The regional authority overseeing the $6 billion Dulles rail project dealt a blow to union labor on Wednesday -- a day after voters in Wisconsin and California did much the same.The issue divided those who support and oppose project labor agreements (PLAs) -- pre-project collective bargaining pacts made between contractors and unions that outline conditions and wages for workers. Virginia, where the rail-line construction will take place, is a right-to-work state, meaning that union membership cannot be required as a condition for employment.
Meaning PLAs result in a union project.
Maryland and the District are overwhelmingly Democratic and generally considered
The contractor for the first phase of the rail project employed a PLA that was voluntarily adopted after the bid was won in June 2007, under the administration of former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat. Supporters of the PLA said the agreement helped ensure a safe, steady supply of
When the issue of a PLA for the second phase was introduced last year, the board engaged in countless debates with officials in Virginia, where Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, threatened to withhold funding for the project if the language was kept.
The airports authority board eventually watered down the PLA requirement on phase two to a preference, stating that contractors bidding on the project would receive a 10 percent scoring bonus if they agreed to use a labor agreement.
When competing contractors are short-listed based on qualifications, a ten-percent bonus would often be a deciding factor.
After more than a year of haggling during which Virginia's funding for the project was uncertain, Mr. McDonnell wrote to DOT Secretary Ray LaHood this week saying that if the MWAA board voted to remove the PLA language entirely, the state would provide a pledged $150 million next year "without any further conditions." The move helped prompt the MWAA board to vote 11-1 on Wednesday to abandon the PLA preference.
Another slap at the socialist state of Maryland and the socialist in the White House.