HR1119 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1119 LRB096 21884 GRL 39909 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) effectively deny nearly 85.5% of the U.S. private construction workforce (those who do not belong to a labor union) the ability to gain employment on almost all public work projects; PLAs reduce competition and significantly drive up costs for taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, PLAs put special interests ahead of the public interest by essentially restricting the bidding process to contractors backed by big labor unions, while denying others the opportunity to perform the job at a better price; and

WHEREAS, PLAs require contractors, including construction contractors, to agree to the terms of a one-time collective bargaining agreement with labor unions, without regard to the wishes of the employees, as a condition of performing work on a particular construction project; and

WHEREAS, Numerous academic studies have compared the impact of PLAs on bid and final construction costs when compared to similar non-PLA projects and have found that PLAs cost 10% to 18% more per square foot; and

WHEREAS, PLAs force construction employees who are not members of a union to be shut out of working on PLA projects; PLAs also force construction employees to pay union dues and fees, follow union hiring hall guidelines, and obey inefficient union work rules for their craft for the life of a PLA project, even though they have freely chosen to NOT belong to a union; and

WHEREAS, Associations that represent small, disadvantaged, minority and women-owned businesses, such as the National Black Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Women Business Owners, are publicly opposed to PLAs; local minority workers are shut out of PLA projects because they are overwhelmingly under-represented in members of key unions, including trade unions and craft unions; and

WHEREAS, PLAs deny taxpayers the accountability they deserve from government while encouraging waste and discrimination in contracting; and

WHEREAS, PLAs significantly limit and, in some instances, prohibit the majority of the taxpaying construction contractors from working on a public or private construction project because of their non-union affiliation; these agreements are a form of discrimination against law-abiding, taxpaying Illinois citizens and employers; and

WHEREAS, Free and open competition is conducive to production, economic growth, and efficient use of limited resources; it is in the public interest, especially when public contracts and tax dollars are concerned, that all qualified and capable contractors and workers are fairly considered; and

WHEREAS, Union affiliation should not be one of the determining factors in awarding construction contracts; free and open competition is the only way to protect public and private interests, stretch scarce construction dollars, and maximize product quality; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Governor to withdraw Executive Order 2010 - 03 and discontinue the use of PLAs on State and Federal Public Works Projects in Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Governor.