It’s pretty clear the administration owes union bosses big, and the payoffs may take many forms. There was the failed attempt to push card check by legislation and now through the National Labor Relations Board. In the meantime, though, the administration is shelling out on smaller projects — such as today’s news of a $3.3 million gift to Big Labor to make a DC construction project union-only.
The story is a bit tough to follow because of federal contracting rules (click here for more details from The Truth About PLAs), but one thing is clear: taxpayers were forced to pay an extra $3.3 million after a project was already awarded just so it would carry a “project labor agreement.” That means no additional services, no higher quality, just the “value” of using union-only labor.
It also means we are paying for nothing at a time when both our long-term and immediate fiscal outlooks are in full crisis mode. The final kicker: the PLA in question made it more difficult to improve a building that houses the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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