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President Obama Signs Fourth Executive Order Concerning Unions

Cowboyjg

Country Club Member
Site Supporter
On February 6, 2009, President Barack Obama signed his fourth executive order concerning federal contractors and labor matters. This order (the "Order") encourages federal agencies contracting with private businesses for large-scale construction projects to mandate project labor agreements ("PLA") for the entirety of the project. The Order, which specifically revokes a contrary executive order issued by former President George W. Bush in 2001 and reinstates a Clinton-administration rule, applies to government-funded projects providing for "construction, rehabilitation, alteration, conversion, extension, repair or improvement of buildings, highways or other real property" where the total cost to the federal government is $25 million or more. The Order primarily encourages widespread use of PLAs for construction projects generated by the funds provided for in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Under the terms of the Order, which is effective immediately, executive agencies may now require the use of a PLA on a project-by-project basis, which would bind all contractors and subcontractors on the project. The Order, however, does not require executive agencies to insist upon PLAs, nor does it require contractors or subcontractors to enter into a PLA with any particular labor organization.
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Project Labor Agreements in General
[/FONT][/FONT]A PLA is a labor agreement that is intended to apply to all phases of, and to all contractors and employees working on, a single large construction project. PLAs are often implemented for such projects because many construction employers do not have a permanent workforce (which makes it difficult to predict labor costs and ensure a steady supply of laborers), and large-scale projects usually involve multiple employers at a single location. Because a lack of coordination among the various contractors can lead to labor disputes and cause delay, the use of a PLA may provide structure and stability to a project, resulting in its efficient completion.
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How the Order May Affect Employers
[/FONT][/FONT]The Order provides several potential benefits for construction contractors. In particular, any PLA reached under the Order must allow all contractors and subcontractors to compete for contracts without regard to whether they are otherwise parties to collective bargaining agreements. Additionally, the PLA must contain no-strike pledges, expedited dispute resolution mechanisms, and provide other means for labor-management cooperation on matters of mutual interest, including productivity, quality of work, and safety and health.

Unfortunately, the costs for a PLA-covered project are typically higher, sometimes significantly so. A contractor must pay its employees the wages and benefits set forth in the PLA, over which the contractor has little or no influence, and PLAs almost universally require contractors to make contributions to various union benefit funds and to deduct union dues from employees’ paychecks. Additionally, the restrictions contained in a typical PLA regarding management’s rights to make and implement business decisions can increase the costs involved in a project. To be sure, some union-free employers will undoubtedly be concerned that once their employees are represented by a union through a PLA, the employees might seek representation on other work. PLAs may also have the effect of requiring employers to discriminate against those potential employees who, for whatever reason, do not wish to be represented by a union or pay union dues.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Buys votes at every opportunity!
Well I agree, but I think he will be extensively using executive orders for many purposes through his term in office. It seems very likely that he will use use executive orders to get what he wants when it is not popular to run the idea through congress that wants to debate an issue. It also seems likely that he will use executive orders to help his friends, like this one with the unions. He is going to set up a Chicago-style political machine that will keep the liberals in power until we have a USSR style collapse and the people overthrow the whole regime.
 

Glink

Active member
Site Supporter
He is going to set up a Chicago-style political machine that will keep the liberals in power until we have a USSR style collapse and the people overthrow the whole regime.

You reckon folks of our age / generation will be lucky enough to die of old age before this occurs?
 

thcri

Gone But Not Forgotten
Yep don't have time right now to find where I posted this before. ABC, a couple of contractors from out area and myself fought this in court about ten years ago. It is called Project Labor Agreements. We lost but a few years later PLA became illegal. Our City paid about 5 million more of tax payers dollars on a project because they did not allow Merit shops to bid on the projects. I pay taxes, my employees pay taxes and should have a right to bid and perform work on these projects. Another nail for my coffin. Wait until he passes the Free Employee Act.

I am losing interest in giving him and his administration a chance.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
You reckon folks of our age / generation will be lucky enough to die of old age before this occurs?
Maybe we will 'rust out' but our kids will be stuck with the consequences of not fighting this to the bitter end! Why should we impose this, or allow it to be imposed on the future generations? As CG wrote, better to burn out.
 

Glink

Active member
Site Supporter
Why do you ask? The fire is already lit. Right now it smolders but soon it rages.
I have a buddy who is a Hot-Shot fire fighter out west. He says that numerous, widespread and smaller, spot fires, pose much more difficulty to control and extinguish, than a singular spectacular blaze. Really stretches the crews' resources.
 

BigAl

Gone But Not Forgotten
SUPER Site Supporter
Ok .. Different angle here . I do not see it as a "Union" anything . It has to do with pervailing wage .

It levels the playing field for Union and non union workers . It even says you do not need to be a union worker to bid on these projects . I have worked and bid on many prevailing wage jobs ,Not one , did I ever do as a union Contractor.

This rule has been around for upteem years and honestly I thought they were still the same .

I see it now kicks in on 25 million or above projects . It was not that way when I was bidding . Any project back then fell under "Prevailing Wage" regardless of the projected cost . This looks like a win for non union Contractors to me as very few will ever bid on a 25 million dollar project

.Looks to me that Obama just did a big favor to a lot of non onion workers .

As far as paying into union benifits , thats true "if" the contractor or worker has signed a union agreement . But if he has not ,this is not required .

I can't see the union very happy with this .
JM2C
 

Cowboyjg

Country Club Member
Site Supporter
No Al, I think you need to re-read that. In as much as union free companies can compete for the work, if awarded, they will need to participate in the PLA which effectively provides for representation of their employees. And, the project total may be 25 million but say the part your company may be competing for may only be worth 500k. Because it is part of the larger project you are bound by the PLA if awarded. Previously only union work required a PLA. Now it's ALL work, the entire project.
 

thcri

Gone But Not Forgotten
Ok .. Different angle here . I do not see it as a "Union" anything . It has to do with pervailing wage .


Absolutely Not. I as a Merit shop prevailing wages or not was not allowed to bid on any PLA agreement projects. You have to be Union. The Union has found out that prevailing wages was not the best thing as it only helped the Non Union guys make more money. This PLA stops all and I mean all Non Union Contractors from even bidding on the project. Remember I went through it in a law suit about ten years ago. This thing is absolutely wrong all the way.:hammer::hammer::hammer:
 
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thcri

Gone But Not Forgotten
Well I was not union and had no trouble bidding , so what can I say . I guess it was different .


The PLA's came in about ten years ago. I was heavily involved in fighting our municipality over a project here in our city. We lost the job went ahead as a PLA and I was not allowed to bid on it. The Bush Administration put a stop to PLA's. Now Obama signed them back into law.


PLA's

ABC strongly opposes union-only project labor agreements (PLAs) on construction projects. These agreements not only exclude merit shop contractors from bidding on projects paid for by their own tax dollars, but also drive up the cost of construction by reducing competition for the work.

On February 6, 2009, President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13502, which repeals Executive Order 13202 and encourages federal agencies to require PLAs on federal and federally funded construction projects in excess of $25 million. Executive Order 13202 prohibited federal agencies and recipients of federal financial assistance from requiring wasteful and discriminatory union-only PLAs on federal and federally funded construction projects. Construction contracts subject to union-only PLAs are almost always awarded to unionized contractors and their all-union workforces.


ABC's Opposition

PLAs require non-union companies to obtain apprentices exclusively from union apprenticeship programs. Participants in federal and state-approved non-union apprenticeship programs cannot work on a job covered by a PLA. This means craft professionals enrolled in non-union apprenticeship programs are excluded from work in their hometowns.
 
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