The Oregonian challenges Kotek to cut her PLA in road deal

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

The Sunday Oregonian Editorial had plenty of criticisms over the transportation train-wreck.

“Inexplicably, the transportation committee co-chairs didn’t release their funding plan until 20 days before the session’s required adjournment, squandering time to analyze, negotiate and amend the bill. Their proposals for tax and fee increases were so steep – nearly $15 billion in new revenue over the next decade – that even fellow Democrats balked … It was a haphazard and sloppy ending to a legislative process that lacked direction and signaled failure from the get-go.”

Then the Editorial Board urges Kotek to pull-back her highly controversial and expensive and utterly wasteful Project Labor Agreement mandate which forces more government building projects into the most expensive union contracts.  They ask that any transportation package include her taking this costly mandate off the books.

“Her first step should be to rescind her controversial executive order that requires “project labor agreements” for major state-owned projects – a practice that many researchers have concluded dissuades competition and leads to higher costs.These “PLAs” are agreements negotiated between construction contractors and unions that set the terms of employment for anyone – union or nonunion – working on the project. Such agreements may require workers regardless of affiliation to pay union dues or contribute to a union’s health or pension plans, even though they may never benefit from those programs. ODOT itself produced a report concluding that PLA requirements can increase costs 10% to 20% on a project.That’s not a responsible way to use taxpayer dollars. As we’ve said previously, it’s unconscionable to burden Oregonians with billions more in taxes while adopting a practice that happens to benefit some of Kotek’s most loyal donors.”

Well done, Oregonian, well done.

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