Why are homes and commercial buildings so expensive to construct? Look for the union label. In fact, look at government creating Project Labor agreements (PLA’s) that ADD 15-20% to the cost of a project. Why? A PLA means only a union shop can bid on a project—even if it is not the most qualified or the least expensive. The worker’s qualifications for a PLA project? They pay a bribe to the union to be able to work. Is this the workforce you want, bribe payers?
“From the City of Palm Springs to the Riverside school district, Inland Empire Democrat politicians are overcharging the public for construction projects with no-bid, sole-source labor contracts called Project Labor Agreements or PLAs. These “deals” discriminate against over 80% of local construction workers, increasing the project price. Recently, the California Globe political website highlighted that Democrat Riverside Unified School District Trustee Angelo Farooq pushed a PLA that helped his political donors but cost Riverside USD taxpayers $30 million in overruns on just one school project. Not surprisingly, the Press-Enterprise broke the news last December that Riverside Unified School District Trustee Angelo Farooq plans to run for the 31st State Senate District seat in 2024. Even more importantly, the article announced that Farooq had raised over $600,000 from construction unions for his effort to move to higher political office.
Corruption? You bet—using your money to buy a State Senate seat.
Construction Policy Playing A Key Role In Inland Empire Political Races
Ambitious Politicians Seem To Always Be Behind Union Give-Aways
David Everett, Western Electrical Contractors Association, 11/8/23 www.GoWeca.com
Construction policy can be dry. At times, it can be even downright dull. So it is hard to blame the public and your average citizen, parent, or taxpayer for failing to follow every detail involved with our local public building projects. However, the public may find it interesting that millions of taxpayer dollars are being wasted to try and gain the favor of the Big Construction Labor bosses in Inland Empire political elections.
From the City of Palm Springs to the Riverside school district, Inland Empire Democrat politicians are overcharging the public for construction projects with no-bid, sole-source labor contracts called Project Labor Agreements or PLAs. These “deals” discriminate against over 80% of local construction workers, increasing the project price. Recently, the California Globe political website highlighted that Democrat Riverside Unified School District Trustee Angelo Farooq pushed a PLA that helped his political donors but cost Riverside USD taxpayers $30 million in overruns on just one school project. Not surprisingly, the Press-Enterprise broke the news last December that Riverside Unified School District Trustee Angelo Farooq plans to run for the 31st State Senate District seat in 2024. Even more importantly, the article announced that Farooq had raised over $600,000 from construction unions for his effort to move to higher political office.
Political observers see the same pattern in the City of Palm Springs. Republican state Senate candidate Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh and Republican Assemblyman Greg Wallis have Palm Springs Councilmembers as opponents in November 2024. Not coincidentally, Palm Springs Councilmembers spent the better part of 2020 and 2021 negotiating a PLA on all city construction. Last year, Senator Ochoa Bogh barely defeated Democrat Abigail Medina (Medina also pushed for union-only construction agreements as a San Bernardino City Unified School District board member.) The election results gave Ochoa Bogh a victory of just over 1,000 votes in the race for an open seat representing parts of Riverside and San Bernardino counties. In 2024, Ochoa Bogh will face Democrat Palm Springs Councilmember Lisa Middleton. Another Palm Springs Councilmember uses her PLA support to launch her run for higher office. Councilmember Christy Holstege is running for state Assembly again in 2024, following a narrow loss last year to Republican Assemblyman Greg Wallis by only 85 votes. One can imagine how Big Labor’s political contributions could be the difference between winning and losing in such tight races.
Similar union construction deals were passed at the City of Moreno Valley in 2021 right before then Mayor Yxstian Gutierrez began his 2022 campaign for Riverside County Supervisor. Even as far back as 2010, Riverside Democrat Congressman Mark Takano and former Riverside Assemblyman Jose Medina passed a disastrous PLA at the Riverside Community College District, which propelled them into their Congress and Assembly seats, respectively.
The Western Electrical Contractors Association (WECA) recently launched a social media advertising effort to bring public awareness to these unfair and discriminatory special interest deals. The digital campaign aims to inform the public about the nature of these Project Labor Agreements (PLA) and the associated cost overruns. The effort will highlight how these PLAs discriminate against over 80% of our construction workforce who choose to work in an environment without intermediaries between them and their employer. It also explains how PLAs discriminate against over 98% of minority-owned construction companies. For more information on these controversial PLAs and the repercussions for taxpayers and parents, please visit www.StopAngeloFarooq.com.
If taxpayers don’t stop this wasteful and discriminatory policy, ambitious politicians will continue pushing it. They pass these special interest deals to try and gain favor with Big Labor unions. It may be dry and boring to keep track of these projects, but without the public’s attention, our students and taxpayers suffer the consequences.
