Ivanpah Solar Project Reaches Halfway Mark & Peak of Construction Employment

August 20, 2012 - PLA Praised for Delivering as Promised - The $2.2 billion Ivanpah Solar Project in the Mojave Desert is halfway done, and has reached its peak construction employment with more than 2,000 construction workers now on the job, BrightSource Energy and construction partner Bechtel has announced. (Read More)

Without PLAs, Veterans' Projects Experiencing Delays, Overruns, and Quality Problems

August 15, 2012 - The national Building Trades Department today issued a press release outlining the critical problems being experienced by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a result of its opting to build new hospitals across the country without PLAs. This information should prove valuable in educating local officials about the benefits of PLAs. Please share it with them. (Read More)

San Diego School District Happy With PSA; Votes Unanimously to Continue Using It

July 26, 2012 - The San Diego Unified School District Board of Trustees, after placing a $2.8 billion school bond measure on the November ballot, pointed to the positive results of its current project stabilization agreement, or PSA with the San Diego Building and Construction Trades Council, and voted unanimously to continue using the PSA for all future construction projects. (Read More)

Former Anti-PLA Board Members Now See that PLAs Work!

June 13, 2012 - Foothill DeAnza Community College District - A recent vote by the Foothill DeAnza Community College District trustees provides persuasive evidence that PLAs work. Two board members who voted against a PLA four years ago after hearing and believing ABC propaganda, are now part of a unanimous vote last week to expand that PLA to include more than $45 million worth of additional work! (Read More)

SB 829 - Bill Protecting PLAs Approved By Assembly Appropriations Committee

March 28, 2012 - An important Building Trades backed bill that specifically clarifies that local governments that enact a blanket ban on PLAs for public works projects may not receive any state funding for construction, was approved today by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. All 12 Democrats on the committee supported SB 829, and all five Republicans opposed it. The bill next moves to the Assembly floor. (Read More)

California Municipal Labor Project

Stay informed on Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) by visiting the California Municipal Labor Project website. This website includes definitions, descriptions and resources as well as links to stay updated on PLAs. (Read More)

San Jose Mercury News Publishes Pro-PLA column by Bob Balgenorth

March 1, 2012 - The San Jose Mercury News recently published an opinion column by SBCTC President Bob Balgenorth supporting that region's Valley Transportation Authority's decision to use a PLA for construction of its BART to San Jose project. The column disproved, item by item, false claims made by an ABC official criticizing the PLA decision in a previous column. It points out the many benefits of using PLAs, and concludes that their increasing use by both public and private sector construction projects is proof that they work. Here is the column, in its entirety, followed by a link to it at the newspaper's website. (Read More)

Michigan Law Banning PLAs Ruled Unconstitutional

March 1, 2012 - In a great win for working people, a federal court has overturned a law signed by the Republican Governor of Michigan that banned the use of PLAs in public construction projects. U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts ruled that the PLA ban violated federal laws that "explicitly allow for PLAs in the construction industry." She also noted that the law's defenders had failed to demonstrate any cost savings resulting from banning PLAs. (Read More)

It's Unanimous! $40 Billion PLA Approved by Los Angeles MTA

PLA Finalized for New 49ers Stadium

February 28, 2012 - The San Francisco 49ers today announced that the team has entered into a PLA with contractor Turner/Devcon and the Santa Clara and San Benito Building Trades Council for the construction of the teams new stadium in Santa Clara. (Read More)

PUC Action Clears Way For Abengoa Power Plant Construction

November 15, 2011 - The California Public Utilities Commission recently removed the final obstacle to construction of the Abengoa 250-megawatt solar trough project in San Bernardino County, when it approved a power purchase agreement between Mojave Solar, an affiliate of Abengoa, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company. (Read More)

Baldwin Park Approves $6 Million PLA for Transit Parking Structure

November 15, 2011 - The Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building Trades Council's remarkable string of PLA victories has continued with the Baldwin Park City Council's unanimous approval of an agreement for the construction of a $6 million transit parking structure. (Read More)

Historic PLA Announced for Transbay Transit Center

November 15, 2011 - The Board of Directors of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority has approved an historic agreement with the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council and 28 separate unions for $4 billion of construction work on the Transbay Transit Center. (Read More)

BART Board Unanimously Approves PLA for E-BART Extension

November 2, 2011 - In a resounding victory for Building Trades workers, the Bay Area Rapid Transit District Board voted 9-0 last week to enter into a PLA with the Contra Costa Building and Construction Trades Council for building the new East Contra Costa BART (or E-BART) extension that will extend the rail system from its current terminus at Pittsburg 10 miles eastward to Antioch. (Read More)

PLAs on Three New Power Plants to Bring Thousands of Building Trades Jobs

November 3, 2011 - The State Building and Construction Trades Council has entered into PLAs for the construction of three new power plants, projects that mean thousands of good jobs for Building Trades workers. (Read More)

League of Cities Latino Caucus Voices Support for PLAs

November 2, 2011 - The League of California Cities Latino Caucus has approved a resolution endorsing the use of Project Labor Agreements, noting an array of benefits that accrue from the use of PLAs, including expanded opportunities for minority and women workers and apprentices. It concludes that the use of PLAs is necessary for creating opportunities for the working men and women of the Building Trades, and pledges to oppose any attempts to eliminate PLAs as an option for the cities and counties they represent. The League of California Cities Latino Caucus, the fastest growing caucus of the League, charged with bringing the Latino voice to state and local government decisions, voted for the resolution at its October 2011 executive board meeting. (Read More)

Memo Outlines How SB 922 Applies to Charter Cities

November 22, 2011 - Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law SB 922, Building Trades legislation to prohibit local bans on Project Labor Agreements. The effect of SB 922 nullifies existing bans in counties, general law cities, and special districts. (Read More)

1,500 Construction Jobs for Three Years!

October 26, 2011 - BNSF Railway and the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council have finalized a Project Labor Agreement worth more than $255 million for the construction of the Southern California International Gateway Project (SCIG). (Read More)

$350 Million, Thousands of Construction Jobs

October 26, 2011 - The Pasadena Unified School District Board this week voted 7-0 to approve a project labor agreement with the Los Angeles/Orange County Building Trades Council for $350 million in construction and modernization works. The construction is funded by the district's Measure TT school bond, which was overwhelmingly approved by district voters in 2008. (Read More)

Victories for the Building Trades: PLA Votes in Berkeley, Contra Costa

October 17, 2011 - Building Trades workers scored a pair of major victories last week with votes favoring PLAs in the Berkeley Unified School District and the Contra Costa Community College District. In Berkeley, the school district board okayed PLAs for $190 million of construction work over the next five years. The funds are from Measure I, a property tax increase approved by Berkeley voters to fund school construction projects. (Read More)

WSJ Editorial Mischaracterizing SB 922 and PLAs Rebuked

October 6, 2011 - In a letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal, SBCTC President Bob Balgenorth and Northern California Mechanical Contractors Association Executive Director Scott Strawbridge, in their capacities as trustees of the California Construction Industry Labor Management Cooperation Trust, have refuted a Journal editorial critical of SB 922 and supporting blanket bans on Project Labor Agreements. We are not certain at this time if or when the letter will appear. The entire letter and the editorial to which it responds follow. (Read More)

Five Years, 15,000 Jobs! $40 billion PLA for Building Trades

September 22, 2011 - The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Thursday voted to negotiate a Project Labor Agreement with the Los Angeles/Orange County Building Trades Council for $40 billion worth of transportation construction work over the next five years. The agreement is expected to produce as many as 15,000 construction jobs, starting with the construction of the Crenshaw light rail line. (Read More)

ABC's Sham Study Debunked Before it is Released

August 2011 - It looks like the anti-worker extremists at ABC have gotten too devious and underhanded for their own good. Recently, they paid one of those right-wing propaganda outfits with a deceptively neutral name to produce a study that would show the world that Project Labor Agreements increase the cost of school construction. (Read More)

More Anti-PLA Efforts are Underway as the War on Workers Targets California

July 2011 - It's official now here in California. The anti-worker extremists have declared war on all of us in the Building Trades; on our jobs, our livelihoods, and our futures. As you are reading this, they are out there gathering signatures to place measures on the 2012 ballot to ban Project Labor Agreements in the City of San Diego, as well as in both the City and County of Sacramento. (Read More)

Bob Balgenorth's Column Supporting Project Labor Agreements

June 20, 2011 - A column by SBCTC president Bob Balgenorth, endorsing the use of PLAs by local governments, appeared in the Friday, June 17 edition of the Sacramento Business Journal, a publication geared toward and read widely by business owners and pro-business interests in the region. (Read More)

Labor-Management Inform Local Governments Why PLAs Work

The California Construction Industry Labor Management Cooperation Trust has contacted every city mayor, councilmember and city manager; county supervisors and officials; along with school board members and school district officials, with a detailed letter explaining why it is in their best interest to use Project Labor Agreements on local construction projects. (Read More)

An Introduction to Project Labor Agreements (PLA)

Project Labor Agreements (PLA's) are not new to California. The Shasta Dam, The Los Angeles' RT (Light Rapid Transit) system, the National Ignition Facility Project in Livermore, and the Metropolitan Water District's Eastside Reservoir are but a few of the major projects built in California through the use of PLA's. (Read More)

Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) - A Case for California

A Project Labor Agreement (PLA) is a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement typically negotiated between a project owner, construction manager or general contractor and an appropriate labor organization, usually an area or State Building and Construction Trades Council for the purposes of advancing the economical and efficient completion of the construction project (Read More)

A Project Labor Agreement, The Only Guarantee for Local Workers

A PLA is the only way to guarantee that local workers and apprentices will be used. Project Labor Agreements guarantee that local hiring is a priority and set guidelines for hiring of local workers and apprentices first. It is an obligation of the contract. (Read More)

Bob Balgenorth Refutes Assembly Member, Defends Prevailing Wage in Bakersfield Paper

June 20, 2011 - A column by SBCTC president Bob Balgenorth, endorsing the use of PLAs by local governments, appeared in the Friday, June 17 edition of the Sacramento Business Journal, a publication geared toward and read widely by business owners and pro-business interests in the region (Read More)

Legal Challenge from AGC Rejected

May 18, 2011 - The California Court of Appeal today decisively rejected a legal challenge by the Associated General Contractors to the Building Trades' Project Stabilization Agreement (PSA) with the San Diego Unified School District. AGC challenged a requirement that bidders on construction projects must employ apprentices trained in our joint labor-management apprenticeship programs. (Read More)

City Council Approves Sweeping PLA

May 12, 2011 - The Los Angeles City Council this week approved a sweeping Project Labor Agreement with the Los Angeles/Orange Building Trades Council, for five years worth of construction projects coming to the Port of Los Angeles. The PLA ensures that work will be done by workers earning decent wages and benefits, and that at least 30 percent of those jobs will be set aside for local residents. The PLA covers $1.6 billion worth of work on over 35 projects that are expected to create an estimated 6,000 jobs through 2016, some of them starting up this year. (Read More)

U.S. Court of Appeals Upholds PLAs, Big Win for Workers and Unions

October 11, 2010 - Building Trades unions and workers have won a major victory before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which has ruled in Johnson v. Rancho Santiago Community College District that an ABC challenge to a Project Stabilization Agreement ("PSA") between the District and the Los Angeles and Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council has no merit. (Read More)

Three Big Victories For San Bernardino/Riverside BTC

March 17, 2010 - Yesterday proved to be a spectacular day for the San Bernardino/Riverside County Building Trades Council, scoring important victories before the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, the Riverside Community College District, and the San Bernardino City Unified School District. (Read More)

Three New Project Labor Agreements (PLAs)

June 25, 2009 - In a terrific string of victories for California's building trades, three major Project Labor Agreements, totaling more than $450 million, were enacted in the past week. (Read More)

Victory for the State Building Trades in Case Against Chula Vista Anti-PLA Ordinance

June 27, 2008 - Today the San Diego Superior Court ruled in favor of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California (SBCTC) and rejected an attempt to place an anti-PLA initiative on the November ballot in Chula Vista (Read More)

The Truth About PLAs

July 3, 2010 - LAST MONTH the University of Massachusetts Building Authority voted to put the proposed $750 million overhaul of UMass Boston's campus under a project labor agreement that would require the use of unionized workers. The reflex reaction of hostile voices was predictable. "This is the kind of thing" said Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker, "that makes people crazy about state government." (Read More)

Video about Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) in Schools

View or download this compelling video on how Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) and Project Service Agreements (PSAs) have provided predicable success for local school districs and community college districs. By local participation contruction jobs and wages help local communities keep contruction dollars and pride within the local community. Real Stories from all sides of the Project Labor Agreements are shown in this video. (Read More)

Groundbreaking & Signing Ceremony Niland Gas Turbine Plant

April 20, 2007 - As Chair of California Unions for Reliable Energy and President of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, I want to acknowledge my appreciation to the members of the management team and the Board of IID. (Read More)

California Municipal Labor Project - PLA Resources

Stay informed on Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) by vising the California Municipal Labor Project website. This website includes definitions, descriptions and resources as well as links to stay updated on PLAs. (Read More)

Run Government Like a Business...With Project Labor Agreements

June 2011 - We all know people who, when they are unhappy about what their city or county is doing, clamor for government to be run "more like a business." Sometimes they are right. For example, when private sector businesses, motivated by profit and efficiency, embark on a major construction project, many begin by negotiating a Project Labor Agreement, or PLA. Some of the biggest contractors in the country normally build projects with PLAs including Bechtel, Kiewit and Fluor. PLAs have been an accepted method of doing business since they were used to build Hoover and Grand Coulee dams in the 1930s. (Read More)

Project Labor Agreement (PLA)

A Project Labor Agreement (PLA) is a type of pre-hire agreement designed to facilitate complex construction projects. Each PLA is negotiated and designed individually- tailored to meet the needs of a specific project owner/manager, and or community. By governing and establishing work rules, pay rates, and dispute resolution processes for every worker on the project, PLAs maximize project stability, efficiency and productivity. Moreover, PLAs help minimize the risks and inconvenience to the public that often accompany public work projects. (Read More)

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