GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE’S UNION BLOWBACK
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323346304578424881461306920.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop
New Jersey unions wanted a monopoly on Hurricane Sandy reconstruction, but Governor Chris Christie put a stop to that scheme on Monday when he vetoed a bill that would have favored unions on all state public-works projects over $5 million.
The bill would have expanded the state’s ability to mandate the use of so-called project labor agreements, or PLAs, on taxpayer funded projects including roads and bridges. Mr. Christie wrote in his veto message that the bill would “significantly alter public contracting in this State” when the focus should be on rebuilding.
Unions are fond of PLAs because they usually force all contractors to hire workers at union hiring halls and pay into union benefit plans, discouraging non-union firms from bidding on jobs. New Jersey Democrats, including Senate President Stephen Sweeney, say mandating PLAs would have given more jobs to New Jerseyites. That’s curious math, when some 75% of the state’s private construction workforce isn’t unionized.
The real goal is to kick more business to unions and expand their market share. Projects run with PLAs take longer and cost more, but they also squeeze workers by forcing non-union workers to pay union dues to work on a taxpayer-funded project. Under current law, unions can still bid on Sandy reconstruction projects, but they’ll have to do so in open and competitive bidding.
The Obama Administration encourages PLAs on federal projects over $25 million, but 15 states currently ban the use of PLA mandates and the line of scrimmage may be further shifting against PLAs. Last week, North Dakota became the 11th state to prohibit their use since 2011, and Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas are also considering laws that would restrict PLA mandates.
Mr. Christie has been collecting endorsements from unions for his re-election bid this year, but he has long said he wants to “fix” the problems created by PLAs. We’re glad to see him doing his part.
A version of this article appeared April 17, 2013, on page A14 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Sandy’s Union Blowback.
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