Job Corps Center plan hits wall in bid process

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organized labor is organized crime, nothing more
- gerard, wolcott

To Mike from Manchester,

North Branch is a great company.

Judging from the vocabulary you used in your post, your ideas come directly from the union talking points promoting PLAs. I'm sure you are actually a disgruntled union business agent pretending to be a non-union contractor.

There is no way you are a non-union shop and were bidding the project, otherwise you would know that on this project, you had to draft your own PLA with unreasonable conditions beyond "fair" wages, which are already mandated on a federal project via prevailing wages/Davis-Bacon Act. "Fair wages" have nothing to do with whether or not there is a PLA on the project. It is an erroneous argument.

The real fools are the procurement officers and political appointees in the DOL beholden to Big Labor. They are the ones who have violated the law and prevented the creation of New Hampshire jobs.
- MB, Washington, DC

OH PLEASE! Unions do this, unions do that - they are so needed. Tell you what... you don't want to work for a company because you feel it's unsafe, doesn't provide good benefits - THEN DON'T!

This is America - it's your choice. Stop looking for someone to shield lazy, unqualified workers from getting fired.

Kudos to North Branch for having the guts to file the suit, but I hardly think it's a victory of the same government turns around says - ok we won't play then. See ya - and there goes the project in the first place.

Do we really think that DC will move this along now? Nope - You'll need to aplly much more pressure to fix this problem. Good luck!
- Mark Ridel, Manchester, NH

Good news! I can't believe anyone would think that union projects are done on time and under budget? Think about what goes on in MA??? Let all companies bid for work in NH. If the Unions can't compete, oh well!
- Judy, Derry, NH

Simple, just make the job with Davis Bacon Wages. The problem is both Union and non union have their issues. I have worked for both and have never had a problem getting a fair wage. The only problem is because NH is a loose state when it comes to labor mandate, the current trend in NH has a tendancy to exploit workers. People who classify themselves "subcontactors" should meet a "real" standard and so-called employers who send out 1099's should be fully liable enabeling this game.

Union or Non-Union, it's simple, just pay a prson a "fair" wage. Don't worry, before long because people obviously struggle handling the ability to play fair, the government will soon employ us all in one fashion or another.
- craig, Manchester

As I read this I find that it is not mandated that union labor be used.It does however mandate a fair wage for the skills accordingly,as well as providing health care benefits.Many New Hampshire contractors are behind the curve on this(not all).The way I see it is a lot of company owners are used to raking in huge profits for lucrative contacts,while not compensating fairly the men on the job.This rule is in place to prevent exploitation of men badly in need of work.Company owners would have no problem paying a man $12/hr. while charging $35/hr. it's got to stop.The greed has got to stop.Spread the pie more fairly New Hampshire.
- John, Claremont

I live in Manchester nh and i am currently at a job corps right now in Vergennes vt...I certainly do hope this construction continues for i hate being away from my children and other family. I do hope that the bid starts back up immediatly.
- Britt, Vegennes

Shame Shame Shame on North Branch and those fools at ABC. This project would have brought immediate jobs to Manchester, and even more over the long term. My company is a non-union shop and we were bidding this project. All you had to do was provide fair wages and benefits to your employees, which my company already does. Big business squeezed out the little guy on this one. North Branch ought to stay out of Manchester if they don't want to be fair to their employees.
- Mike, Manchester

Job Corps Centers may help reduce poverty over time and help save many state governments many millions of dollars over time. Job Corps Centers may increase tax revenues of the federal government and state governments over time.

I hope the U.S. Department of Labor will allow State Legislatures to choose who gets to build Job Corps Centers and allow State Legislatures to choose the rules that the builders of the centers have to follow.

I hope many more junior high schools, high schools, and colleges will have cooperative education programs similar to Northeastern University. This may help the students obtain better paying jobs, reduce poverty, and reduce the need for food stamps and Medicaid over time.

Our country needs school choice in k-12 education. The money should follow the students. People want competition in retail stores, restaurants, and gas stations. They should want competition in k-12 education. If schools compete against each other to see which are able to provide the best liberal arts educations and high quality skills training, our students and businesses may significantly benefit. State government revenues and federal government revenues may increase if we have more competition in k-12 education.

I hope many businesses, individuals, and governments will help fund free education websites for k-12 students and college students that will have top teachers and top students using video, audio, notes, and other things to teach writing, foreign languages, math, science, geography, economics, history, and many other subjects. The teachers and students could be compensated. Some students may need to see the same material several times before they are able to learn it. The websites may reduce the numbers of students who dropout of schools. The websites may get students interested in courses they may not have not been interested in if the websites had not existed. The websites may help businesses obtain more productive employees in the future.

Job Corps Centers would provide more benefits to our country if the highest federal income tax on people and businesses is NOT greater than 15 percent. More manufacturing businesses and other businesses may decide to employ Job Corps Center graduates. Businesses would be less likely to fire workers in our country and then make products in foreign countries that they then import to our country. State governments would be better able to increase their taxes on people and businesses which would allow them to spend more money on education, infrastructure, and other things.

More businesses would likely create jobs in our country if the federal government and state governments stop taxing capital gains, dividends, interest from savings accounts, and estates. Businesses especially small businesses need capital to stay in business and pay their employees. Job Corps Center graduates may help many small businesses compete better against German businesses, Japanese businesses, and South Korean businesses.

It makes more sense for the federal government to have low sales on many products than to tax savings and investments. If the sales taxes are too high, consumption may significantly decrease and unemployment may increase.

Our country needs to care more about manufacturing in our country. Manufacturing is important to our national security and our ability to reduce our national debt.
- Ken Stremsky, Manchester, NH

Curious. There are now two Steve B from Derry posters. Welcome aboard, other Steve B.
- Steve B, Derry

This just goes to show how Unions will continue to ruin our country. Look what Dave Lang is doing to our fire fighters
- Steve B, Derry

Rick Maynard, Northfield

If a person chooses to work a job they aren't exploited because they aren't given handouts from tax payers money. Non-PLA rules would have had the Jobs Corp building probably build ON-TIME and UNDER-BUDGET. PLA rules would have probably been paying people from beginning to end of project even if they only worked one day.

Unions = 10 people getting paid for one persons work.

Unions are a thing of the past and no longer needed. The controls government has put into place in the world of employment more than protect employees from their employers. Unions only slow down work and increase the costs.
- Jay, Manchester

I guess I have an even more basic question about building this Job Corps Training Center. I can’t find anything out about it in the NH Gov. web site (there is currently no center in NH) but at the Federal DOL site it says that this Job Corps is something akin to a civilianized Army for “at risk youth” -- Youngsters 16-24 are given free room and board, free education starting with a high school diploma (GED), socialization skills, etc.. They earn a “salary” while going to school at this center, get child care services if needed, transportation, health care all at no cost to the student or their parents. They can come out with a vocational occupation or college prep readiness training . So, we are getting money to build this 35 million facility to house said students in order to provide them with a basic education and a marketable job skill that ostensibly isn't available in public schools or state vocational school system. So, who is paying for all this? And if someone tells me the Government, I’ll scream.
- Sandy, Thornton

Thier was no requirement that this project was to be built by union contractors, thier was a requirement that it be built under a PLA (Project Labor Agreement). This agreement requires that workers are paid a fair and competitive wage for the skills required, that they have health coverage and that they also are covered under some sort of retirement. Is it not about time that we stop the corporate welfare that allows government jobs to be farmed to who ever can be exploited the most while we the citizens pick-up the tab for thier health insurance and retirement. Any company that provides these benefits to its workers is at a disadvantage. This levels the playing field so all workers whether union or not have these benefits and prevents us the citizens from absorbing these hidden costs. STOP THE CORPORATE WELFARE!
- Rick Maynard, Northfield

Unions at one time served a very important purpose protecting and ensuring the rights of American workers. However the majority of Unions and their once noble purpose for existing have long since been perverted as they’ve become nothing more than self serving self perpetuating pariah’s feeding off the sweat and blood of American workers as a means for its own power and political ends. Many workers in the private sector as well as state jobs are now unemployed or facing imminent unemployment because companies and state governments can no longer afford the wages, conditions and in too many cases exorbitant benefit packages these unions impose upon them. I agree workers need protection in the workplace, but it has gotten past the point where we and our economy need protection from these Unions as well. The very fact Unions have the clout to influence the Department of Labor “a branch of the government” to impose a PLA mandate to bar private competition is clear evidence of the stronghold and depth of corruption strong-arm tactics employed by these unions.
- Rob, Manchester

This is all about the White House funneling lucrative construction contracts to their largest political contributor: Big Labor. It is pure corruption.

Rather than build this project without a discriminatory and costly (and probably illegal) PLA – and generate the related economic benefits this project would create for New Hampshire taxpayers as well as services the Job Corps Center would deliver to citizens - the DOL cancelled this project.

This foolhardy decision also stopped the bid protest pending before the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that would have addressed the legality of federal government-mandated PLAs and an executive order Obama sigend back in February that encourages government agencies to require PLAs on federal projects greater than $25 million.

This unfortunate scenario is going to play out in many communities across the country until the courts have a chance to put an end to this corruption and favoritism.

Senator Gregg should be commended for opposing this PLA. The rest of our representation in Washington have done NOTHING about it.
- Ted, Manchester

Wow...here we go with another blow to services for at risk kids. Can we put all this union/contract stuff aside and realize that the issue here is about providing a necessary service for some of our most at risk youth? Job Corps in NH would be a huge asset to provide a career training and education service to youth in this state...something we currently are really lacking. I have been talking about Job Corps coming to NH for years and looking forward to it so much, because of the benefit to the kids it serves.....and now I guess I can point to yet another government bureaucracy snafu as to why it never happened. Just wonderful.
- AngelaK, Manchester

Hey Jack, the issue I have with your approach to "buy American" is that you want the government to mandate we buy American. The government shouldn't have to tell us to do what is best for us. Buy local when you can. Buy American when you can. It'll all work itself out WITHOUT government rules.
- Steve B, Derry

Rate jobs are bid on by Most shops. The problem with a PLA is they force non union member to pay union dues and pay into a pension the non union workers will never see. I work Rate jobs a lot. And most NH shops will bid and get these. But to force us to pay Union dues for no benefit is foolish. Obama is a pig. And the unions are no better. There is a lot of shops that pay for "family insurance" And FYI the union don't pay for your family insurance they have you Pay for it. Most just cover you. They don't even get paid for their holidays if in the NH IBEW. Get them off but not paid. LMAO Non Union in NH treats the help Great for the most part. And the larger shops like Long Champs, Interstate, and The likes treat their help Awesome. Put it out to bid and let the unions bid yes even let rate stand. But to force us non union workers to pay the fat cat union pigs dues is stealing our money. I would rather stay unemployed than pay those bums and pensions that I will never see. Screw the socialist pig and his union buddies.
- Tim, Manchester

Unions confer special privilages on their members at the expense of everyone else. While unions may serve a useful purpose in some instances, their downside should not be ignored: higher costs for consumers, businesses, and taxpayers, not to mention contributing to higher unemployment. Ridiculous mandates requiring union labor for government contracts are nothing more than political pandering by pro-union politicians.
- Joe, Manchester

Everyone knows UNION = Do as little work as possible for as much money as you can blackmail the company for. Unions have driven all our jobs overseas. They are the problem not the answer!!!!
- David, Manchester

What would happen if we saw a mandate that stated ONLY non-union labor could be used on a certain government contract.

Any legitimate contractor should be allowed to bid on a contract.

John in Claremont there are plenty of laws nowadays covering employees, wages, overtime, work conditions and who has not heard of OSHA for safety. Unless your an illegal and afraid to be caught there are a ton of lawyers that will sue for you. Unions had their time in the past but nowadays they are just another business taking care of themselves and protecting those that do not want to work. I have worked in and out of unions.
- Jim, Loudon

Jack Alex....
What a great idea...another govt. mandate. Lets just make it harder and harder for business to compete.
I dont need a mandate, my business stocks whatever locally produced product I can find. I always start with the closest vendors and work out from there. Works if you put a little effort in to it. But mandate??!! No way.
- John, Manchester

John from Claremont makes a good point. A 55 year old construction worker is at the end of road, workwise. The job takes a physical toll that can't be deinied. That is one of the reasons why construction workers should get, at the very least, a fair & equitable retirement plan. Unions provide that. They also provide (should I whisper this?) family health insurance.
The way I understand it, any contractor can bid on the work. They simply need to agree to the terms of their respective trade labor agreement. Could it be that paying these benefits will cut into the profits they have grown accustommed to?
- Steve, Barrington

Thought provoking article.I work,or at least worked in this state as a contractor.There are no Trade Unions in New Hampshire.Maybe this could be a start.I seen a lot of abuses,a lot of accidents,and a few deaths due to abuses the employers have put on men.I've seen the spoils of great contracts go to the owners who would only make token appearances once in a while.Our Massachusetts counter-parts,which were unionized,always had it better than us.They made a decent living while we were forced to patch up junk cars and trucks,just to make it to work.Construction is a lot harder on your body than office work.It should pay accordingly.I say pay the union wages but mandate it be New Hampshire boys for the project.
- John, Claremont

""This is a real win for the principle of fair and open competition in government procurement," said North Branch attorney Maurice Baskin of Venable LLC."

Ahh yes, Government procurement........that's what it's all about isn't it. Who cares what it's for let's just procure it!
- Kevin, Bennington

People are out of work, both union and non-union, you would think in the job environment today that putting as many back to work either way would count and help these folks to put food on the table.
This country is a shambles and the politicians know it. How much more unemployment can we afford to pay out before we all end up on the street.

This Global economy is a farce and so is Nafta and Gatt. We've given away more jobs to every part of the world and we are not self-sufficient at all. I'm sick of all the container ships that come into our international docks full and they go out next to empty.

Want to fix the economy.........START THERE! Start madating to retail stores that they sell a higher percentage of American goods. If I see a bonafide label made in the USA I will buy it, I don't care if its $100 more, consider it bought.
- Jack Alex, Manchester