The official signing of a whopping $1.5 billion Project Labor Agreement between the Building Trades and the Port of Los Angeles means at least 10,000 new union construction jobs over a five-year period, including many local employment opportunities.

More than 200 Building Trades members and leaders drowned out the message of a new anti-union group mobilizing to defeat recent and planned Project Labor Agreements.

Shouting “Union First!” the members gathered early in the morning Mar. 1 outside the county administration building in downtown Los Angeles. They were preparing to testify at the 9:30 meeting of the LA County Board of Supervisors, which was slated to discuss objections to a planned PLA for the MLK Hospital Replacement Project.

The item was on the agenda at the request of the upstart Small Business United, a coalition of various anti-union groups, including the Associated Builders & Contractors. They oppose PLAs on public and private projects. They argue that PLAs discriminate against small businesses, and businesses owned by women and minorities.

The planned PLA, as well as a recent one being finalized for the Expo Line Phase 2 light rail system, includes provisions that cover many such businesses and workers.

A Project Labor Agreement is a collective bargaining contract negotiated by a union or union council with a developer or public entity. PLAs totaling tens of billions of dollars, negotiated by the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council, are currently in place with the City of Los Angeles, Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles, City of Long Beach, Los Angeles Airport, Los Angeles Unified School District and Los Angeles Community College District.

The SBU’s goal is to derail these agreements, and deprive thousands of union and non-union workers of their jobs. The SBU planned its own press conference for 8:30, and Building Trades members were ready.

The tensions surrounding the standoff were palpable. Even before SBU had a chance to set up, Robbie Hunter, Council Representative, exchanged words with Kevin Korenthal, an ABC organizer. Korenthal ran this past November for a position on the Castaic Lake Water Agency Board, and Building Trades worked against his campaign. He was defeated.

Some of that anger spilled over as Hunter challenged Korenthal.

“Where are your workers?” Hunter shouted. The SBU group consisted of about 10 people, mainly political operatives, with a couple of contractors.

“Employed,” Korenthal yelled back.

“How did your election turn out?” Hunter responded. “I lost, so what,” Korenthal shouted. Hunter responded only with a smile and walked on.  (Read More)

Today is the first anniversary of the landmark Affordable Care Act that has already helped tens of millions of Americans acquire or receive better health care and that has reined in health insurance companies’ most abusive practices.

ANAHEIM, CA (March 17, 2010) - The California Energy Commission (CEC) today approved the construction of the Canyon Power Project (Project) in Anaheim.

In a unanimous vote, the five-member Energy Commission adopted the presiding member's proposed decision that recommended licensing the facility. The Canyon Power Project is designed to meet Anaheim’s power needs, when demand is highest and supply is scarce, by generating up to 200 Megawatts (MW) of electricity – enough power for 150,000 residential customers.

According to the CEC, the Project will have no significant impacts on the environment and conforms to all laws, ordinances, regulations, and standards. In fact, the Project will improve Anaheim’s ability to provide cleaner energy to its customers – in part because the new facility will be powered by natural gas, a cleaner alternative to other fossil fuels, like coal. Since its output can be adjusted quickly, the Project will also help Anaheim increase its share of renewable resources, like solar or wind, whose power output is dependent on weather conditions.

A variety of sustainable features will also be integrated into the development of the facility; solar panels placed on the rooftops and thermal energy storage units, which freeze air at night and provide the chilled air during the day to reduce peak demand, will be used to run the Plant Operation Building. With these sustainable elements in place, the Project aims to obtain LEED certification.  Read More or for more information visit, anaheim.net/utilities and under “The Latest” section, and click on Canyon Power Project.

Threatening Construction Quality

The last thing working families need to worry about is whether the bridge they drive over to get the kids to school was done by skilled or unskilled workers. But Republican legislators in several states are trying to ban two key tools for ensuring skilled labor, decent wages and taxpayer value on public construction projects: Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) and prevailing wage requirements.

PLAs, which have been used for generations, are collective bargaining agreements between building trade unions and contractors. They govern terms and conditions of employment for all craft workers—union and nonunion—on a construction project. They protect taxpayers by eliminating costly delays due to labor conflicts or shortages of skilled workers.

Prevailing wage laws ensure that workers on public construction projects paid for with taxpayer dollars are paid a wage comparable to the local standard or "prevailing" wage. They prevent unscrupulous contractors from low-balling bids and undercutting community wages with cheap, unskilled labor, and they make sure work is done by trained workers who know what they're doing. These requirements ensure high-quality construction work and help prevent cost overruns.

Learn more by clicking the links below:

What Are Project Labor Agreements?
What Are Prevailing Wage Laws?

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has effectively reapproved the second phase of construction for the Westside's Playa Vista development.  Read full story.

The scene was dramatic but the ending was a good one as the San Gabriel Unified School District board voted 3-2, Nov. 10, to approve a Project Labor Agreement for school buildings.
The new PLA will cover $65 million worth of work, approved by voters in a previous bond measure election.

Jerry Brown visited the Building Trades Council HQ in LA to outline his plan to bring more jobs to California.

Recently 105 members were handbilling various Volkswagen Dealerships in Southern California.   Handbills were distributed at Los Angeles VW, Santa Monica VW, Ontario VW and Van Nuys VW.

Orange County, CA officials held a contentious hearing last Tuesday in an effort to make a political show of the board's conservative attitudes by attacking union construction workers.

The Board of Supervisors approved a resolution sponsored by Supervisor John Moorlach, to prohibit the requirement of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) on county projects unless required by state and federal law.

The decision changes nothing about how the county operates because the county board has never favored such agreements in the past.