NFIB Stands Oppposed to Union-Only Contracting

NFIB State Director Kevin Shivers joined state Reps. John Bear (Lancaster) and Stan Saylor (York) and members of the Associated Builders and Contractors to support legislation that would finally end discrimination against non-union contractors in state building projects.

The Open Contracting Act (HB 2010) would end project labor agreements associated with all state and local contracts in Pennsylvania. A PLA is an agreement by a contractor and unions specifying that the contractor must hire only workers represented by the union for the defined job.

"Open contracting practices should not be an endangered species in Pennsylvania. Rather, we should have a public policy where all contractors and all workers are eligible to work on a project regardless of their affiliation with organized labor," said Bear. "PLAs are a form of mandatory unionism. They amount to discrimination against non-union labor and provide an unmerited preference in the contract bidding process to unions and contractors who predominantly employ union labor. PLAs promote cronyism in government contracting, potentially driving up the costs of a project, all for a guarantee of labor peace, which should never be a threat to the project."

In addition, the workforce union or nonunion status cannot be considered during the selection process which will prevent unfairness against approximately 80 percent of Pennsylvania construction workers.

Has your business been discriminated against because of a PLA? If this legislation will have a positive affect on your business, please contact Gwenn Dando at [email protected].