Okay, I made the quote in the headline up.  The County Supervisors didn’t really say that to SEIU when taking today’s action on a June ballot measure to ban PLAs.  Not publicly, at any rate.

From the Del Mar Times…

http://www.delmartimes.net/news/265750-supervisors-consider-measure-to-ban-labor-agreements

Supervisors consider measure to ban labor agreements

The Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to consider putting a measure on the June 8 ballot that would ban project labor agreements on developments being undertaken by San Diego County.

A project labor agreement mandates that government contracts for public construction projects go only to union contractors.

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to direct its lawyers to draft ballot language that would amend the county charter to prohibit project labor agreements. The panel also asked staff to craft an ordinance that would bar the labor deals without having to go to voters.

Both the proposed ballot language and ordinance will be considered by the Board of Supervisors at its next meeting.

Supervisor Bill Horn called for the ballot measure, arguing that project labor agreements are discriminatory by giving preferential treatment to labor unions and drive up the cost of construction projects.

“Basically, they close out any non-union competition for projects,” Horn said.

“Preferential treatment and narrowed competition often cause bids to come in higher, and they drive up the cost of public projects,” he told his colleagues.

His push for a project labor agreement ban comes despite the county’s record of shying away from the deals.

Union officials argued the agreements don’t drive up the cost of construction, but rather create middle-class, local jobs with benefits.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 12:00 am and is filed under Blog Posts.