In a victory for merit shop
construction, the Orange County Board of Supervisors in California Nov.
3 unanimously approved an ordinance to ban the use of project labor
agreements (PLAs) and other anti-competitive bidding requirements on
county-funded projects, unless required by state and federal law.In
2000 the board approved a resolution requiring the use of PLAs, but
four years later voted to allow the policy to expire when a county
report showed too few contractors were bidding on projects.
“PLAs
are anti-competitive and discriminatory and they tend to reduce the
number of contractors willing to bid on public works projects,” said
Orange County Supervisor John M. Moorlach when he introduced the
resolution.
Although it
has been common practice not to use PLAs in Orange County, by inserting
the prohibition in the county code, the Board of Supervisors has
established a policy that will require significant deliberation and two
votes of the board to reverse it in the future.
In
addition, the city of Fresno, Calif., became the first city in the
country to ban PLAs in 2000. In 2008, the city council declined to
reconsider the ban.
To read the resolution, click here.
For more information about PLAs visit, www.thetruthaboutplas.com.