to keep this project PLA-free. CFEC's and LIS' Kevin Dayton spoke out against the PLA at the meeting. If you are interested in being part of this effort please contact CFEC today!
Livermore:
Another victory was achieved on June 14th when the Livermore City Council voted 5-0 in favor of moving forward with Legacy Partner's private development despite union attempts to extort the owner into "agreeing" to a PLA or face greenmail. CFEC's Eric Christen and ABC Nor Cal's Nicole Goehring called out the unions as you can read in this news coverage. A good victory for the California business climate and a big defeat for extortionists. We will continue to monitor this issue.
City of Antioch:
On June 15th the City of Antioch went in the other direction and demonstrated a canine affection for big labor special interests that bordered on the profane. We were reminded what a lawless and violent place Contra Costa County is as CFEC's Eric Christen was forced to call the police after being threatened by a union boss. This is the same county where Greg Freere, ex union boss for the Trades there, slashed the tires of Eric's car in 2006. Back to Antioch, the City Council voted 5-0 to begin "negotiations" with big labor special interests on a PLA for the cities proposed (but not funded) $60 million wastewater treatment plant. The council was told that a PLA was "necessary" for the project by Mike Vlaming, a man who actually derives income from union special interests. CFEC informed the council in great detail about this person's conflict of interest but the fix was in and the comments of the board ranged from fidelity to unions to outright advocacy for union employees over non-union workers. The PLA discussion can be watched here. If you have a few minutes please watch what we have to deal with at places like Antioch.
City of Sacramento
: On June 19th the Sacramento City Council voted to direct staff to create a local hire document that would govern the building of the City's Convention Center expansion, new hotel and Community Theatre project. CFEC's Eric Christen and ABC NorCal's Nicole Goehring spoke to the council about this "local hire" scheme being just a way to get a PLA placed on the work. You can watch the discussion here. CFEC is actively opposing this PLA threat. If you would like to be a part of this effort please contact us today.
City of San Jose:
City Council voted on June 26th to transfer Museum Place Development agreement to a new company. The old company signed a Project Labor Agreement & an agreement with SEIU; those agreements apparently transfer over. This will be a very expensive project for owners.
City of San Francisco:
On June 26th the City's GAO Committee took up the issue of PLAs and heard from those opposed to it. The issue continues to make its way through the process with these terms being the terms of surrender. We have helped to keep San Francisco PLA-free for almost 20 years. If you would like to be part of this effort please contact CFEC today for more information.
City of Santa Clara:
Last week the City Council took up the issue of union greenmail on the Mission College Boulevard Data Center Project. Unions have filed numerous comments on this private project in order to force the owner into "agreeing" to a PLA. The Council is now giving the owner a month to "consider" the union offer before it takes the issue up again at the end of July. CFEC has educated the City Council extensively as to what is going on here and why it is they must not allow this type of extortion to be rewarded. Stay tuned.
City of Concord
: Last week the City Council voted to facilitate a PLA for Lennar (developer) to sign for the Concord Naval Weapons Station Reuse. Later that day the Trump Administration suggested it might be using the former Navy base to house illegal aliens. The irony. Adding to the irony if the fact that on June 5th the city was forced to reject all bids on a project covered by the City's generic PLA due to bids coming in too high. You cannot make this stuff up.
City of Selma:
While the Central Valley has remined relatively unscathed by PLAs in the 20 years CFEC has been fighting them (thanks in no small part to our efforts) there are the occasional losses, losses that almost always occur when unions and their tools in key positions within public entities sneak in PLAs. This is the case in the City of Selma (south of Fresno) where a PLA was "negotiated" on the new police headquarters building there with NO public input or council discussion. From the City to prospective bidders:
The City of Selma would like to thank you for your Pre-Qualification submittal for the New Selma Police Station. Please be advised that this email will serve as official notice that you have qualified as a General Contractor for the new police department facility. If you have any questions, please advise.
Note that this project is subject to a community workforce agreement with the local building trades.
Tentative bid schedule:
* Documents to be released: July 13, 2018
* Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting/Site Walk: to be held late July 2018
* Bid opening: around August 27, 2018
* Construction start: mid-October 2018
City of San Diego:
Proponents of the City's Convention Center expansion, long a target of PLA-proponents, are facing a catastrophe with regards to the signatures it is trying to gather in order to have a tax to pay for the construction placed on the ballot for approval by voters. It would be a shame if some entity forced the proponents to have to verify every signature they collected thus almost certainly killing the initiative. Yes, a shame indeed. Stay tuned!
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| School Districts |
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Martinez Unified School District
: On June 12th CFEC's Eric Christen spoke before the Martinez Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting in the Bay Area of Northern California. CFEC and our allies have kept this district PLA-free for almost 20 years but on Monday night unions finally got their PLA. What was stunning about this vote was the fact that one of the people voting in favor of the PLA was a local union boss whose union will directly benefit from the PLA! We had filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission sending them a great deal of material clearly demonstrating that this person should in no way have anything to do with a PLA vote.
But what happened next is even more shocking!
Just before the vote on the PLA Trustee Johnathan Wright gets on a soap box and offers up a soliloquy about not only the benefits of PLAs but how it is his job to "do everything he can to get union workers jobs"!
This is the type of utter corruption and brazenness we are facing in our fight against PLAs across California. It is one thing to have to deal with tolls who have been elected to office with money from big labor special interests and who in turn do the unions' bidding. But it is something else entirely to face corruption like this!
Media coverage of the issue can be found here.
Please contact the two "No" votes on the PLA today and thank them for standing with workers and against discrimination.
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| Counties |
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County of Los Angeles:
CFEC has been fighting to keep this County PLA-free for 10 years. We have been largely successful but the attempt to place PLAs on all work continues. Per their recent board meeting:
4. Implementation of Los Angeles County High Road Employment Pilot Programs
Recommendation as submitted by Supervisors Solis and Kuehl: Direct the Chief Executive Officer to collaborate with diverse stakeholders, including the Worker Education Resource Center (WERC) within 30 days, in order to inform the development of and present recommendations on high road employment program (The Program) and high road employment and policies; direct the Chief Executive Officer, in the implementation of The Program, to include a geographic criterion centered on economically disadvantaged areas that takes into consideration a combination of the following factors: census tracts, zip codes, unemployment and underemployment rates, and median household incomes relative to the County's median annual income, and to the extent possible, Federal poverty levels; and take the following actions:
- Direct the Chief Executive Officer, in conjunction with the Director of Personnel, and in consultation with WERC and diverse stakeholders, to implement the pilot programs as proposed in WERC's workforce development report;
- As part of the implementation process on the pilot program associated with Building Trades Apprenticeships and Other Crafts Classifications, direct the Chief Executive Officer to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Women in Non-Traditional Employment Roles to help facilitate WERC's high-road training partnership for women seeking opportunities related to building trades and apprenticeship positions; and
- Direct the Chief Executive Officer and the Director of Personnel to develop a methodology for evaluating the pilot programs, in consultation with diverse stakeholders and WERC, and report back to the Board in writing quarterly from the date of implementation of pilot programs. (18-3028)
Stay tuned.
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| Ports |
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Port of San Diego:
CFEC continues to work to undermine any efforts by big labor to have a Port-wide PLA placed on future work. Currently we have a multi-faceted plan in place that includes meeting with Port Commissioners as well as acquiring information from the Port that lets us see what unions are up to. If you would like to be part of this this effort place contact CFEC today and find out what you can do.
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