Supes approve Horn's recommendation on county contracts

SAN DIEGO – The San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a recommendation Feb. 9 from Fifth District Supervisor Bill Horn to draft an amendment to the San Diego County Charter to be placed on the June 8, 2010 ballot. If approved by a majority of voters, the Charter Amendment will prevent any future efforts to require Project Labor Agreements in County contracts beyond what the State and Federal government mandate.

A Project Labor Agreement, commonly referred to as a “PLA”, is a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement to use union labor on a project. When required, it eliminates the ability for non-union companies and workers to compete for and work on, government projects.

When required by Federal, State, or local governments, PLAs discriminate against approximately 85% of construction workers and reduces competition to only those contractors who use union labor. Reducing competition for government contracts also has the effect of causing bids to come in higher, which drives up the cost to build government projects and squanders precious tax dollars.

Horn said he felt that all qualified contractors and workers deserve the chance to compete for contracts and jobs that their own tax dollars pay for.

“According to the U.S. Department of Labor, only 15.6 percent of construction workers nationwide are unionized,” said Horn. “When President Obama and the State legislate for union labor, they’re discriminating. They’re giving an unfair advantage to a minority of construction workers.”

Horn clarified that the draft amendment to the San Diego County Charter would not prevent union shops from bidding.

“However, eliminating 85 percent of the competition for County contracts would be devastating to our local economy and taxpayers,” he said.