FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT:
THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2011 GREG SPENNER (515) 681-6100
***MEDIA RELEASE***
DES MOINES - Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Iowa commends the Cedar Rapids City Council on the decision Tuesday night to rescind the discriminatory Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for the construction of the Cedar Rapids Convention Complex. The vote by the council acknowledges the legality and the reality of Governor Branstad’s executive order which prohibits the use of PLAs on projects which are funded in whole or part by state funds.
“We thank Governor Branstad for standing up for all Iowa contractors and for Iowa taxpayers by his steadfast opposition to the use of PLAs,” states Greg Spenner, president and CEO of Associated Builders and Contractors of Iowa. “Governor Branstad’s insistence that the PLA be dropped in order for Cedar Rapids to receive any state dollars for the Convention Complex sends a strong message that local governments in Iowa must provide for a fair and level paying field when bidding construction work,” added Spenner.
“We agree with Mayor Corbett that the council’s decision to drop the illegal and discriminatory PLA is a win for taxpayers of Cedar Rapids who are no longer on the hook for city legal bills that would have never resulted in the executive order being overturned. Additionally, the taxpayers have won because PLAs have been proven to drive up costs for public construction projects without offering any offsetting benefits to taxpayers,” stated Spenner.
“The PLA by its very definition - - a contractual agreement between the city and the unions - - discriminates against the 85% of Iowa’s construction workforce that chooses to not belong to a union. So the action by the Cedar Rapids City Council is a vote of support for the taxpayers of Cedar Rapids and a vote of support for a fair and level playing field that will allow all Cedar Rapids area construction workers the opportunity to work on the Convention Complex,” added Spenner.
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ABC of Iowa is a statewide association representing over 450 merit shop construction and construction related firms. Visit us at www.abciowa.org