Eric Christen, executive director
Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction
Sacramento
In 2003, the Solano Community College Governing Board placed a union-crafted Project Labor Agreement (PLA) on all Measure G bond work. The $164 million Measure G had been passed by voters in 2002 with no hint that a controversial PLA would be used.
The PLA vote occurred despite vigorous opposition from local contractors and contractor associations, such as ours. We warned the board that a PLA was simply a payoff to union bosses who had funded certain board members’ campaigns and openly discriminated against the 85 percent of the local construction workforce that was union-free.