Obama and the Union thugs drive up costs of recovery

Washington Times:

President Obama's plan to force contractors to hire union workers for large government construction projects is proving easier said than done, confusing and costlier than expected.

It's been more than a decade since a federal project required bids that include union representation of workers, known as a "project labor agreement" or PLA, and a $100 million project to modernize the 12-story Lafayette Building that houses federal agencies is highlighting the kinks that need to be worked out.

The General Services Administration (GSA), for example, first called for PLAs to win bids to rehabilitate the Washington office complex, but earlier this month backtracked, saying the solicitation was in error and it would instead ask contractors to submit two bids, one with a PLA and one without - a highly unusual and costly requirement.

"It's crazy to try to do that. ... It is just pure confusion on their part," said Brett McMahon, vice president of business development for Miller & Long Co. Inc., the country's largest concrete subcontractor and the largest employer of construction workers in the Mid-Atlantic region.

He estimated that a general contractor would spend more than $100,000 putting together a single bid for a job of that size and submitting dual bids would increase the cost by about $75,000.

GSA officials said the dual bids were part of its effort to comply with Mr. Obama's order to use PLAs and a way for the agency to gauge the cost of using PLAs. The Lafayette Building modernization is one of 10 pilot projects with solicitations for bids under way that require the dual pricing, officials said.

...

I think the GSA is probably on to something and the results could be very embarrassing to the Obama administration. The requirement that contractors use union labor is another example of Obama's control mentality and anti freedom agenda. It will make things cost more at the expense of the people and it is propping up a union movement that time has passed by.

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