Posts tagged project-labor agreement
Tension with unions shadows Moore’s run-up to 2028
July 2, 2026 // Another state labor leader said of Moore: "He's been godawful, and I think it's been a combination of, like, he has bad politics, and his administration just doesn't seem to function very well." Multiple union officials told us that it can be difficult to reach the governor's team, including Dyana Forester, Moore's senior director of labor relations. Forester said her personal and work phone numbers "have always been public. Labor leaders call me at sometimes 5 a.m. in the morning till 10 o'clock at night." She added that the state AFL-CIO leadership advised Moore's team not to submit a questionnaire because "we were unlikely to secure an endorsement."
Pioneer Institute Statement on the Project Labor Agreement Provision in the Massachusetts Economic Development Bill
August 6, 2024 // Earlier this year a Hampden County Superior Court stuck down a PLA on a $325 million Westfield water treatment plant project, ruling that PLAs pose “such a significant disadvantage to open shops as to render a competitive bid impossible
A Union View from Inside
June 20, 2023 // UA local unions not only suppress opportunities for nonunion workers but also seek to limit union membership to protect the high earnings of current members; in other words, the UA is doing the exact opposite of what it claims to do: instead of “protecting” workers, the UA intentionally excludes potential pipefitters from the labor market to limit supply and drive up prices. Worse, this exclusion means that less pipefitting work gets done. American industries processing steam, petrochemical, water, and other materials suffer from a loss of valuable skilled labor. Probably the best example of this policy of disenfranchisement is the pictured flier, which I saw inside the union hall. The flier claims that bureaucrats are trying to destroy the UA apprenticeship program. Of course, I was surprised to learn that apprenticeships would be targeted by politicians, since politicians usually support work and skill training regardless of political affiliation. As neither the flier nor the website directly referenced the bill in question, I did my own research. In June 2019, the Department of Labor proposed an expansion of apprenticeship programs, awarding $183.8 million to support the development and expansion of training programs. This included industry, employer, government, nonprofit and union training programs. The United Association told its members that union apprenticeships were being attacked. In truth, the DOL was merely seeking to expand apprenticeship options, including union apprenticeships.